PDA Development Tools

• PDA development tools help developers create applications for mobile devices. man working on pda image by jimcox40 from Fotolia.com

  A personal digital assistant (PDA) is a handheld device that offers you similar functionality to a standard desktop computer, except that it's much smaller. Many PDAs even allow you to make phone calls, send text messages or e-mail. PDA development tools allow you to create applications for these mobile devices. While most of the tools require a fee, some are free to use. These tools are especially for industry professionals, including developers.

LEADTOOLS

• The LEADTOOLs Mobile Imaging Developer Toolkit is a software development kit (SDK) designed for the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework. It allows you to create applications for Windows Mobile 5 and 6, including smartphones and Pocket Personal Computers (PPCs), which are a type of PDA devices. This program features sample projects with included source code, which you can use as a starting point for your own projects. This program also helps you create image applications, including how those applications look and function on a PDA device. There is a shareware version of this program, which means that you can use it for a limited time for free. But you must purchase the full version once the trial period is over. The program costs between $495 and $995 in 2010.

Xceed Zip

• This is a program for the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework, and it is compatible with the Windows Embedded Compact (CE) operating system. It is a set of class libraries that you can use to help you create mobile applications, and it allows you to create file systems and zero byte files. A zero byte file is a file that doesn't hold any data, thus it holds "zero bytes" of data. You can use these files to eventually hold metadata or to ensure that a directory contains at least one folder. This program is written in the C# language. There is a shareware version of this tool that costs $499.95 in 2010.

NS Basic

• The NS Basic/Palm program works with Palm Operating System (OS) devices including the Centro and Treo. This tool allows you to create, test and debug your applications on a desktop computer before you download it to your mobile device. It comes with a library of commonly used Palm OS components, and it allows you to create navigation items, including buttons, menus and pop-ups. The NS Basic/Palm program allows you to create stand-alone applications, which do not need to rely on another program to operate. It also comes with sample codes, which you can use to make your applications. As of 2010, this program costs between $99.95 and $129.95.