Palm OS Web Application Developer's Guide: Developing and Delivering PQAs with Web Clipping
Teach yourself how to develop wireless Web applications for the Palm.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Palm OS Web Application Developer's Guide: Developing and Delivering PQAs with Web Clipping
Chapter 5: Interacting with Forms
Introduction
When you add forms to a Web clipping application, it ceases to be a one-way read-only channel and becomes something that allows user interaction. Forms are the basis for interaction on the Web, and their availability on Palm handheld computers expands the range of possibilities for Web clipping applications. Any application that needs to let users request and/or respond to information can be supported, including applications for travel, finance, sports, weather the list goes on and on.
Adding form elements to a Web clipping application requires new coding. Clipper supports most of the tag specification from HTML 3.2; it also supports some additional types that take advantage of the built-in controls for setting times and dates, namely timepicker and datepicker. In this chapter, you will learn how to use each form element that Clipper supports, including correct syntax, sample code, and screen shots. Bandwidth considerations will also be presented to maximize your use of wireless data transfers.
In addition to changing Web pages, handling forms requires scripting on the server. To process form submissions, you can use many different languages and systems, but popular choices include Perl, C, PHP, Microsoft s Active Server Pages (ASP), and Sun s Java Server Pages (JSP). Approaches to server-side scripting are discussed in enough detail in this chapter to get you up and running quickly, and example server-side scripts are provided.
Tying all subject matter together are three progressive examples that cover the following: first, updating the Unwired Widgets company inventory database; second, placing...
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