[pilot-db-list] RE: DB's VFS ability?

[Craig B. <sys...@ca...>]

>Palm seems to standardize on /PALM/Launcher for Palm-specific files.
Other
>directories are only used for images and audio and not a Palm-specific
>database like DB. The Web site that described it was:

Right link, wrong conclusion.

Everything in the /PALM directory is palm related.  The images and audio
directories are outside the /PALM directory off the root.  IE:

/DCIM for images
/AUDIO for audio

Ideally, /PALM/Launcher is better used only for launchable applications
which are to show up and be launched in a VFS enabled launcher.
Fortunately, many of the early apps that but their data in /PALM/Launcher
as well have, in recent version, moved to their own directory.

The proper place Pilot-DB files would NOT be /PALM/Pilot-DB, but rather
/PALM/Programs/Pilot-DB

I have no issue with allowing a user definable directory (as long as it's
in /PALM/Programs/), though it may well add needless complication.  The
problem with allowing multiple simultaneous directories though is that the
PalmOS/VFS routines are not fast enough to make this manageable.  Many of
the early apps making use of VFS, and some lame current examples, simply
scan the entire card looking for their content.  Anyone with a sizable
card, or multiple cards on a HandEra 330 quickly sees the futility of that
approach when the app takes 5-20 minutes sitting at a "Scanning..."
dialog.  On OS5 hardware the file system will be a whole new deal and
we'll have the horesepower to allow less restrictive File/Directory
selection options.

I've used many, many VFS apps, and thus far the nearly perfect
implementation of Categories, Card Selection, and VFS use is WordSmith's.
And it wouldn't do Pilot-DB any harm to consider a similiar motif.

You choose wether you're looking at RAM based files or Card based files
via the category chooser in the upper left (where RAM, CF, and SD are also
selectable in the category list).

Also moving files from RAM to a card (and back) is done via the category
selector tool.  This way you don't need to use a third party File
Management tool to make the moves.

Regards,

Craig Bowers