Web Me Wireless: Web Clipping and PQAs

If I had a Hammer...

An Introduction to Web Clipping and PQAs

Now that you’ve seen how simple it can be to provide Web Clipping services, you’re probably wondering what sorts of development tools are available. The only required tools are:

A text/HTML editor

The Web Clipping Application Builder (Win and Mac versions) to compile it into a WCA.

Optional but helpful tools for testing include:

A Palm VII communicator or

A Palm OS Emulator, available for both Windows and Macintosh platforms.

You need a copy of the ROM image file from Pilot/3Com to use the emulator, which can be obtained free of charge by joining their Palm OS Developer Program.

Additional resources:

Conclusion

Not to beat the point to death, but the main issue to keep in mind when developing for Web Clipping is size.

All aspects of your PQA and Web Clippings should be kept as small as possible while still providing the desired functionality for the user. This is the primary design limitation that must be evaluated during all phases of development.

Minimize the use of graphics, if used at all.

Minimize your text, both visible text and in your source code.

Use HTML markup only where necessary, and use short variable names.

Remember that you’re developing for a very small display. The content area available to your HTML code is 154 by 144 pixels - about 11 lines of text, including the header or banner.

If you keep these restrictions in mind when designing your PQAs and Web Clippings, you'll have the wireless world flocking to your site.