Conduits

What is a Conduit?

A conduit is a Palm term generally used for a communications session established between the PDA and Windows PC that the user is synchronising. The Palm term "Hotsync" is used to describe the overall process where one or more conduits are established with a PDA and the data synchronised. Microsoft term the process "ActiveSync".

It is also possible to have conduits written for the Linux and Mac OS operating systems, or generic conduits written in Java.

The communications media may be anything from a serial connection to an 802.11b wireless mesh.

The SuperWaba examples contain sample code for establishing a serial conduit between SuperWaba devices, or SuperWaba/Java running on a desktop.

You can download the PalmOS conduit SDKs for Windows or Mac from PalmSource. For more details about Palm conduit programming you may wish to read the Introduction to Conduit Development

Does somebody know the documentation links about PocketPC conduits ?

(Have to go. Meeting calls. Feel free to finish this off.)

-- VikOlliver - 16 Oct 2003

Using Java To Write A Conduit

JSync (aka CDKJ) is the Java version of the PalmSource Conduit Development Kit. For various reasons, you might feel better programming your conduit in Java rather than in C++ or VisualBasic. However, despite being written in Java, a JSync conduit still requires a DLL to work, and will therefore only work in Windows environments. It also requires you to include the JSync Installer in your distributions, which adds 10 MB to your installer. If you would like a solution which is more useful to business customers or to people running Linux/Unix/Mac, you might want to try JSyncManager (no affiliation to JSync). This is basically a HotSync Manager which is written entirely in Java. However, as of this writing there is no USB support for Windows (although it is in the works), so if your end users are largely Windows users, JSync conduits are probably the way to go.

I personally have successfully made a conduit using JSync, so feel free to take a look at JSyncConduits for a detailed walkthrough on how to make one using it.

-- DanielOrner^? - 14 Jun 2004