Chapter 3. Palm Database Programming

Palm programs, like other programs, typically use some form of persistent data storage. In Chapter 2, we examined how to access the application preferences database to store and retrieve state information, but this form of storage is best suited for small amounts of data. The Palm database manager is the tool of choice for an application's working data.

In this chapter, we first explain what the Palm OS database manager is and how it works. We'll look at the different types of databases the Palm supports, and explain the physical layout and characteristics of the most common database—the Palm data file (PDB).