Slide 7.2: Palm OS Resource Editor (cont.)   Slide 7.4: Palm OS Resource Editor (cont.)   Home

Palm OS Resource Editor (Cont.)

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Resource Files
Palm OS Resource Editor uses a collection of files as a convenient way to manage resource definitions:

Resource workspaces
Resource Editor uses the concept of a workspace for organizing resource files. A workspace is simply a collection of resource files that are loaded, saved, and closed as a group. Physically, a workspace file is a document containing a list of resource files that are collected together. Workspace files have the extension XRW.

Resource description files
Palm OS resource description files use XML structure and text encoding to specify application resources. These XML resource description files are commonly called XRD files. There is a one-to-one correspondence between Palm OS resources and XML resource descriptions in the XRD file. That is, for every resource in the Palm OS application, you need to specify an XML resource element name and associated attributes. Resource Editor streamlines the creation of XRD files. Rather than directly editing an XML-based text file, you use the visual layout windows to create your XRD files.

Custom resource description files
The XRD file format allows for a special type of resource called a custom resource. Using the custom resource type element, you can create your own XML-based format for resources that are not already defined. Custom resource type description files must have an XRT file extension.

Resource header files
Resource Editor does not currently support creating a C header file for the resources defined in your XRD files. If your application needs a C header file with preprocessor definitions for your resources, you need to create the header file independently.