I can think of at least one non-trivial issue in porting math-intensive applications to PDA platforms (including PocketPC): current-generation PDA cpu don't include a floating point unit. This has at least two negative implications.
First, all floating-point computations must be emulated using fixed-point arithmetics. Intel provides a library that makes the process easier, but that's not true of all cpu providers.
Second, of course, the resulting code is much slower than code compiled for, and running on a dedicated floating point unit.
Jean Salvati
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [email protected]
> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of
> Ron�n Conroy
> Sent: Thursday, December 09, 2004 6:05 AM
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: Re: st: Stata for Pocket PC?
>
> Peter Jepsen wrote:
>
> > Dear Statalisters,
> >
> > I'm about to buy a Pocket PC, and I'm thinking that it
> would be really
> > great if it could run Stata. Is that possible? And if not (which I
> > suspect, as the Stata website does not say anything about
> Pocket PC),
> > does anyone know whether it will be?
> >
> I did my best, over dinner, a year or two ago, to convince
> Bill Gould that a statistics package for the Palm was the
> obvious development. And Stata has an ideal architecture to
> do it, since a user could install a basic Stata engine and
> then the ados they wanted to use, in the way that, say, MetrO
> users download the transport networks they need.
>
> Memory and speed on PDAs are increasing to the point where
> serious statistics would be possible. Certainly, a basic
> version of Stata that did the sorts of routine data
> manipulations and statistics that Stata 1 did would be a boon
> on PDA. I take my Palm and folding keyboard everywhere, and
> do most of my work on it, but have to lug my laptop with me
> when there are statistics involved.
>
> I don't think we'll get an official announcement from
> StataCorp - not their style - but I wonder how many other
> Stata users feel the need for stats on their PDA.
>
> --
>
> Ronan M Conroy ([email protected])
> Senior Lecturer in Biostatistics
> Royal College of Surgeons
> Dublin 2, Ireland
> +353 1 402 2431 (fax 2764)
> --------------------
> Just say no to drug reps
> http://www.nofreelunch.org/
>
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