NAME
PDB - (Pilot Database) file format
SYNOPSIS
#define dmDBNameLength 32/* 31 chars + 1 null terminator */
struct pdb_header { /* 78 bytes total */
char name[ dmDBNameLength ];
Word attributes;
Word version;
DWord create_time;
DWord modify_time;
DWord backup_time;
DWord modificationNumber;
DWord appInfoID;
DWord sortInfoID;
char type[4];
char creator[4];
DWord id_seed;
DWord nextRecordList;
Word numRecords;
};
struct pdb_rec_header { /* 8 bytes total */
DWord offset;
struct {
int delete : 1;
int dirty : 1;
int busy : 1;
int secret : 1;
int category : 4;
} attributes;
char uniqueID[3];
}
DESCRIPTION
The PDB (Pilot Database) file format is used by all models of the Palm
Pilot and IBM Workpad. The format consists of a header followed by a
set of record headers followed by the records themselves.
Word Sizes
In the SYNOPSIS above, the types ‘‘Byte,’’ ‘‘Word,’’ and ‘‘DWord’’ are
used just as in the Pilot headers. The type ‘‘Byte’’ is 8 bits;
‘‘Word’’ is 16 bits; ‘‘DWord’’ is 32 bits. The latter two are in
big-endian format.
CAVEATS
1. The C structures given in the SYNOPSIS above are illustrative and
most likely will not work in actual C code since compilers align
data members on word boundaries.
2. The PDB file format presented here is not official and was written
at the time when PDB file format was not public. It is possibly
outdated. The official standard is available on the Palm web page.
(SEE ALSO)
SEE ALSO
txt2pdbdoc(1), html2pdbtxt(1), pdbtxt2html(1), doc(4)
Palm Computing Inc. Palm File Format Specification, 2000.
http://www.palmos.com/dev/support/docs/fileformats/front.html
AUTHOR
Paul J. Lucas <pauljlucas@mac.com> Updated by Erik Schanze
<eriks@debian.org>
txt2pdbdoc August 20, 2005 PDB(4)