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What is the PALM format?

Palm pixmap

The PALM image format, also known as Palm Bitmap, is a raster graphics file format associated with Palm OS devices. It was designed to store images on Palm OS PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants), which were popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The format is specifically tailored to the display and memory limitations of these handheld devices, which is why it is optimized for low-resolution, indexed-color images that can be rendered quickly on the device's screen.

PALM images are characterized by their simplicity and efficiency. The format supports a limited color palette, typically up to 256 colors, which is sufficient for the small screens of PDAs. This indexed color approach means that each pixel in the image is not represented by its own color value but rather by an index to a color table that contains the actual RGB (Red, Green, Blue) values. This method of color representation is very memory-efficient, which is crucial for devices with limited RAM and storage capacity.

The basic structure of a PALM image file consists of a header, a color palette (if the image is not monochrome), bitmap data, and possibly transparency information. The header contains metadata about the image, such as its width and height in pixels, the bit depth (which determines the number of colors), and flags that indicate whether the image has a transparency index or is compressed.

Compression is another feature of the PALM image format. To save even more space, PALM images can be compressed using a run-length encoding (RLE) algorithm. RLE is a form of lossless data compression where sequences of the same data value (runs) are stored as a single data value and a count. This is particularly effective for images with large areas of uniform color, which is common in icons and user interface elements used in PDAs.

Transparency in PALM images is handled through a transparency index. This index points to a color in the palette that is designated as transparent, allowing for the overlay of images on different backgrounds without a blocky, opaque rectangle around the image. This feature is essential for creating a seamless user interface where icons and other graphics need to blend with their background.

The color palette in a PALM image is a critical component, as it defines the set of colors used in the image. The palette is an array of color entries, where each entry is typically a 16-bit value that represents an RGB color. The bit depth of the image determines the maximum number of colors in the palette. For example, a 1-bit depth image would have a 2-color palette (usually black and white), while an 8-bit depth image could have up to 256 colors.

The bitmap data in a PALM image file is a pixel-by-pixel representation of the image. Each pixel is stored as an index into the color palette. The storage of this data can be in a raw, uncompressed format or compressed using RLE. In the uncompressed format, the bitmap data is simply a sequence of indices, one for each pixel, arranged in rows from top to bottom and columns from left to right.

One of the unique aspects of the PALM image format is its support for multiple bit depths within a single image. This means that an image can contain regions with different color resolutions. For example, a PALM image could have a high-color-depth icon (8-bit) alongside a low-color-depth decorative element (1-bit). This flexibility allows for the efficient use of memory by using higher bit depths only where necessary for the image's visual quality.

The PALM image format also includes support for custom icons and menu graphics, which are essential for the user interface of Palm OS applications. These images can be integrated into the application code and displayed on the device using the Palm OS API (Application Programming Interface). The API provides functions for loading, displaying, and manipulating PALM images, making it easy for developers to incorporate graphics into their applications.

Despite its efficiency and utility in the context of Palm OS devices, the PALM image format has several limitations when compared to more modern image formats. For instance, it does not support true color images (24-bit or higher), which limits its use in applications that require high-fidelity graphics. Additionally, the format does not support advanced features such as layers, alpha channels (beyond simple transparency), or metadata like EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) commonly found in formats like JPEG or PNG.

The PALM image format is not widely used outside of Palm OS devices and applications. With the decline of Palm OS PDAs and the rise of smartphones and other mobile devices with more advanced operating systems and graphics capabilities, the PALM format has become largely obsolete. Modern mobile devices support a wide range of image formats, including JPEG, PNG, and GIF, which offer greater color depth, better compression, and more features than the PALM format.

For historical and archival purposes, it may be necessary to convert PALM images to more contemporary formats. This can be done using specialized software tools that can read the PALM format and transform it into a format like PNG or JPEG. These tools typically parse the PALM file structure, extract the bitmap data and color palette, and then reconstruct the image in the target format, preserving as much of the original image quality as possible.

In terms of file extension, PALM images typically use the '.pdb' (Palm Database) extension, as they are often stored within Palm Database files, which are containers for various types of data used by Palm OS applications. The image data is stored in a specific record within the PDB file, which can be accessed by the application as needed. This integration with the Palm Database system makes it easy to bundle images with other application data, such as text or configuration settings.

The creation and manipulation of PALM images require an understanding of the format's specifications and limitations. Developers working with Palm OS would typically use software development kits (SDKs) provided by Palm, which included tools and documentation for working with PALM images. These SDKs would provide libraries for image handling, allowing developers to create, modify, and display PALM images within their applications without having to manage the low-level details of the file format.

In conclusion, the PALM image format played a significant role in the era of Palm OS PDAs by providing a simple and efficient way to handle graphics on devices with limited resources. While it has been surpassed by more advanced image formats in today's technology landscape, understanding the PALM format offers insights into the design considerations and constraints of earlier mobile computing platforms. For those dealing with legacy Palm OS applications or devices, knowledge of the PALM format remains relevant for maintaining and converting old image assets.

Supported formats

AAI.aai

AAI Dune image

AI.ai

Adobe Illustrator CS2

AVIF.avif

AV1 Image File Format

AVS.avs

AVS X image

BAYER.bayer

Raw Bayer Image

BMP.bmp

Microsoft Windows bitmap image

CIN.cin

Cineon Image File

CLIP.clip

Image Clip Mask

CMYK.cmyk

Raw cyan, magenta, yellow, and black samples

CMYKA.cmyka

Raw cyan, magenta, yellow, black, and alpha samples

CUR.cur

Microsoft icon

DCX.dcx

ZSoft IBM PC multi-page Paintbrush

DDS.dds

Microsoft DirectDraw Surface

DPX.dpx

SMTPE 268M-2003 (DPX 2.0) image

DXT1.dxt1

Microsoft DirectDraw Surface

EPDF.epdf

Encapsulated Portable Document Format

EPI.epi

Adobe Encapsulated PostScript Interchange format

EPS.eps

Adobe Encapsulated PostScript

EPSF.epsf

Adobe Encapsulated PostScript

EPSI.epsi

Adobe Encapsulated PostScript Interchange format

EPT.ept

Encapsulated PostScript with TIFF preview

EPT2.ept2

Encapsulated PostScript Level II with TIFF preview

EXR.exr

High dynamic-range (HDR) image

FARBFELD.ff

Farbfeld

FF.ff

Farbfeld

FITS.fits

Flexible Image Transport System

GIF.gif

CompuServe graphics interchange format

GIF87.gif87

CompuServe graphics interchange format (version 87a)

GROUP4.group4

Raw CCITT Group4

HDR.hdr

High Dynamic Range image

HRZ.hrz

Slow Scan TeleVision

ICO.ico

Microsoft icon

ICON.icon

Microsoft icon

IPL.ipl

IP2 Location Image

J2C.j2c

JPEG-2000 codestream

J2K.j2k

JPEG-2000 codestream

JNG.jng

JPEG Network Graphics

JP2.jp2

JPEG-2000 File Format Syntax

JPC.jpc

JPEG-2000 codestream

JPE.jpe

Joint Photographic Experts Group JFIF format

JPEG.jpeg

Joint Photographic Experts Group JFIF format

JPG.jpg

Joint Photographic Experts Group JFIF format

JPM.jpm

JPEG-2000 File Format Syntax

JPS.jps

Joint Photographic Experts Group JPS format

JPT.jpt

JPEG-2000 File Format Syntax

JXL.jxl

JPEG XL image

MAP.map

Multi-resolution Seamless Image Database (MrSID)

MAT.mat

MATLAB level 5 image format

PAL.pal

Palm pixmap

PALM.palm

Palm pixmap

PAM.pam

Common 2-dimensional bitmap format

PBM.pbm

Portable bitmap format (black and white)

PCD.pcd

Photo CD

PCDS.pcds

Photo CD

PCT.pct

Apple Macintosh QuickDraw/PICT

PCX.pcx

ZSoft IBM PC Paintbrush

PDB.pdb

Palm Database ImageViewer Format

PDF.pdf

Portable Document Format

PDFA.pdfa

Portable Document Archive Format

PFM.pfm

Portable float format

PGM.pgm

Portable graymap format (gray scale)

PGX.pgx

JPEG 2000 uncompressed format

PICON.picon

Personal Icon

PICT.pict

Apple Macintosh QuickDraw/PICT

PJPEG.pjpeg

Joint Photographic Experts Group JFIF format

PNG.png

Portable Network Graphics

PNG00.png00

PNG inheriting bit-depth, color-type from original image

PNG24.png24

Opaque or binary transparent 24-bit RGB (zlib 1.2.11)

PNG32.png32

Opaque or binary transparent 32-bit RGBA

PNG48.png48

Opaque or binary transparent 48-bit RGB

PNG64.png64

Opaque or binary transparent 64-bit RGBA

PNG8.png8

Opaque or binary transparent 8-bit indexed

PNM.pnm

Portable anymap

PPM.ppm

Portable pixmap format (color)

PS.ps

Adobe PostScript file

PSB.psb

Adobe Large Document Format

PSD.psd

Adobe Photoshop bitmap

RGB.rgb

Raw red, green, and blue samples

RGBA.rgba

Raw red, green, blue, and alpha samples

RGBO.rgbo

Raw red, green, blue, and opacity samples

SIX.six

DEC SIXEL Graphics Format

SUN.sun

Sun Rasterfile

SVG.svg

Scalable Vector Graphics

SVGZ.svgz

Compressed Scalable Vector Graphics

TIFF.tiff

Tagged Image File Format

VDA.vda

Truevision Targa image

VIPS.vips

VIPS image

WBMP.wbmp

Wireless Bitmap (level 0) image

WEBP.webp

WebP Image Format

YUV.yuv

CCIR 601 4:1:1 or 4:2:2

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