PRC (Palm Resource Code) is a container format for code

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, applications, and the database itself to capture and a ...

s in

Palm OS Palm OS (also known as Garnet OS) is a discontinued mobile operating system initially developed by Palm, Inc., for personal digital assistants (PDAs) in 1996. Palm OS was designed for ease of use with a touchscreen-based graphical user interface. ...

, Garnet OS and Access Linux Platform. Its structure is similar to PDB databases.N. Rhodes, J. McKeehan. Palm OS Programming, Second Edition, O'Reilly, 2001, . Usually, a PRC file is a flat representation of a Palm OS application that is stored as forked database on the PDA. PRC files are also used by the Mobipocket

e-book An ebook (short for electronic book), also spelled as e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in electronic form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Al ...

-reader (here sometimes referred to as MOBI formatMobileRead Wiki
Reference for the MOBI format
/ref>). The AZW format of Amazon's Kindle reading device is in turn a DRM-restricted form of the Mobipocket format. On Palm OS, PRC files are used for applications, localized resources (overlays) and shared libraries.

Structure of PRC file

In its essence, a PRC file is similar to a

classic Mac OS Mac OS (originally System Software; retronym: Classic Mac OS) is the series of operating systems developed for the Mac (computer), Macintosh family of personal computers by Apple Computer, Inc. from 1984 to 2001, starting with System 1 and end ...

application. It contains a PRC header, PRC resource headers and PRC resources.Theodore Ts'o (2000
The PRC Format.
Accessed on 2009-03-07

PRC Header

The PRC header is located at the beginning of the file and contains meta-information on the file:

PRC Resource Header

For every resource (specified by num_records), there is a resource header containing:

PRC Resources

Every application contains al least a Code #0 resource with size information and jump tables, a Code #1 resource with executable code and data resources containing pre-initialized values of global variables in compressed form. Other resources that may be contained are forms, form objects, alerts and multimedia data, e. g. images and sounds.

References

{{Reflist Computer file formats Palm OS