Developing software for Symbian OS : a beginners guide to creating Symbian OS v9 smartphone applications in C++

Developing Software for Symbian OS 2nd Edition is an essential guide for anyone wishing to start developing smartphone applications. The original book has been updated to cover Symbian OS v9 and changes to the developer environment, and now includes a new chapter on application signing and platform security.

Steve Babin's clear and practical approach made his original book very popular with those new to Symbian OS. An invaluable resource, Developing Software for Symbian OS 2nd Edition includes sections about the architecture of Symbian OS, the build environment, Symbian OS strings, buffers and data collections, platform security, asynchronous programming using active objects and threads, the client-server framework and GI application programming.

The book describes and solves the challenges a beginner faces and introduces the key concepts needed to create applications for Symbian smartphones. It provides clear advice and practical solutions, and full sample code is available for download from the Symbian Developer Network website (developer.symbian.com).

Get yourself ahead with the perfect introduction to developing software for Symbian OS.

Author Notes

Steve Babin works at IBM developing enterprise software for smartphones based on Symbian OS and MIcrosoft Windows Mobile. He has a BSEE from Louisiana State University and over 20 years of software development and leadership experience on a variety of products - including medical devices, Java accelerators, avionics, Internet appliances, and system-on-chip silicon devices - using numerous operating systems. Steve is married to Sharon and has a daughter named Hillary. They live in Austin, TX. He is an Accredited Symbian Developer.

Jo StichburyWarren Day

Foreword	p. ix
Foreword	p. xi
Biography	p. xiii
Author Acknowledgments	p. xv
Symbian Press Acknowledgments	p. xvii
Symbian OS Code Conventions and Notations Used in the Book	p. xix
1 Smartphones and Symbian OS	p. 1
1.1 Notes on this New Edition	p. 1
1.2 Smartphone Concepts	p. 2
1.3 Smartphone Features	p. 3
1.4 The Mobile OS	p. 11
1.5 Symbian OS - A Little History	p. 12
1.6 Symbian OS Smartphones	p. 15
1.7 Other Smartphone Operating Systems	p. 20
2 Symbian OS Quick Start	p. 23
2.1 What Do You Need to Get Started?	p. 23
2.2 Firing Up the Development Tools	p. 31
2.3 Simple Example Application	p. 38
2.4 Building and Executing on the Emulator	p. 56
2.5 A Carbide.c++ Project	p. 58
2.6 Building for the Smartphone	p. 59
3 Symbian OS Architecture	p. 63
3.1 Components in Symbian OS	p. 63
3.2 Multitasking in Symbian OS	p. 64
3.3 Shared Code: Libraries, DLLs, and Frameworks	p. 65
3.4 Client-Server Model	p. 68
3.5 Memory in Symbian OS	p. 70
3.6 The Kernel	p. 77
3.7 Active Objects and Asynchronous Functions	p. 81
3.8 GUI Architecture	p. 83
3.9 High-Performance Graphics	p. 85
3.10 The Communication Architecture	p. 86
3.11 Application Engines and Services	p. 90
3.12 Platform Security	p. 90
4 Symbian OS Programming Basics	p. 93
4.1 Use of C++ in Symbian OS	p. 93
4.2 Non-standard C++ Characteristics	p. 94
4.3 Basic Data Types	p. 94
4.4 Symbian OS Classes	p. 95
4.5 Exception Error Handling and Cleanup	p. 101
4.6 Libraries	p. 115
4.7 Executable Files	p. 118
4.8 Naming Conventions	p. 119
4.9 Summary	p. 122
5 Symbian OS Build Environment	p. 123
5.1 SDK Directory Structure	p. 123
5.2 Build System Overview	p. 126
5.3 Basic Build Flow	p. 126
5.4 Build Targets	p. 131
5.5 What is a UID?	p. 135
5.6 The Emulator	p. 137
5.7 Building Shared Libraries	p. 141
5.8 DLL Interface Freezing	p. 144
5.9 Installing Applications on the Smartphone	p. 149
6 Strings, Buffers, and Data Collections	p. 161
6.1 Introducing the Text Console	p. 161
6.2 Descriptors for Strings and Binary Data	p. 165
6.3 The Descriptor Classes	p. 168
6.4 Descriptor Methods	p. 186
6.5 Converting Between 8-Bit and 16-Bit Descriptors	p. 198
6.6 Dynamic Buffers	p. 199
6.7 Templates in Symbian OS	p. 203
6.8 Arrays	p. 205
6.9 Other Data Collection Classes	p. 213
7 Platform Security and Symbian Signed	p. 217
7.1 What is Platform Security?	p. 217
7.2 What Platform Security is Not	p. 218
7.3 What this Means to a Developer	p. 219
7.4 Capabilities for API Security	p. 219
7.5 Application Signing in Symbian	p. 232
7.6 Getting Your Application Symbian Signed	p. 238
7.7 Developer Certificates	p. 244
8 Asynchronous Functions and Active Objects	p. 247
8.1 Asynchronous Functions	p. 247
8.2 Introducing Active Objects	p. 249
8.3 The Active Scheduler	p. 254
8.4 Active Scheduler Error Handling	p. 258
8.5 Active Object Priorities	p. 260
8.6 Canceling Outstanding Requests	p. 260
8.7 Removing an Active Object	p. 262
8.8 Active Object Example	p. 262
8.9 Active Object Issues	p. 269
8.10 Using Active Objects for Background Tasks	p. 271
9 Processes, Threads, and Synchronization	p. 277
9.1 Processes	p. 277
9.2 Using Threads on Symbian OS	p. 286
9.3 Sharing Memory Between Processes	p. 292
9.4 Memory Chunks	p. 293
9.5 Thread Synchronization	p. 297
10 Client-Server Framework	p. 303
10.1 Client-Server Overview	p. 304
10.2 A Look at the Client-Server Classes	p. 305
10.3 Client-Server Example	p. 306
11 Symbian OS TCP/IP Network Programming	p. 323
11.1 Introduction to TCP/IP	p. 324
11.2 Network Programming Using Sockets	p. 327
11.3 Symbian OS Socket API	p. 334
11.4 Example: Retrieving Weather Information	p. 345
11.5 Making a Network Connection	p. 356
12 GUI Application Programming	p. 359
12.1 Symbian OS User Interfaces	p. 360
12.2 Anatomy of a GUI Application	p. 365
12.3 Application Classes	p. 367
12.4 Resource Files	p. 377
12.5 Dialogs	p. 387
12.6 Symbian OS Controls	p. 405
12.7 View Architecture	p. 409
12.8 Application Icon and Caption	p. 409
References	p. 413
Index	p. 415

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Table of Contents