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Developing Software for Symbian OS: A Beginner's Guide to Creating Symbian OS v9 Smartphone Applications in C++

Name: Developing Software for Symbian OS: A Beginner's Guide to Creating Symbian OS v9 Smartphone Applications in C++
Author: Steve Babin
ISBN: 9780470725702

by Steve Babin

December 2007

Beginner to intermediate

460 pages

10h 12m

English

Wiley

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Copyright
Foreword
Foreword1
Biography
Author Acknowledgments
Symbian Press Acknowledgments
Symbian OS Code Conventions and Notations Used in the Book
CapitalizationPrefixesSuffixesUnderscoresCode Layout
1. Smartphones and Symbian OS
1.1. Notes on this New Edition1.2. Smartphone Concepts1.3. Smartphone Features1.3.1. How Smartphones Communicate1.3.1.1. Generations of mobile communication1.3.1.2. GSM1.3.1.3. CDMA1.3.1.4. CSD1.3.1.5. GPRS1.3.1.6. HSCSD1.3.1.7. EDGE1.3.1.8. UMTS1.3.1.9. HSDPA1.3.1.10. Wi-Fi1.3.2. Smartphone Messaging1.3.2.1. SMS1.3.2.2. MMS1.3.2.3. Email1.3.2.4. Fax1.3.3. Web Browsing1.3.3.1. WAP1.3.3.2. HTML1.3.4. Local Device Communication Features1.3.4.1. USB/Serial cable connection1.3.4.2. Infrared (IR)1.3.4.3. Bluetooth technology1.3.5. Location Based Services1.3.6. Mobile TV1.4. The Mobile OS1.4.1. What Makes a Good Smartphone OS?1.5. Symbian OS — A Little History1.5.1. Symbian OS Overview1.5.2. One OS, Various Flavors1.6. Symbian OS Smartphones1.6.1. Sony Ericsson P990i1.6.2. Nokia N951.6.3. Nokia 9300i Communicator1.7. Other Smartphone Operating Systems1.7.1. Windows Mobile1.7.2. BlackBerry1.7.3. Palm OS1.7.4. Linux
2. Symbian OS Quick Start
2.1. What Do You Need to Get Started?2.1.1. Build Tools Overview2.1.2. What is the Symbian OS Emulator?2.1.3. Getting the Symbian OS SDK2.1.4. Some Example SDKs2.1.5. Getting a Windows Development Package2.1.6. More on Carbide.c++2.1.7. Carbide.vs2.1.8. Is Windows the Only Development Operating System Supported?2.2. Firing Up the Development Tools2.2.1. Quick Test of the Emulator2.2.2. Quick Test Drive of Carbide.c++2.2.3. Build Some Examples2.2.3.1. Building a S60 example2.2.3.2. Building a UIQ example2.2.3.3. Building examples using Carbide.c++2.2.3.4. Library freezing2.3. Simple Example Application2.3.1. Application Components2.3.2. Overview of SimpleEx2.3.3. Header Files2.3.4. Resource File2.3.4.1. SimpleEx.hrh2.3.4.2. SimpleEx_reg.rss2.3.5. Source Files2.3.5.1. SimpleEx.cpp2.3.5.2. SimpleEx_App.cpp2.3.5.3. SimpleEx_Doc.cpp2.3.5.4. SimpleEx_UI.cpp2.3.5.5. SimpleEx_View.cpp2.3.6. Project Build Files2.3.6.1. Creating the SimpleEx.mmp project definition file2.3.6.2. Creating the bld.inf file2.4. Building and Executing on the Emulator2.5. A Carbide.c++ Project2.6. Building for the Smartphone
3. Symbian OS Architecture
3.1. Components in Symbian OS3.2. Multitasking in Symbian OS3.2.1. Threads3.2.2. Processes3.3. Shared Code: Libraries, DLLs, and Frameworks3.3.1. Static Interface Libraries3.3.2. Polymorphic DLLs3.3.3. ECOM Framework3.3.4. Static Data in DLLs3.4. Client–Server Model3.5. Memory in Symbian OS3.5.1. How Memory is Addressed3.5.2. Chunks in Symbian OS3.5.3. A Process in Memory3.5.4. Virtual Memory Map in Symbian OS3.5.5. Switching Processes — Detailed Example3.5.6. Protecting Processes from Each Other3.5.7. Performance in Switching Processes3.5.8. Fixed Processes3.6. The Kernel3.6.1. Symbian OS Kernels: EKA2 and EKA13.6.2. Kernel Architecture3.6.2.1. Abstracting the hardware3.6.2.2. User library3.6.2.3. Nanokernel3.6.3. Real-Time Processing in EKA23.6.3.1. Two-processor smartphone model3.6.3.2. One processor using the real-time nanokernel3.7. Active Objects and Asynchronous Functions3.8. GUI Architecture3.8.1. Customizing the UI3.8.2. Introducing the GUI Framework3.9. High-Performance Graphics3.10. The Communication Architecture3.11. Application Engines and Services3.12. Platform Security

4. Symbian OS Programming Basics
4.1. Use of C++ in Symbian OS4.2. Non-standard C++ Characteristics4.3. Basic Data Types4.4. Symbian OS Classes4.4.1. Data Type Classes: T classes4.4.2. Heap Classes: C classes4.4.3. Resource Classes: R classes4.4.4. Interface Classes: M classes4.5. Exception Error Handling and Cleanup4.5.1. Error Handling via Return Codes4.5.2. Leaves and TRAP Harnesses4.5.3. The TRAP and TRAPD Macros4.5.4. Leave Functions4.5.5. What Does the 'L' Suffix Mean?4.5.6. Cleanup Stack4.5.7. Object Types and the Cleanup Stack4.5.8. More Complex Cleanup4.5.9. Other Cleanup Functions4.5.9.1. CleanupClosePushL<class T>(T& obj)4.5.9.2. CleanupReleasePushL <class T>(T& obj)4.5.9.3. CleanupDeletePushL <class T>(T *obj)4.5.10. LC Functions4.5.11. Leaves when Creating Objects4.5.12. Leaves in Constructors4.5.13. Two-Phase Construction4.5.14. Panics4.5.15. Assert Macros4.6. Libraries4.6.1. Creating a Library4.6.2. Import Libraries4.6.3. RLibrary API4.6.4. Polymorphic DLLs4.6.5. Static Data in DLLs4.7. Executable Files4.8. Naming Conventions4.8.1.4.8.1.1. Class names4.8.1.2. Variable names4.8.1.3. Constants4.8.1.4. Enumerations4.8.1.5. Macros4.8.1.6. Function names4.9. Summary
5. Symbian OS Build Environment
5.1. SDK Directory Structure5.1.1. The epoC32 Directory5.1.1.1. epoc32\nclude5.1.1.2. epoc32\build5.1.1.3. epoc32\tools5.1.1.4. epoc32\release5.1.1.5. epoc32\data\z5.1.1.6. epoc32\winscw5.1.2. Example Directories5.1.3. Documentation Directories5.2. Build System Overview5.3. Basic Build Flow5.3.1. A Closer Look at abld.bat5.3.2. The MMP File5.4. Build Targets5.4.1. Emulator Build Targets5.4.2. Native Build Targets5.4.2.1. Application binary interface (ABI)5.4.2.2. Import libraries for native builds5.4.2.3. LIB and DSO files5.4.2.4. ARM and THUMB instruction set5.4.3. Pre-version 9 SDK Build Targets5.5. What is a UID?5.5.1. Getting a UID5.5.2. Vendor ID5.6. The Emulator5.6.1. Emulator Configuration5.6.1.1. Virtual drives5.6.1.2. Customizing virtual drives5.6.1.3. Memory capacity5.6.1.4. Other emulator configurations5.6.2. Emulator versus Device Functionality5.6.3. Debug Logging5.7. Building Shared Libraries5.7.1. MMP File for Shared Library5.7.2. Referencing Functions by Ordinal5.7.3. RLibrary API Class5.8. DLL Interface Freezing5.8.1.5.8.1.1. Why is DLL freezing important?5.8.1.2. Disabling interface freezing5.8.1.3. Enabling interface freezing5.8.1.4. What does the abld freeze command do?5.8.1.5. How is the DEF file used?5.8.1.6. First build of a DLL5.8.1.7. Sample DEF file5.8.1.8. Inserting a new function5.8.1.9. Interface violation5.8.1.10. Unfreezing a DLL5.9. Installing Applications on the Smartphone5.9.1. Where Do I Put My Files?5.9.2. Format of the PKG File5.9.2.1. Package file comments5.9.2.2. Package header5.9.2.3. Package options5.9.2.4. Package type5.9.2.5. Product target5.9.2.6. Specifying files to install5.9.3. Advanced PKG File Options5.9.3.1. Text notices5.9.3.2. Removing runtime-generated files5.9.3.3. Embedding SIS files5.9.3.4. Running executables on install or uninstall5.9.3.5. Requisite lines5.9.4. Language Support5.9.4.1. How does makesis use the language information?5.9.4.2. Language-dependent files5.9.4.3. Other language-dependent statements5.9.5. Signing Your SIS File
6. Strings, Buffers, and Data Collections
6.1. Introducing the Text Console6.2. Descriptors for Strings and Binary Data6.2.1. Strings versus Binary Data6.2.2. Preventing Memory Overruns6.2.3. Simple Descriptor Example6.3. The Descriptor Classes6.3.1.6.3.1.1. 16-Bit default for Unicode6.3.1.2. Descriptor class hierarchy6.3.2. Descriptor Base Classes6.3.3. String Literals6.3.4. Buffer Descriptors6.3.5. Pointer Descriptors6.3.6. Heap Descriptors6.3.6.1. HBufC descriptor6.3.6.2. Modifying HBufC data6.3.6.3. Creating a HBufC descriptor from another descriptor6.3.6.4. RBuf descriptor6.3.6.5. Using RBuf::CleanupClosePushL()6.3.6.6. Creating RBuf from another descriptor6.3.6.7. Taking ownership of preallocated buffers6.3.6.8. Multiple RBuf assignments6.3.6.9. Resizing buffers6.4. Descriptor Methods6.4.1. Non-modifying Methods6.4.1.1. Comparing descriptor data6.4.1.2. Finding substrings within a descriptor6.4.1.3. Extracting substrings from descriptors6.4.2. Methods that Write Descriptor Data6.4.2.1. Copying data to a descriptor6.4.2.2. Appending data to a descriptor6.4.2.3. Formatting descriptor data6.4.2.4. Changing the case of a descriptor string6.4.2.5. Deleting data from a descriptor6.4.2.6. Converting to NULL-terminated strings6.4.2.7. Setting the descriptor size6.4.3. Using a Descriptor as an Array6.5. Converting Between 8-Bit and 16-Bit Descriptors6.6. Dynamic Buffers6.6.1. When Should I Use Dynamic Buffers?6.6.2. Flat and Segmented Buffers6.6.3. Dynamic Buffer Methods6.6.3.1. Reading and writing a dynamic buffer6.6.3.2. Inserting and deleting data6.6.3.3. Manually changing the size of a dynamic buffer6.6.3.4. Getting a pointer to an area in a dynamic buffer6.7. Templates in Symbian OS6.8. Arrays6.8.1. Fixed Arrays6.8.2. Descriptor Arrays6.8.3. Dynamic Arrays6.8.3.1. RArray6.8.3.2. Inserting and appending array data6.8.3.3. Finding data in an array6.8.3.4. Sorting an array6.8.3.5. Miscellaneous array functions6.8.3.6. An example using RArray6.8.3.7. RPointerArray6.9. Other Data Collection Classes6.9.1. Linked Lists6.9.2. Circular Buffers
7. Platform Security and Symbian Signed
7.1. What is Platform Security?7.2. What Platform Security is Not7.3. What this Means to a Developer7.4. Capabilities for API Security7.4.1. Basic Capabilities7.4.1.1. LocalServices7.4.1.2. Location7.4.1.3. NetworkServices7.4.1.4. ReadUserData7.4.1.5. WriteUserData7.4.1.6. UserEnvironment7.4.1.7. User granting basic capabilities7.4.1.8. Symbian Signing and basic capabilities7.4.2. Extended Capabilities7.4.2.1. PowerMgmt7.4.2.2. ProtServ7.4.2.3. ReadDeviceData7.4.2.4. WriteDeviceData7.4.2.5. SurroundingsDD7.4.2.6. SwEvent7.4.2.7. TrustedUI7.4.3. Phone Manufacturer Capabilities7.4.3.1. AllFiles7.4.3.2. CommDD7.4.3.3. DiskAdmin7.4.3.4. MultiMediaDD7.4.3.5. NetworkControl7.4.3.6. Drm7.4.3.7. Tcb7.4.4. How Do You Know Which Capabilities You Need?7.4.5. The Emulator and Platform Security7.4.5.1. PlatSecEnforcement7.4.5.2. PlatSecDisableCaps7.4.5.3. PlatSecDiagnostics7.4.6. Defining Capabilities For Your Project7.4.7. Capabilities in DLLs7.4.8. Data Caging7.4.8.1. \sys directory7.4.8.2. \resource directory7.4.8.3. \private directory7.5. Application Signing in Symbian7.5.1. Digital Signing Overview7.5.2. Application Signing7.5.2.1. Unsigned7.5.2.2. Self-signing7.5.2.3. Trusted and untrusted certificates7.5.2.4. Symbian Signed7.5.2.5. Installation errors related to signing7.5.2.6. UIDs, SIDs, and application signing7.6. Getting Your Application Symbian Signed7.6.1. Test Criteria7.6.2. Symbian Signed Process Options7.6.2.1. Freeware signing7.6.2.2. Publisher certifier signing7.6.3. Test House Certification7.6.3.1. Getting a Publisher ID7.6.3.2. Sign your application with the Publisher ID7.6.3.3. Submit your application to Symbian Signed7.6.3.4. Support the test house as needed7.6.3.5. Receiving your Symbian Signed application7.6.3.6. If you require phone manufacturer capabilities7.6.4. Self-Certification7.7. Developer Certificates7.7.1. What is a Developer Certificate?7.7.1.1. Developer certificate7.7.1.2. Phone manufacturer certificate7.7.2. How Do I Get a Developer Certificate?7.7.2.1. Download the DevCertRequest tool7.7.2.2. Create the CSR request file using DevCertRequest7.7.2.3. Upload the request file7.7.2.4. Download the certificate7.7.3. Signing Using the Developer Certificate
8. Asynchronous Functions and Active Objects
8.1. Asynchronous Functions8.2. Introducing Active Objects8.2.1. The Non-Pre-Emptive Multitasking Model8.2.2. Creating an Active Object Class8.2.2.1. Constructing an active object8.2.2.2. Adding an active object to the active scheduler8.2.2.3. Implementing requestor functions8.2.2.4. Implementing RunL()8.2.2.5. Implementing a DoCancel() function8.2.2.6. Overriding the RunError() method8.3. The Active Scheduler8.3.1. Installing and Starting an Active Scheduler8.3.2. Background Information8.3.3. CActiveScheduler Methods8.3.4. Customizing the Active Scheduler8.4. Active Scheduler Error Handling8.5. Active Object Priorities8.6. Canceling Outstanding Requests8.7. Removing an Active Object8.8. Active Object Example8.8.1. CCountdown Active Object8.8.2. Modifications to SimpleEx8.9. Active Object Issues8.9.1. Do Not Block in an Active Object8.9.2. Avoid Stray-Signal Panics8.9.3. Have One Outstanding Event at a Time8.10. Using Active Objects for Background Tasks8.10.1. CTimer
9. Processes, Threads, and Synchronization
9.1. Processes9.1.1. An Example Process9.1.2. Launching a Process9.1.3. Setting and Retrieving Process Arguments9.1.4. Communicating with Other Processes9.1.5. Process Names9.1.6. Querying the Phone's Running Processes9.1.7. Process Priority9.1.8. Terminating a Process9.1.9. Checking the Status of a Process9.1.10. Signaling when a Process Ends9.1.11. Other Symbian OS Process Facts9.2. Using Threads on Symbian OS9.2.1. Creating a Thread9.2.2. Opening an Existing Thread9.2.3. Thread Priorities9.2.4. Terminating a Thread9.2.5. Waiting for a Thread to End9.3. Sharing Memory Between Processes9.4. Memory Chunks9.4.1. Local Memory Chunks9.5. Thread Synchronization9.5.1. Using Semaphores9.5.2. Creating and Opening Semaphores9.5.3. The Use of Semaphores in Symbian OS9.5.4. Mutexes9.5.5. Critical Sections9.5.6. Using Rendezvous()
10. Client–Server Framework
10.1. Client–Server Overview10.2. A Look at the Client–Server Classes10.3. Client–Server Example10.3.1. Client-Side Class10.3.1.1. Connecting to the server10.3.1.2. Invoking the server's services10.3.2. Server Implementation10.3.2.1. Processing messages from the client10.3.2.2. Transferring data between the client and server10.3.3. Example Use of TextBuffSrv10.3.4. Shutting Down the Server
11. Symbian OS TCP/IP Network Programming
11.1. Introduction to TCP/IP11.1.1. IP Addresses and Ports11.1.2. Client– Server Network Model11.1.3. Well-Known Server-Side Port Addresses11.1.4. Client-Side Port Addresses11.2. Network Programming Using Sockets11.2.1. Client–Server Socket Flow11.2.1.1. Client-side code11.2.1.2. Server-side code11.2.2. BSD C Socket API11.2.3. BSD C API Socket Client Example11.2.3.1. Creating the socket11.2.3.2. Converting domain names to IP addresses11.2.3.3. Connecting the socket11.2.3.4. Sending data11.2.3.5. Receiving data11.2.3.6. Cleaning up the connection11.3. Symbian OS Socket API11.3.1. Socket API Classes11.3.2. HTTP Example Using Symbian OS Socket API11.3.2.1. Connecting to the socket server11.3.2.2. Creating the socket11.3.2.3. Setting the destination address11.3.2.4. Connection to the remote server11.3.2.5. Sending a packet11.3.2.6. Receiving packets11.3.2.7. Closing the socket and socket server11.3.3. Network Programming Using Active Objects11.4. Example: Retrieving Weather Information11.4.1. wunderground.com11.4.2. Adding this Code to SimpleEx11.5. Making a Network Connection11.5.1. Establishing a Connection for a Program
12. GUI Application Programming
12.1. Symbian OS User Interfaces12.1.1. UIQ 3 Phones12.1.1.1. User input12.1.1.2. UIQ paper metaphor12.1.1.3. UIQ dialogs12.1.2. S60 Phones12.1.2.1. User input12.1.2.2. S60 dialogs12.2. Anatomy of a GUI Application12.3. Application Classes12.3.1. E32Main() Entrypoint and NewApplication()12.3.2. Examining the GUI Application Classes12.3.2.1. The application class12.3.2.2. The document class12.3.2.3. The application UI class12.3.2.4. The application view class12.4. Resource Files12.4.1. Resource File Format12.4.2. SimpleEx's Resource File12.4.2.1. UIQ SimpleEx resource12.4.2.2. S60 SimpleEx resource12.4.3. Application Registration Resource File12.4.4. Supporting Multiple Languages12.4.5. Reading Resource Strings From Code12.5. Dialogs12.5.1. Creating a Basic UIQ Dialog12.5.1.1. Launching the dialog12.5.2. Creating a Basic S60 Dialog12.5.3. Using Stock Dialogs12.5.3.1. Dialogs common to all UI platforms12.5.3.2. UIQ stock dialogs12.5.3.3. S60 predefined dialogs12.5.3.4. Confirmation query dialog12.5.3.5. Text query12.6. Symbian OS Controls12.6.1. Types of Control12.6.1.1. Edit controls12.6.1.2. List boxes12.6.1.3. Progress bars12.6.1.4. Option buttons12.6.1.5. Check boxes12.6.1.6. Choice list12.6.1.7. Combo box12.7. View Architecture12.8. Application Icon and Caption12.8.1. Creating the Icon Bitmaps12.8.2. Creating the Localized Application Information Resource12.8.3. Building Information File and Bitmaps
References
Online References

Overview

Many problems encountered by engineers developing code for specialized Symbian subsystems boil down to a lack of understanding of the core Symbian programming concepts. Developing Software for Symbian OS remedies this problem as it provides a comprehensive coverage of all the key concepts. Numerous examples and descriptions are also included, which focus on the concepts the author has seen developers struggle with the most. The book covers development ranging from low-level system programming to end user GUI applications. It also covers the development and packaging tools, as well as providing some detailed reference and examples for key APIs. The new edition includes a completely new chapter on platform security.

The overall goal of the book is to provide introductory coverage of Symbian OS v9 and help developers with little or no knowledge of Symbian OS to develop as quickly as possible. There are few people with long Symbian development experience compared to demand, due to the rapid growth of Symbian in recent years, and developing software for new generation wireless devices requires knowledge and experience of OS concepts. This book will use many comparisons between Symbian OS and other OSes to help in that transition.

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

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