Mobile Python: Rapid Prototyping of Applications on the Mobile Platform

Chapter 4. Application Building and SMS Inbox

Python for S60 gives you easy access to the framework for building user interfaces on the S60 platform. Thanks to PyS60's simple way of handling this, you learn how to build a real application that includes a title bar, a menu and some dialogs in around 15 lines of code!

We start by describing how functions are defined in Python. We build an application in Section 4.2, which also presents an overview of the structure of a typical S60 application. In addition, this section introduces one of the most important concepts in PyS60, callback functions, which let you bind arbitrary actions to various events. This concept comes in useful when we show you how to add menus to your application.

You may already be eager to start making real applications. In Section 4.3, we show how to handle strings. This is put to good use right away when we explain how to access the SMS inbox in Section 4.4. For example, we build fully functional applications which let you search and sort your SMS messages easily. Finally, in Section 4.5, we present an SMS game server that lets you and your friends play the game of Hangman using text messages.