Fundamentals of Symbian C++

Introduction to Symbian OS
Introduction Part 1a

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 Introduction

Introduction

This lecture serves as general introduction to the course

•  The background of Symbian the company
•  Symbian OS C++ dialect
•  The architecture of Symbian OS
•  What is covered in the course
•  Resources

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Background

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Before Symbian - Psion

Psion was established in 1980

•  To develop games and software for the Z80-based Sinclair ZX81 and ZX
Spectrum

Products included
•  Flight simulator, “Horace Goes Skiing”, Psion Chess, Space Raiders and
other games.
•  Psion Chess for the ZX81 took 1K memory
•  Office suite for the Sinclair QL (1983)

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Before Symbian - Psion

Mid ‘80s - Hardware

•  The 6301 based 8-bit Organiser (1984) - 14cm x 9cm, 2K RAM, 4K ROM,
8K datapak, 6 months battery life!
•  Organiser II (1986) - the world’s first proper PDA
•  Organiser II variants were created: up to 64K memory, 4 line screen
resolution, add-on hardware
•  Half a million sold over a decade

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Before Symbian - Psion

1989 - MC400 laptop

•  16-bit “EPOC” Operating System - multi tasking, GUI, built-in apps
•  Exceptional power management, screen technology

1991 - Series 3, 1993 - Series 3a, 1996 Series 3c/Siena, Series 3mx
•  Clam shell organisers, built in apps, OPL, up to 2MB memory
•  Built on EPOC
•  Over 1.5 million units sold

1997 - Series 5
•  32 bit OS “EPOC32” (EPOC -> EPOC16 -> SIBO)
•  Slide out QWERTY keyboard, touch screen, 4MB/8MB
•  Implemented using C++

http://3lib.ukonline.co.uk/historyofpsion.htm

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Symbian History

1998 - Symbian was formed by Psion, Nokia, Ericsson and Motorola

•  Matsushita joined in 1999, Sony Ericsson & Siemens in 2002, Samsung in 2003
•  Motorola share in Symbian were sold back in 2003
•  Psion shares were sold back in 2004
•  EPOC32 was later renamed to Symbian OS

First Symbian OS phone was released in 2000 (Ericsson R380)

•  Nokia 9210 Communicator released in 2001 - this was the first “open” phone.

2.5G phones followed in early 2002

•  Nokia 7650

3G phones in December 2002

•  3G FOMA F2051 from Fujitsu

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Symbian History

Other notable milestones

•  EKA2 (EPOC Kernel Architecture 2) was announced in 2004
•  Secure Platform introduced in Symbian OS v9 in 2005
•  Symbian OS opens to non-mobile developer community through P.I.P.S in 2007
P.I.P.S stands for “P.I.P.S Is POSIX on Symbian OS” - a POSIX compliant API

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Symbian Ownership

As of the Summer 2007 Symbian shareholders:

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Some Stats

As of 31 March 2007:
•  A growing company - 15.9m Symbian smartphones shipped by licensees in
Q1 2007, a 35.9% increase on Q1 2006 (Q1 2006 - 11.7m)
•  126 million cumulative Symbian smartphone unit shipments
•  20 million cumulative Symbian smartphone unit shipments milestone
reached in Japan since first 3G Symbian model shipped in 2003 all models
shipped since have been 3G
•  The demand for Symbian OS C++ developers outstrips the supply!
•  More stats at http://www.symbian.com/about/fastfacts/fastfacts.html

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Symbian OS C++

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Symbian OS C++

Symbian OS C++ is referred to as “the C++ domain specific dialect and

accompanying frameworks that is used to build Symbian OS and the software that
runs on it”

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Evolution of Symbian C++

Symbian OS design and C++ considerations were driven by factors such as:
•  Power sources (battery lifetimes)
•  User responsiveness
•  “Always on” nature of mobile devices
•  Limited resources (RAM, ROM)
•  Re-use and customization through frameworks.
•  Reliable data storage
•  Openness

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Evolution of Symbian C++

C++ for Symbian OS was also influenced by the point in time at which the OS
was developed:
•  In 1994 - C++ was still evolving
•  It had not yet been standardized

This affected the take-up of some of its later features:

•  Templates
•  Exceptions
•  Namespaces
•  New casts
•  Boolean types
•  Some were not supported by the tool chain or were immature.

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Evolution of Symbian C++

Idioms were invented to fix omissions e.g.

•  Leaves
•  The cleanup stack
•  Descriptors

Certain patterns of use were not adopted as C++ was explicitly intended as a
general purpose systems language
•  It was not optimized for small, low memory and low power devices

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Common Paradigms

Common Symbian OS paradigms

•  Multithreading and pre-emptive multitasking
•  Lightweight micro-kernel OS design
•  Client-Server, session based IPC (among other mechanisms)
•  Asynchronous services, Active Objects
•  Cleanup Stack, Leaves, Traps for exception handling
•  Re-usable frameworks for apps, middleware, GUIs
•  Descriptors
•  Naming Conventions

We’ll discuss these, and more, in the course

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Other Language Support

Symbian OS also has support for

•  Java
•  Flash Lite
•  Runtimes such as Python, Ruby, Visual Basic
•  OPL (until v9)
Ease of development

Web
Flash
Python Runtimes
Managed C++ Java
Flash
Java Lite Python
code Ruby

P.I.P.S
. Symbian OS

Symbian
Native code C++
Hardware

Functionality and performance

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Architecture

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Symbian OS Architecture
Symbian OS separates the UI from the engines and services allowing
licensees (like Nokia) to develop their own UIs for the phones

Licensee UI Platform

UI Framework
Symbian OS
Application Services

OS Services

Kernel & H/W Interface

Licensee H/W Services

Hardware

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Symbian OS Architecture
In a little more detail

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Symbian OS Architecture
Okay a little too much detail!

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Symbian OS Architecture

The Symbian System Model shown on the previous slide is available here
•  http://developer.symbian.com/main/oslibrary/sys_models/index.jsp

Or refer to “The Symbian OS Architecture Sourcebook”

•  http://developer.symbian.com/main/learning/press/

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UI Platform

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UI Platform

Various UI platforms run on top of Symbian OS:

•  S60 from Nokia
•  UIQ from UIQ Technology (part of Sony Ericsson)
•  NTT DoCoMo’s MOAP user interface for the FOMA™ 3G network in Japan

The platforms provide

•  The GUI and extend the applications and middleware provided by Symbian

Each platform has a different look and feel

•  Designed to support the characteristics of the handsets which use it

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UI and Engine Separation

Broadly speaking the Licensee builds on the UI

Licensee UI
Framework
•  Provided by Symbian OS
•  We will touch on some of UI programming in the
examples App UI
UI Framework & Views
•  But the focus of this course is on core Symbian
idioms and concepts
Application
Engine

Engine
Support

Base

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Examples of UI Platforms’ Look and Feel

Nokia S60

Sony Ericsson UIQ

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Curriculum

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Prerequisites

Prerequisites for this course are:

•  C++ programming
•  Object Oriented Design basics

Recommend at least some background knowledge in:

•  Operating Systems theory
•  Basic communication protocols

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Curriculum

This course is based on the Symbian Academy Fundamentals of Symbian OS

curriculum
•  The professional qualification for Symbian OS developers is the based on
this curriculum
•  The Accredited Symbian Developer
•  All Symbian in-house staff are expected to have this qualification
•  The recommended book for this course is the “The Accredited Symbian
Developer Primer: Fundamentals of Symbian OS” published by Symbian
Press, 2006.

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Training Exercises

Available training types:

Test your knowledge

Answer different types of questions, e.g. find errors in
code or explain concepts.

Extend pre-written source code

A small framework has been marked with several “edit”-
positions, which explain the individual tasks.

More freedom, more explanations

Instead of many small pre-defined tasks, tutorials contain
more detailed explanations that help you finish the
module.

The real challenge

At the end of the course, you should do a Symbian OS
project, which will help you to repeat many of the basics
as well as dive into more advanced topics.

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Curriculum Core Subjects

Tool Chain
Symbian OS Types & Declarations
Leaves and the Cleanup Stack
Two-Phase Construction and Object Destruction
Descriptors
Dynamic Arrays
Active Objects
System Structure
Client Server
File Server, Store & Streams
Sockets
Platform Security
Binary Compatibility

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Tool Chain

Introduces the Symbian OS tool chain and development environment

•  Build Tools
•  Hardware Builds
•  Installing an Application to Phone Hardware
•  The Symbian OS Emulator

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Symbian OS Types & Declarations

Examines the fundamental Symbian OS types, naming conventions and

coding style, and the usage paradigms of each basic type of Symbian OS
class
•  T Classes
•  C Classes
•  R Classes
•  M Classes
•  Static Classes
•  Factors to Consider when Creating a Symbian OS Class
•  Why Is the Symbian OS Naming Convention Important?

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Symbian OS Types & Declarations

Exercise
The goal of the first exercise is to get to know the basic data types of Symbian
OS as well as the console mode of the Symbian OS emulator.

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Leaves and the Cleanup Stack

Examines the Cleanup Stack and the difference between standard C++ and
Symbian OS in handling leaks and exceptions
•  Leaves: Lightweight Exceptions for Symbian OS
•  How to Work with Leaves
•  Comparing Leaves and Panics
•  What Is a TRAP?
•  The Cleanup Stack
•  Detecting Memory Leaks

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Leaves and the Cleanup Stack

Exercise
This module provides a hands-on experience with leaves and various ways on
how the Cleanup Stack can help with handling risky memory situations.

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Two-Phase Construction and Object Destruction

Examines 2-phase construction in Symbian OS, safely creating objects and

avoiding memory leaks
•  Two-Phase Construction
•  Object Destruction

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Two-Phase Construction and Object Destruction

Exercise
In this module, you will see how two-phase construction works in Symbian OS
and what can happen if you do not implement it correctly.

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Descriptors

Examines the motivation for using descriptors, how to use buffer and
pointer descriptors and when to use package descriptor classes
•  Features of Symbian OS Descriptors
•  The Symbian OS Descriptor Classes
•  The Inheritance Hierarchy of the Descriptor Classes
•  Using the Descriptor APIs
•  Descriptors as Function Parameters
•  Correct Use of the Dynamic Descriptor Classes
•  Common Inefficiencies in Descriptor Usage
•  Literal Descriptors
•  Descriptor Conversion

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Descriptors

Exercise
The two parts of this module cover working with descriptors. Through various
examples, you learn their individual differences as well as a few of the available
manipulation functions.

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Dynamic Arrays

Examines the use of Symbian OS dynamic arrays in preference to standard C

++ arrays, and the choice of dynamic array class depending on desired usage
and characteristics of array elements
•  Dynamic Arrays in Symbian OS
•  RArray, RPointerArray or CArrayX?
•  Array Granularities
•  Array Sorting and Searching
•  TFixedArray

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Dynamic Arrays

Exercise
In this module, you will write a class that represents a student with a name and
several other details. Dynamic arrays will be used to store several students as
well as to sort or find elements.

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Active Objects

Examines why Active Objects are preferred over Threads and under what
conditions, and the use and implementation of simple Active Objects and their
relation to the Active Scheduler
•  Event-Driven Multitasking on Symbian OS
•  Class CActive
•  The Active Scheduler
•  Canceling an Outstanding Request
•  Background Tasks
•  Common Problems

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Active Objects

Exercise
To make the subject of active objects more interesting, this exercise is based on
a small console-based action game. You will have to write two active objects that
provide the game engine with input.

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System Structure

Examines the underlying structure of the Symbian OS, including threads,

processes, DLLs and memory management
•  DLLs in Symbian OS
•  Writable Static Data
•  Executables in ROM and RAM
•  Threads and Processes
•  Inter-Process Communication (IPC)
•  Recognizers
•  Panics and Assertions

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Client–Server Framework

Examines the use cases of the Client / Server model within a handset, system
components utilizing the model and a classic Server implementation
•  The Client–Server Pattern
•  Fundamentals of the Symbian OS Client–Server Framework
•  Symbian OS Client–Server Classes
•  Client–Server Data Transfer
•  Impact of the Client–Server Framework

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File Server and Streams

Examines the use of files, stores and streams for storing persistent and
temporary data
•  The Symbian OS File System
•  Streams and Stores

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Client–Server Framework
File Server and Streams

Exercise
You will create a fully working audio player application for mp3/aac/...-files based
on the S60 platform. To make this work, client server communication is
demonstrated through the use of the multimedia framework as well as the file
server.

or

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Sockets

Examines the communication services and asynchronous communication

events with the socket server architecture
•  Introducing Sockets
•  The Symbian OS Sockets Architecture
•  Using Symbian OS Sockets

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Sockets

Exercise
Instead of some artificial data transfer over sockets, this example requires you to
complete the sockets-part of a fully functional multiplayer game client. The
server is a desktop application and allows many (Symbian OS) clients to connect
and play a game of good old Asteroids together – or rather against each other.

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Platform Security

Examines the three core concepts of Platform Security: The Trust Model,
Capabilities and Data Caging. Introduces the designing, developing and
distributing software on Symbian OS v9
•  The Trust Model
•  Capability Model
•  Data Caging
•  Secure Identifier, Vendor Identifier and Unique Identifier
•  Application Design for a Secure Platform
•  Releasing a Secure Application on Symbian OS v9
•  The Native Software Installer

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Compatibility

Examines binary and source compatibility along with the programming and
design techniques which are required to maintain compatibility in code
modules and APIs
•  Levels of Compatibility
•  Preventing Compatibility Breaks — What Cannot Be Changed?
•  What Can Be Changed Without Breaking Compatibility?
•  Best Practice — Designing to Ensure Future Compatibility

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Project

Several project ideas in various difficulty levels are provided with the course
materials. For most projects, the recommended team size is two. To give you
enough time, the topics should be distributed to the groups as soon as possible.

To finish the projects, you will have to show that you understood the basic
principles of Symbian OS. Usually, it is also required to do some research on one
of the many APIs offered by Symbian OS, S60 or UIQ.

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Resources

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Recommended Reading

C++ reference books

•  Stroustrup, B. (2000) The C++ Programming Language (Special 3rd
Edition), Addison-Wesley Professional
•  Meyers, S. (2005) Effective C++: 55 specific ways to improve your
programs and designs, 3rd Edition, Addison Wesley

Symbian books
•  Stichbury, J & Jacobs, M. (2006) The Accredited Symbian Developer
Primer, John Wiley & Sons
•  Jipping, M. (2007) Smartphone Operating System Concepts with Symbian
OS, John Wiley & Sons
•  Harrison, R. & Shackman M. (2007) Symbian OS C++ for Mobile Phones
Volume 3, John Wiley & Sons
•  Heath, C. (2006) Symbian OS Platform Security: Software development
using the Symbian OS security architecture, John Wiley & Sons
•  Morris, B. (2006) The Symbian OS Architecture Sourcebook: Design and
evolution of a mobile phone OS, John Wiley & Sons

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Symbian Press Titles

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Regional Books

Symbian Press books translated into Chinese (PT Press)

•  http://www.ptpress.com.cn/

Symbian Press books in India

•  http://www.wileyindia.com/

Symbian Press books in Japanese

•  http://developer.symbian.com/main/learning/press/translated/japanese.jsp

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Useful Links

Symbian Developer Network

•  http://developer.symbian.com

Symbian Academy
•  http://developer.symbian.com/main/academy/

Developer Tools and SDKs

•  http://developer.symbian.com/main/tools/

Forum Nokia for Universities

•  http://forum.nokia.com/main/forum_nokia_for_universities/index.html

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Essentials Booklets from Symbian Press

Free booklets (available for download as pdf)

•  http://developer.symbian.com/main/learning/press/essential/
booklets_using.jsp

•  Also available in translation

http://developer.symbian.com/main/learning/press/essential/
booklets_translated.jsp

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Good Luck and Have Fun!

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