How to get started with Symbian (S60 plattorm)

Question

So at my new job one of the platforms we use is S60 (Nokia phones, Symbian OS) and I am getting curious about it, as well feeling the need to help the team a bit from time to time (I actually work on the server side of things for this software).

So any good pointers/recommendations/tutorials and shared experiece that might put me in the right direction ?

Thanks

Answer 1

These days, I think it is nearly impossible to begin native (meaning C++) Symbian software development. Nokia, Sony and Motorola don't support their old Symbian phones any more. Most official URLs are broken. Simply obtaining a certificate needed to sign and deploy applications would be a challenge.

However, you should still be able to use JavaME to develop software that will run on the remaining Symbian installed base, whatever its current size may be.

Shameless plug: http://www.quickrecipesonsymbianos.com was the last best book to be written specifically for developers entering the Symbian OS C++ ecosystem.

Answer 2

I haven't coded for that platform in a couple of years. However the SDK is available at http://www.newlc.com/Nokia-Series-60-SDK.html

There si a nokia forum and knowledge base at http://wiki.forum.nokia.com/index.php/KnowledgeBase with code snippets at http://wiki.forum.nokia.com/index.php/Portal:KB_Code_Snippets

Depending at the development platform there are other SDK kits and instuctions

Answer 3

I would heavily recommend steering away from Symbian. It's an absolute nightmare to work with once you start needing multiple screens.

My team is currently converting a legacy Symbian app to the newer Qt on OpenC for S60. And it's an absolute dream. Native look but with "real" c++. You know, things like guaranteed construction etc... etc...

http://www.qtsoftware.com/developer/technical-preview-qt-for-s60

Answer 4

If you are working with Nokia phones, I would recommend Forum Nokia They have lots of documentation, examples, tools, a discussion forum, a wiki

Answer 5

http://descriptors.blogspot.com/

Symbian OS string classes. (Scroll down the page to get to the details)

Answer 6

Check out the development related papers at http://developer.symbian.com/main/documentation/symbian_cpp/symbian_cpp/index.jsp#rclass. They cover all aspects of Symbian specific development, including some that are particularly confusing for beginners like the ActiveScheduler/Active Object model and string descriptors.