Symbian OS Explained: Effective C++ Programming for Smartphones (Symbian Press) [Paperback]

Jo Stichbury (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0470021306 | ISBN-13: 978-0470021309 | Publication Date: January 4, 2005 | Edition: 1

This book explains the key features of Symbian OS and will help you to write effective C++ code. It focuses on aspects of good C++ style that apply particularly to Symbian OS.

21 items are used to target particular aspects of the operating system and provide a simple and straightforward exploration of coding fundamentals. Using example code and descriptions of best practice to deconstruct Symbian OS, the items guide you to what you should and should not do (and why), pointing out commonly-made mistakes along the way.

Technologies covered include:

• client-server architecture
• descriptors and dynamic containers
• active objects, threads and processes
• leaves, cleanup stack and 2-phase construction
• thin templates, good API design, memory optimization, debug and test macros
• the ECOM plug-in framework

Symbian OS Explained can be read cover-to-cover or dipped into as a reference that will improve your code style when programming with Symbian OS.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

This book covers the fundamental aspects of C++ on Symbian OS, using simple and straightforward explanations to help you write effective code for Symbian OS smartphones.

Key technologies covered include:

• client-server architecture
• descriptors and dynamic containers
• active objects, threads and processes
• leaves, cleanup stack and 2-phase construction
• thin templates, good API design, memory optimization, debug and test macros
• the ECOM plug-in framework

Using example code and descriptions of best practice to deconstruct Symbian OS, each section guides you to what you should and should not do, giving cleasr explanations and pointing out commonly-made mistakes along the way.

Symbian OS Explained can be read cover-to-cover or dipped into as a reference that will improve your code style when programming with Symbian OS.

Source code is available from www.symbian.com/books

Symbian OS Explained is part of the Symbian Press series. Written by Symbian OS software engineers, titles in the series are replete with expert knowledge that will allow the reader to develop better software, faster.

About the Author

Jo Stichbury was educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge, where she held the Stothert Bye-Fellowship. She has an MA in Natural Sciences (Chemistry) and a PhD in the chemistry of organometallic Molybdenum complexes. After a brief spell in postdoctoral research at Imperial College, she joined Psion Software in 1997, when Symbian OS was still known fondly as EPOC32. She has worked with the operating system ever since, within the Vase, Connectivity and Security teams of Symbian, and also for Advansys, Sony Ericsson and Nokia.

As the contents of this book will reveal, Jo has a somewhat unhealthy interest in the Clangers and Greek mythology. She currently lives in Vancouver with her partner and two cats.

Product Details

• Paperback: 392 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (January 4, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470021306
• ISBN-13: 978-0470021309
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 0.9 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,903,685 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some clarification from the author, April 23, 2006

By 

J. C. Stichbury (Vancouver) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Symbian OS Explained: Effective C++ Programming for Smartphones (Symbian Press) (Paperback)

As the author of Symbian OS Explained, I'd like to clarify the purpose of the book and explain the rationale behind the example code.

Firstly, yes the book is intended to introduce the concepts of Symbian OS, to an audience who are familiar with the C++ programming language. But it's not an introductory book which walks you through your first "hello world" application, shows you how to use the tools or how to install the SDK. Instead it zooms in on the characteristics of the platform and explains them in detail. It's intended to give an intimate understanding so anyone can use Symbian OS to write code efficiently and effectively. The style of the book is deliberately light-weight so as not to be intimidating to a beginner whilst remaining entertaining and informative to those more experienced. I tried to base it on Scott Meyers "Effective C++" but don't claim to have in any way emulated that magnificent work.

The book deliberately doesn't have a single example which runs through the entire book. I chose to use code (or pseudo-code) snippets that were as short as possible to illustrate a point, rather than introduce accidental complexity by having to explain extraneous points about unrelated code along the way. I think most of the code examples are short and to the point - maybe they just appear longer at first because a new reader has to put in the effort to understand them. I defend the examples as being only as long as necessary to be useful. And, believe me, my copy editor and type setter wouldn't have let me get away with more code than was necessary!

As for what the examples are about, again, that's deliberate. They're not real-world because I wanted to abstract any complexity that arises from mapping a technology to a programming language.

One of the reviewers here quotes the API methods I used for a client-server example. In Symbian OS, a server performs work on its behalf so I chose that it offer clients the 12 Labours of Hercules. The client calls the method appropriate to the Labour they want performed. Sure, it's a step to remember your Greek mythology, but the example is sound. I'm a client, I want a particular task done, I use Hercules to do it. It's hardly a complex example and, if the number of downloads of the example code I've had is anything to go by, has helped a number of Symbian OS developers work through what is recognised to be one of the most difficult programming paradigms for the platform.

Don't take my word for it though, check out the sample chapter on the Symbian web site!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice Reference, August 30, 2005

By 

Jay Busari (Bangkok, Thailand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Symbian OS Explained: Effective C++ Programming for Smartphones (Symbian Press) (Paperback)

This book is great as a reference to help understand various concepts, code constructs and conventions.
Concise, detailed explanations...also not many screendumps which makes it more compact.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Symbian makes sense..., February 11, 2005

By 

Symbian Press "Freddie Gjertsen" (London, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Symbian OS Explained: Effective C++ Programming for Smartphones (Symbian Press) (Paperback)

This book does actually explain Symbian OS and its 'special' C++! Not every last detail, of course, but so many of the things that I never completely understood have become clear. There's loads of good stuff on active objects, client-server and cleanup.