symbian os explained - effective c++ programming for smartphones (2005)

[...]... understand the essential Symbian OS concepts About this Book Developing good C++ code on Symbian OS requires a clear understanding of the underlying concepts and the nature of the operating system This book explains the key features of Symbian OS and shows how you can use this knowledge most effectively It also focuses on some aspects of good C++ style that particularly apply to Symbian OS With understanding... the fundamental types Symbian OS provides a set of typedefs of the built-in types, 2 CLASS NAME CONVENTIONS ON SYMBIAN OS which are guaranteed to be compiler-independent; these should always be used instead of the native types • TIntX and TUintX (for X = 8, 16 and 32) for 8-, 1 6- and 32-bit signed and unsigned integers respectively Unless you have a good reason to do so, such as for size optimization... should use the non-specific TInt or TUint types, which correspond to signed and unsigned 32-bit integers, respectively • TInt64 Releases of Symbian OS prior to v8.0 had no built-in ARM support for 64-bit arithmetic, so the TInt64 class implemented a 64-bit integer as two 32-bit values On Symbian OS v8.0, TInt64 and TUInt64 are typedef’d to long long and use the available native 64-bit support • TReal32... signature as follows on Symbian OS: void TypicalFunction(TAny* aPointerParameter); This is the one exception to the rule of replacing a native type with a Symbian OS typedef; it occurs because void is effectively compiler-independent when referring to ”nothing” • TBool should be used for boolean types For historical reasons TBool is equivalent to int and you should use the Symbian OS typedef’d values of... but, for that alone, they deserve inclusion here xxiv AUTHOR’S ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank Symbian Press, particularly Freddie Gjertsen and Phil Northam, for their patience and fortitude Thanks must also go to Gaynor Redvers-Mutton at John Wiley and to Karen Mosman who started the ball rolling I’d also like to thank Oliver Postgate for granting me permission to include the Clangers Symbian. .. radios, portable TVs, email terminals, cordless phones and even electronic payment cards The mobile phone is becoming the key portable lifestyle support system – an electronic Swiss army knife Symbian OS is needed because this explosion in software-supported functionality requires a capable operating system that is designed for sophisticated, always-on, battery-powered mobile devices The object-oriented... platforms, they are highlighted At the time of writing (Spring 2004), Symbian is preparing to release a new version of the operating system, Symbian OS v8.0 This book explicitly indicates any changes that the new version will introduce, where the author is aware of them If you are a developer targeting, or thinking of targeting, Symbian OS, this book will show you how to write the most effective C++. .. notoriously difficult to solve and programming in C++ is complex at the best of times It’s not easy, but opting to work on Symbian OS gives you the benefits of a purpose-built platform This book brings you the best advice from those experienced in working with it Author Biography Jo Stichbury Jo Stichbury was educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge, where she held the Stothert Bye-Fellowship She has an MA... 15.2 248 249 Just-In-Time Debugging Good Panic Style CONTENTS 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 Symbian OS Panic Categories Panicking Another Thread Faults, Leaves and Panics Summary 16 Bug Detection Using Assertions 16.1 16.2 16.3 ix 250 251 253 253 255 ASSERT_DEBUG ASSERT_ALWAYS Summary 256 261 263 17 Debug Macros and Test Classes 265 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 Heap-Checking Macros Object Invariance Macros Console Tests... in C++ It does not assume in-depth knowledge of Symbian OS and covers the basics such as descriptors (Chapters 5 and 6) and active objects (Chapters 8 and 9) as well as more complex features such as the Symbian OS client–server architecture (Chapters 11 and 12) and ECOM (Chapter 14) The book focuses upon the core of the operating system, which should be equally applicable to all versions of Symbian OS, . Cataloging-in-Publication Data Stichbury, Jo. Symbian OS explained effective C++ programming for smartphones / By Jo Stichbury. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-4 7 0-0 213 0-6 . editor Freddie Gjertsen Symbian OS Explained TITLES PUBLISHED BY SYMBIAN PRESS • Symbian OS Explained Jo Stichbury 0470 021306 416pp 2004 Paperback • Symbian OS C++ for Mobile Phones, Volume. 418pp 2002 Paperback • Wireless Java for Symbian Devices Jonathan Allin 0471 486841 512pp 2001 Paperback Symbian OS Explained Effective C++ Programming for Smartphones Jo Stichbury Reviewed by David