Mobile.Python.Rapid.prototyping.of.applications.on.the.mobile.platform.Jurgen.Scheible.2007

Mobile Python Rapid Prototyping of Applications on the Mobile Platform Mobile Python Rapid Prototyping of Applications on the Mobile Platform Jurgen Scheible and Ville Tuulos ă Reviewed by Panos Asproulis, Mal Minhas, Tim Ocock, Mark Shackman, Ian Weston Head of Symbian Press Freddie Gjertsen Managing Editor Satu McNabb Copyright ¤ 2007 John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 8SQ, England Telephone (+44) 1243 779777 Email (for orders and customer service enquiries): cs-books@wiley.co.uk Visit our Home Page on www.wileyeurope.com or www.wiley.com All Rights Reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP, UK, without the permission in writing of the Publisher Requests to the Publisher should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 8SQ, England, or emailed to permreq@wiley.co.uk, or faxed to (+44) 1243 770620 Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners The Publisher is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered It is sold on the understanding that the Publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought Other Wiley Editorial Offices John Wiley & Sons Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA Jossey-Bass, 989 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-1741, USA Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH, Boschstr 12, D-69469 Weinheim, Germany John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd, 42 McDougall Street, Milton, Queensland 4064, Australia John Wiley & Sons (Asia) Pte Ltd, Clementi Loop #02-01, Jin Xing Distripark, Singapore 129809 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd, 6045 Freemont Blvd, Mississauga, Ontario, L5R 4J3, Canada Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books Anniversary Logo Design: Richard J Pacifico British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-0-470-51505-1 Typeset in 10/12pt Optima by Laserwords Private Limited, Chennai, India Printed and bound in Great Britain by Bell & Bain, Glasgow This book is printed on acid-free paper responsibly manufactured from sustainable forestry in which at least two trees are planted for each one used for paper production Contents Contributors ix About the Authors xi Authors’ Acknowledgments xiii Symbian Press Acknowledgments xvii Forewords xix Introduction and Basics 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Why Does Python Make a Difference? How to Use this Book Who Is this Book For? What Are Symbian OS, S60 and Python for S60? Python Terminology in this Book Democratizing Innovation on the Mobile Platform The Process of Rapid Prototyping with Python S60 Summary 10 11 Getting Started 13 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 14 21 27 28 29 30 Installing Python for S60 on 3rd Edition Devices Installing Python for S60 on 2nd Edition Devices Writing a Program in Python for S60 White Space in Python Code Troubleshooting Summary vi CONTENTS Graphical User Interface Basics 31 3.1 3.2 31 3.3 3.4 Application Building and SMS Inbox 49 49 52 60 64 70 76 Sound Keyboard Keys Graphics Camera Mobile Game: UFO Zapper Summary Data Handling 77 77 84 92 100 104 110 111 File Basics Reading and Writing Text Local Database GSM and GPS Positioning Vocabulector: A Language-Learning Tool Summary 112 117 121 123 127 131 Bluetooth and Telephone Functionality 133 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 7.8 Functions Application Structure String Handling SMS Inbox SMS Game Server Summary Sound, Interactive Graphics and Camera 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 32 45 47 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 Using Modules Native UI Elements – Dialogs, Menus and Selection Lists Messages Summary Bluetooth Pairing OBEX and RFCOMM Phone-to-Phone Communication Phone-to-PC Communication Communication with GPS and Other Devices Telephone Functionality and Contacts System Information Summary Mobile Networking 8.1 8.2 Simple Web Tasks Setting up the Development Environment 134 134 136 141 148 151 152 154 155 156 158 CONTENTS 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 Communication Protocols Server Software Pushing Data to a Phone Peer-to-Peer Networking Using a Phone as a Web Service Summary Web Services 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Basic Principles MopyMaps! Mobile Yahoo! Maps EventFu: Finding Eventful Events InstaFlickr: Shoot and Upload Photos to Flickr Summary 10 Effective Python for S60 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 Powerful Language Constructs Introspection Custom Modules and Automatic Updating Program Patterns Summary 11 Combining Art and Engineering 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7 11.8 MobiLenin Manhattan Story Mashup MobileArtBlog – Image-Composition Tool ArduinoBT Micro-Controller Board Controlling Max/MSP with a Phone OpenSound Control Robotics Summary vii 166 172 177 183 193 197 199 200 201 207 215 224 227 227 231 234 239 241 245 245 252 256 261 266 273 274 277 Appendix A: Platform Security 279 Appendix B: Bluetooth Console 289 Appendix C: Debugging 295 Appendix D: How to Use the Emulator 301 References 303 Glossary 305 Examples 309 viii CONTENTS Python Language Lessons 315 Python for S60 Modules 317 Index 321