Foreword by EMCC Software Ltd.

Foreword
by EMCC Software Ltd.

Symbian OS is a highly sophisticated, powerful and very reliable Operating System, written mainly in C++. Series 60 Platform, from Nokia Mobile Software, builds on the Operating System providing a carefully crafted highly optimized user interface, application framework and much more besides.

EMCC Software specializes in development for Symbian OS and the key smartphone user interface platforms such as Series 60. We have been working with the OS since before the Symbian alliance was created.

I believe strongly in the excellent technical foundations of Symbian OS and in the clear logic behind licensing of Series 60 to other handset manufacturers. A common Operating System and user interface both assist in achieving a high degree standardization and interoperability across a wide range of smartphones.

Writing this book was a major task that we undertook for a variety of reasons. The level of C++ and object orientated design employed throughout Symbian OS and Series 60 leads to a significant learning curve for developers, compared to other environments. Writing this book is an attempt to shorten the learning process. Even after five years there is still a surprising lack of good material available to engineers working with Symbian OS ” especially since developing for Symbian OS is quite challenging. As an evangelist and enthusiast for Symbian OS I found this situation slightly irritating , especially since it is the leading player in the market ”by far. Additional influences came from interactions with our customers, business partners and the numerous delegates who have attended our training courses. The decision to proceed was also heavily influenced by our business relationship with Nokia ”in particular our role in producing much of the Series 60 documentation available via Forum Nokia.

A key objective of writing this book was to encourage developers to work with Symbian OS and in particular with Series 60 ”a genuine attempt to add to the total sum of what is known about Series 60 development. Hopefully, the majority of readers will be pleasantly surprised by the amount of information provided in this work. We firmly believe that helping to increase the number of Series 60 developers out there will benefit the whole ecosystem and will indirectly benefit our company.

EMCC Software works with Symbian, Nokia and a number of Series 60 Licensees on products, on advancing the OS and the platform itself. Typically we work with software and products that are one to two years away from commercial availability. However, what is provided here is necessarily focused on the current products and platform SDKs. So this detailed account of application development aims to support the production of good quality Series 60 software for devices that are currently in the market place or are about to become available very soon.

Leigh  Edwards ,
EMCC  Software  Ltd.,
January  2004