Bogdan Galiceanu's Blog

We are pleased to announce the release of a new book - "Python on Symbian: Mobile app development made easy"!

 To put is simply and somewhat cliché, it's a book written by the community, for the community. We (the list of contributors is available on the first page, and it's long ) have worked on it from summer 2009 until late October 2010.

It covers pretty much every domain you can use Python on Symbian (aka PyS60) in. We've done our best to explain how everything works so that anyone, no matter their experience (or lack thereof) as a programmer can learn how to develop mobile applications quickly and in a fun manner. By that I mean that there is even a chapter about the Python language which teaches you everything you need to know, from the very basics to advanced tricks. After that the reader is taught what tools to use and how to use them, and is taken through a different area in each chapter (from PIM to multimedia to location, everything is here). The material refers to Python on Symbian 2.0, but most of it also applies to earlier versions (1.4.x and such). We point out where it doesn't.

The book has been added to the Forum Nokia list, which is a great honour for us, the people who worked on this project. We learned a whole lot while writing the book and it also proved to be a fun experience. We really hope we've managed to convey that fun and knowledge in a way that will make this book useful for people interested in Python.

More news about this project will likely come in the near future.

Last week saw the release of PyS60 version 2.0, the long-awaited "stable" release at the end of the string of beta releases that started 2008's Christmas eve. The process of upgrading the core from Python 2.2.2 to 2.5.4 and adding smartphone-specific functionality has been lengthy, but has it also been worthwhile?

One of the most noteworthy changes is the fact that Python applications can now be Symbian signed and thus can be submitted to the Ovi Store. This is possible because the application's UID is assigned to all the pyd files with zero UID when they are packaged. A very important step in the right direction.

Next on the list of improvements are the few new features: repeat support for the 4-way directional pad, Python applications no longer have to be on the same drive as the runtime in order to work, a PDF version of the online documentation (very useful when you want to search for something quickly), and numerous small optimizations.

Unfortunately most of the bugs from the last few versions are still there. In some cases these have been reported to be real show-stoppers. We can only hope that now that the major issues have been sorted out (transitioning from PyS60 1.4.5 proved to be a somewhat bumpy road), these bugs are the development team's top priority.

From a community point of view, this is the first release to be added to the Symbian Foundation's repository: https://developer.symbian.org/oss/FCL/sf/incubator/python/. This hints that PyS60 will be a solid choice for Symbian developers in the future as well.

To conclude, I wish to offer my opinion on these two questions:
Is this a bug-free, ground-breaking release?
Not exactly. While the possibility to sell your applications through the Ovi Store does sound very intriguing, it is the only truly major improvement we got this time. Many of the old bugs have yet to be fixed, making it hard to justify choosing Python as a programming language for certain applications.
Is it worth upgrading to?
Absolutely. I say that for two reasons: firstly, there is the new functionality which, although small, can be very useful; secondly, PyS60 is a community project and relies on us, "the people", to test it, report its faults and come up with ideas to make it better.

Well, Python for S60 got an upgrade today. And what an upgrade! 

The announcement thread can be found here. Basically we get a lot of new goodies with this release and a few drawbacks.

Pros:

• Python 2.5.1 core. Yes, that means more modules and improved versions of the already existing ones will be available. This is very good when it comes to stability.
• Official packaging method. This is my personal favorite. The very useful Ensymble has been given a rather nice GUI which makes it easier to use.
• Better error handling. If the application raises an exception on start-up it doesn't just terminate silently but prints the traceback on the screen.

Cons:

• Much longer installation and start-up time. Really, you'll notice the difference. But like the thread says, this will be fixed.
• No support for S60 2nd Edition. Sadly, this part of the S60 family will no longer be supported now or in the future, because there are dependencies on OpenC libraries, which aren't available for 2nd Edition.

Notes:

• This release works on S60 5th Edition like the previous ones did, but it doesn't explicitly have any special features for it (like support for touch events).
• In a strange yet understandable way, the runtime isn't signed by Nokia with all capabilities like before. We only get the user-grantable set this time.
• Apparently PyS60 has moved from sourceforge and has a new home: https://garage.maemo.org/projects/pys60/
• The documentation no longer comes as a pdf file (at least this time it didn't) but as a much more comprehensive collection of HTML documents. I think this is better in pretty much every aspect.

This makes for a great Christmas gift from the PyS60 team  . Can't wait for version 2.0 

Happy holidays and an excellent new year everyone! 

PyS60 Talks – Discuss Pys60 with fellow developers and experts!

PyS60 Talks would be an online chat session, where developers interested in PyS60 can meet and interact with each other. This initiative is part of the program of the newly launched site croozeus.com

For each PyS60 Talks session there will be a fixed subject or topic to discuss on.

Also this would be the best place to clear all your queries, while chatting with people well versed in Pys60.

PyS60 Talks is likely to be held every 15 days.

The first session is to be held on a Monday (date not specified yet).

We would like to hear your opinion on your convenient time to participate in the PyS60 Talks.

The proposed interval is 13:00-15:00 GMT. If you have any other timings that would be more suitable, please do let us know about it.

Please drop your opinions here.

Once the timings get finalized we will schedule the 1^st PyS60 Talks session. Final date, time (as decided) and agenda will be announced next week.

We look forward to seeing you all at the first session of PyS60 Talks!

Bogdan

PS: We are open to any of your suggestions and comments!

Just to inform Python enthusiasts that PyS60 version 1.4.4 has just been released!

Here's a list of improvements:

• PC Suite synchronized contact field types broken
• e32.start_service() crashes pys60 1.4.2
• unread(sms_id) returns 32
• calendar can't see appointments on last day of a month
• Audio.say won't say äö
• print in _internalsocketobject
• PyS60 1.4.0 text drawing fails on Image with tuple
• select_access_point() and access_points() bug
• custom font drawing dont work with Image
• error import socket because e32socket error

More info in the release announcement thread

I thought I'd write a bit about a recent project of mine: PyS60 Tic-Tac-Toe. The word that best describes it is "elementary", because it's a very basic example of the game.

You can download it here (signed with Ensymble's certificate): Tic-Tac-Toe.sis

I've also added it to a wiki article and announced it on the Python Discussion Board.

Hope you enjoy it! 

Hello everyone. My name is Bogdan Galiceanu and this is my first post on the Forum Nokia Blogs .

In posts to come I will [try to] give examples of PyS60 applications, let you all know about news in the PyS60 community and, well, chat with those who share my interests.

I really hope to succeed in showing people how easy and fun it is to develop applications on 
a mobile device.

You can check out my other blog here.

Here's to a future of mobility!