Which SDK is appropriate for this?

[Ole Nielsby]

I'm confused about which SDK I should pick for my project.

I use a homebrew language based on an interpreter written in C++ with stl.

I paint using text, PNG, SVG if possible, transparent polygons, and graphs painted with colour gradient brush. I take control of the painting directly, instead of using a GUI designer. I unzip zipfiles in RAM.

If possible, I'll use a dynamic-library-based plugin model (like COM inproc server dlls but simpler, and swapable at runtine) but I can do without this if Symbian doesn't support it.

I want it to run on many different mobile phones, not necessarily brand new, but I also want to be able to use it on (recent) models with large screens.

If I use s60 3rd ed. fp1, will I need to get the stl, unzip, png/svg support etc. etc. separately? Can I use large-display models?

OTOH If is use 5th edition, will that prevent the app from running on not brand-new units?

I get the understanding (from Wikipedia) that the UIQ sdk is more or less a dead end. If not, what are the pros and cons?

How does Qtopia compare to s60? Will it run on older models, or only new ones or special ones? Does it have much overhead compared to s60?

[wizard_hu_]

I'm confused about which SDK I should pick for my project.

That depends on the devices you want to support. Check http://www.forum.nokia.com/devices for specifications, which also include SDK compatibility.

I use a homebrew language based on an interpreter written in C++ with stl.

That is not a problem, if you get OpenC and OpenC++ plugins from Forum Nokia, you will have STL. Most recent SDK-s already have these plugins installed.

I paint using text, PNG, SVG if possible, transparent polygons, and graphs painted with colour gradient brush. I take control of the painting directly, instead of using a GUI designer. I unzip zipfiles in RAM.

Transparent polygon might be the hard part, however it is always possible to render them separately, and use BitBltMasked with a grayscale mask (which results in alpha blending). Gradient brush is not supported, you have to do it "manually" via a per-pixel basis.

If possible, I'll use a dynamic-library-based plugin model (like COM inproc server dlls but simpler, and swapable at runtine) but I can do without this if Symbian doesn't support it.

COM is Windows/Microsoft-only, Symbian has ECOM for plugin-model, check the SDK (it has examples, SysLibs\ECom, and of course it has a Help system), and the Wiki.

I want it to run on many different mobile phones, not necessarily brand new, but I also want to be able to use it on (recent) models with large screens.

If I use s60 3rd ed. fp1, will I need to get the stl, unzip, png/svg support etc. etc. separately? Can I use large-display models?

Backwards compatibility exists, forwards compatibility does not. You can use multiple SDK-s, and most code built with older (though still S60 3rd edition) SDK-s will able to run on S60 5th devices. But for development you should use the SDK suitable for the "oldest" device you want to support. And if you need new features, you can still use the newer SDK-s, but code built with them will not necessarily run on the older devices. Also note the E-Series plugins on the Tools and SDK-s page, they bring support for larger screen resolutions (mostly E90) for the FP1 SDK+emulator.

OTOH If is use 5th edition, will that prevent the app from running on not brand-new units?

Indeed.

I get the understanding (from Wikipedia) that the UIQ sdk is more or less a dead end. If not, what are the pros and cons?

UIQ has a separate developer site, http://developer.uiq.com