Wiley.Mobile.Python.Rapid.prototyping.of.applications.on.the.mobile.platform.Dec.2007 (Symbian Books)

Mobile PythonRapid Prototyping of Applicationson the Mobile PlatformMobile PythonRapid Prototyping of Applicationson the Mobile PlatformJürgen Scheible and Ville TuulosReviewed byPanos Asproulis, Mal Minhas, Tim Ocock, Mark Shackman,Ian WestonHead of Symbian PressFreddie GjertsenManaging EditorSatu McNabbCopyright ¤ 2007John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester,West Sussex PO19 8SQ, EnglandTelephone (+44) 1243 779777Email (for orders and customer service enquiries): cs-books@wiley.co.ukVisit our Home Page on www.wileyeurope.com or www.wiley.comAll Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system ortransmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning orotherwise, except under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms ofa 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 tothe Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, WestSussex 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.

Allbrand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks orregistered trademarks of their respective owners. The Publisher is not associated with any product orvendor mentioned in this book.This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subjectmatter covered. It is sold on the understanding that the Publisher is not engaged in renderingprofessional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of acompetent professional should be sought.Other Wiley Editorial OfficesJohn Wiley & Sons Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USAJossey-Bass, 989 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-1741, USAWiley-VCH Verlag GmbH, Boschstr. 12, D-69469 Weinheim, GermanyJohn Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd, 42 McDougall Street, Milton, Queensland 4064, AustraliaJohn Wiley & Sons (Asia) Pte Ltd, 2 Clementi Loop #02-01, Jin Xing Distripark, Singapore 129809John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd, 6045 Freemont Blvd, Mississauga, Ontario, L5R 4J3, CanadaWiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats.

Some content that appearsin print may not be available in electronic books.Anniversary Logo Design: Richard J. PacificoBritish Library Cataloguing in Publication DataA catalogue record for this book is available from the British LibraryISBN: 978-0-470-51505-1Typeset in 10/12pt Optima by Laserwords Private Limited, Chennai, IndiaPrinted and bound in Great Britain by Bell & Bain, GlasgowThis book is printed on acid-free paper responsibly manufactured from sustainable forestryin which at least two trees are planted for each one used for paper production.ContentsContributorsixAbout the AuthorsxiAuthors’ AcknowledgmentsxiiiSymbian Press AcknowledgmentsxviiForewordsxix1Introduction and Basics1.11.21.31.41.51.61.71.82Why Does Python Make a Difference?How to Use this BookWho Is this Book For?What Are Symbian OS, S60 and Python for S60?Python Terminology in this BookDemocratizing Innovation on the Mobile PlatformThe Process of Rapid Prototyping with Python S60Summary13456781011Getting Started132.12.22.32.42.52.6142127282930Installing Python for S60 on 3rd Edition DevicesInstalling Python for S60 on 2nd Edition DevicesWriting a Program in Python for S60White Space in Python CodeTroubleshootingSummaryvi3CONTENTSGraphical User Interface Basics313.13.2313.33.445Application Building and SMS Inbox49495260647076SoundKeyboard KeysGraphicsCameraMobile Game: UFO ZapperSummaryData Handling77778492100104110111File BasicsReading and Writing TextLocal DatabaseGSM and GPS PositioningVocabulector: A Language-Learning ToolSummary112117121123127131Bluetooth and Telephone Functionality1337.17.27.37.47.57.67.77.88FunctionsApplication StructureString HandlingSMS InboxSMS Game ServerSummarySound, Interactive Graphics and Camera6.16.26.36.46.56.673245474.14.24.34.44.54.65.15.25.35.45.55.66Using ModulesNative UI Elements – Dialogs, Menus and SelectionListsMessagesSummaryBluetooth PairingOBEX and RFCOMMPhone-to-Phone CommunicationPhone-to-PC CommunicationCommunication with GPS and Other DevicesTelephone Functionality and ContactsSystem InformationSummaryMobile Networking8.18.2Simple Web TasksSetting up the Development Environment134134136141148151152154155156158CONTENTS8.38.48.58.68.78.89Communication ProtocolsServer SoftwarePushing Data to a PhonePeer-to-Peer NetworkingUsing a Phone as a Web ServiceSummaryWeb Services9.19.29.39.49.5Basic PrinciplesMopyMaps! Mobile Yahoo! MapsEventFu: Finding Eventful EventsInstaFlickr: Shoot and Upload Photos to FlickrSummary10 Effective Python for S6010.110.210.310.410.5Powerful Language ConstructsIntrospectionCustom Modules and Automatic UpdatingProgram PatternsSummary11 Combining Art and Engineering11.111.211.311.411.511.611.711.8MobiLeninManhattan Story MashupMobileArtBlog – Image-Composition ToolArduinoBT Micro-Controller BoardControlling Max/MSP with a PhoneOpenSound ControlRoboticsSummaryvii166172177183193197199200201207215224227227231234239241245245252256261266273274277Appendix A: Platform Security279Appendix B: Bluetooth Console289Appendix C: Debugging295Appendix D: How to Use the Emulator301References303Glossary305Examples309viiiCONTENTSPython Language Lessons315Python for S60 Modules317Index321ContributorsHead of Symbian PressFreddie GjertsenAuthorsJürgen ScheibleVille TuulosSymbian Press EditorialManaging EditorSatu McNabbReviewers and Additional ContributorsPanos AsproulisJukka LaurilaJoe McCarthyTimo OjalaMark ShackmanAbout the AuthorsJürgen ScheibleJürgen Scheible is a designer, media artist and musician who holds adegree in telecommunications from Karlsruhe, Germany.

After graduating,he worked for eight years at Nokia in Finland pursuing various positionssuch as programmer, product manager and competence transfer manager.Besides his occupation, he performed and produced music as well asmedia art under the pseudonym Lenin’s Godson.In 2003, he left his engineering career to concentrate full-time on hiscreative career, because he felt his heart was much more in his artisticworks than in engineering. In 2004, he became a doctoral student atthe Media Lab at the University of Art and Design, Helsinki, where heestablished the Mobile Hub, a prototype development environment formobile client and server applications.

It has a strong focus on artisticapproaches and creative design, and serves as a resource to art anddesign students who use mobile technology as part of their projects. Hisdoctoral research focuses on designing multimodal user interfaces forcreating and sharing interactive artistic experiences.Since 2004, he has been evangelizing Python for S60 as one ofits pioneers. He is internationally active having given talks and taughtinnovation workshops in both academic and professional settings onmore than 40 occasions, in places such as Stanford University, MIT, NTUTaiwan, Yahoo Research Berkeley, Tsinghua University Beijing, Nokiaand Nokia Siemens Networks, in more than 17 countries.

His focus ison rapid mobile application prototyping using creative approaches forinnovation.In 2006, he spent several months as a visiting scientist at MIT, Bostonin the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL).xiiABOUT THE AUTHORSJürgen was recognized as a Forum Nokia Champion in 2006 and 2007for his driving vision of building bridges between art, engineering andresearch.

He was one of the winners of the ACM Computers in Entertainment Scholarship Award in 2006 and of the Best Arts Paper Award atACM Multimedia 2005 conference.The philosophy behind his works is to bring back the depth of humanfeelings and emotional aspects to the digital world which, in his opinion,were lost with the arrival of the fast-paced digital production technology.By inspiring others with his works, he gets inspired himself.

This leadshim to many new ideas for designing new kinds of interactive experiencesfor people, especially in the area of mobile phone applications that fusethe real and the virtual worlds. He believes this era will change the waywe live and communicate in the future and it will transform societies.Therefore it is important, in his opinion, to design for these comingapplications.Ville TuulosVille Tuulos is currently a researcher in the Department of ComputerScience, University of Helsinki, Finland.