Professional Symbian Programming: Mobile Solutions on the EPOC Platform

 
This book is now quite old (published in 2000) and is based on Epoc Release 5 (Psion Series 5MX, Series 7 and Revo, Ericsson MC218). However, it is still the best book today to start Symbian C++ Development since all the basic stuff (strings, descriptors, file management, error handling, cleanup stack, active objects, gdi graphics,...) is still applicable to today's device and is quite well described.

My favorite chapters

  String and Descriptors : around 20 pages, with a comparison of strings in C and strings in EPOC, the differents descriptors type, string/descriptors handling functions.
  Error handling and cleanup : another 40 pages about Leave, Heap chacking, Cleanup Stack management, Panics, and engine/library testing methodologies
  Streams, Stores and Files : 45 pages about the file server, the differences between files and stores, the various kind of stores (direct, permanent or embedded) and how to manage them.
  Active Objects : only 24 pages. But the basics on how to write and use an active object are well covered.
  Add 25 more pages on Client Server Framework to have an overview of how to use Threads, Client-side and Server-side objects, ...
  Add some pages here and there about resource files, some basic graphic stuff (graphic contexts,...), keyboard and event handling by your application, some EIKON basic dialogs

With all of these, you will be able to start developing small apps for SymbianOS. However you won't be able to really develop your own GUI stuff....

Also note that this book will be replaced soon by Symbian OS C++ for Mobile Phones in April, with some updated GUI chapters (UIQ-based). If you cannot wait until then, it is still a must-read.

Table of content

Part 1: Epoc Basics
Chapter 1: A New EPOC
Chapter 2: Getting Started
Chapter 3: System Structure
Chapter 4: C++ and Object Orientation
Chapter 5: Strings and Descriptors
Chapter 6: Error Handling and Cleanup
Chapter 7: Streams, Stores, and File-based Applications
Chapter 8: Development Miscellany
Part 2: Graphics and the EIKON GUI
Chapter 9: Getting Started with the EIKON GUI
Chapter 10: Dialogs and Concrete Controls
Chapter 11: Graphics for Display
Chapter 12: Graphics for Interaction
Chapter 13: Finishing Touches
Chapter 14: Graphics in Practice
Chapter 15: The Quest for Device Independence
Part 3: Communication and Systems Programming
Chapter 16: Communications and Systems Programming
Chapter 17: The Transactions-oriented Games Stack
Chapter 18: Active Objects
Chapter 19: Client-server Framework
Chapter 20: The GSDP Server
Chapter 21: GDP Implementations
Chapter 22: Full Battleships
Part 4: Full Platform
Chapter 23: Developing with Java
Chapter 24: The Wireless Application Protocol
Chapter 25: Porting to EPOC
Chapter 26: OPL
Chapter 27: Connectivity