Introduction and Basics

Introduction and Basics

This practical hands-on book introduces the Python programming language
for rapid prototyping of mobile device applications. It effectively
teaches how to program easily on Nokia smartphones that are based on
Symbian OS and the S60 platform. A wide range of smartphone functionalities
are covered, including camera, sound, graphics, Bluetooth,
Internet, positioning, SMS messaging and many more.
Mobile Python – or, more formally, Python for S60 (see Figure 1.1) –
empowers you to do fun and engaging stuff with your mobile phone.
You can start programming shortly after getting into this book. Being able
to see results quickly on the phone guarantees to bring inspiration and
makes programming these gadgets fun!

Development on the Symbian platform has been time-consuming in

the past and it has required in-depth knowledge of C++ or Java. Python

for S60 remedies this problem. It is easy to learn and takes only a few days

to get into most of its features. Novice programmers, artists and people

from creative communities can innovate and contribute applications to

the mobile space.

Python for S60 brings the increasingly popular Python programming

language to the mobile platform. You can use this book to learn the

Python programming language by way of Python for S60 or use your

previous Python knowledge to get into mobile programming in no time.

Similar to traditional Python, Python for S60 is released under an opensource

license, so you will be backed up by an enthusiastic community

of talented developers and a large library of extension modules.

Python for S60 allows you to go through a fast iterative design cycle by

providing an elegantly simple but powerful platform for your programs,

which can be rapidly adapted to real-world requirements. With completely

free and open tools you are able to create useful and appealing

applications based on your own ideas.

Our message to all you creative and innovative people out there is:

use your talent, skills, ideas and energy to inspire the world! May this

book help you to do so!

Although the book is written in a style that beginners can cope with, it

hopefully also offers experienced programmers new insights and in-depth

knowledge. It is not a traditional programming text book with meticulous

coverage of every aspect of a programming language. Instead it adopts

a light and engaging tone that helps the reader to proceed through the

chapters in a practical hands-on manner, steadily increasing knowledge

through learning by doing.

The material in this book has been reformulated and refined through

dozens of workshops and tutorials offered by the authors at a wide

variety of institutions and companies across 17 countries, including

MIT, Stanford University, the University of Art and Design, Helsinki,

and Yahoo Research, Berkeley. Among the hundreds of applications

created by participants in these events are games for social interaction;

applications for interacting with large public displays, sensors or robots;

and personal organizer applications. This book is intended to broaden

the audience for these kinds of applications even further, enabling you to

create new mobile applications that may have seemed to be out of your,

or anyone’s, reach before.

We have used the book’s material to build many applications and

prototypes for companies such as Nokia. We have also helped several

universities around the globe to conduct research projects on

robotics, sensor networks, positioning and data collection using Python

for S60.