Symbian OS Hatem Mahmoud www.ExpressionLab.com

Introduction Symbian OS Design Symbian OS Layers Developing on Symbian OS References Agenda

Introduction

Symbian OS Design

Symbian OS Layers

Developing on Symbian OS

References

Introduction

What? Symbian OS is: A proprietary operating system Designed for mobile devices Developed by Symbian Ltd.

A proprietary operating system

Designed for mobile devices

Developed by Symbian Ltd.

History In 1980, the British company Psion (Potter Scientific Instruments) was founded by David Potter In 1984, Psion launched Psion Organiser , the world's first handheld computer

In 1980, the British company Psion (Potter Scientific Instruments) was founded by David Potter

In 1984, Psion launched Psion Organiser , the world's first handheld computer

Psion Organiser II

History In 1987, Psion released a preemptive multitasking operating system, EPOC : 16-bit / written in C / Intel 8086 chip In 1997, Psion Series 5 based on EPOC32 : 32-bit / written in C++ EPOC = Electronic Piece Of Cheese :-)

In 1987, Psion released a preemptive multitasking operating system, EPOC : 16-bit / written in C / Intel 8086 chip

In 1997, Psion Series 5 based on EPOC32 : 32-bit / written in C++

EPOC = Electronic Piece Of Cheese :-)

Psion Series 5mx

History On 24 June 1998: Symbian Ltd. was formed as a partnership between: Nokia , Ericsson , Motorola and Psion EPOC was renamed Symbian OS

Symbian Ltd. was formed as a partnership between: Nokia , Ericsson , Motorola and Psion

EPOC was renamed Symbian OS

First Symbian OS Phones In 2000: First Symbian OS phone: Ericsson R380 First open Symbian OS phone: Nokia 9210 Communicator

First Symbian OS phone: Ericsson R380

First open Symbian OS phone: Nokia 9210 Communicator

Ericsson R380

Ericsson R380 OS: EPOC Release 5u (Symbian OS 5.1) ROM: 4 MB (1.2 MB accessible) RAM: 2 MB EDO DRAM Display: 3.5 ” monochrome touchscreen Features: Unicode support, organizer, WAP, SMS/email, infrared port

OS: EPOC Release 5u (Symbian OS 5.1)

ROM: 4 MB (1.2 MB accessible)

RAM: 2 MB EDO DRAM

Display: 3.5 ” monochrome touchscreen

Features: Unicode support, organizer, WAP, SMS/email, infrared port

Nokia 9210 Communicator

Nokia 9210 Communicator

Nokia 9210 Communicator OS: Symbian OS 6.0 (EPOC Release 6) ROM: 16 MB (2MB user-accessible) RAM: 8 MB SDRAM Display: 4.5 ” color TFT Features: Bluetooth , QWERTY keyboard, 16 MB MMC, Java, document viewer

OS: Symbian OS 6.0 (EPOC Release 6)

ROM: 16 MB (2MB user-accessible)

RAM: 8 MB SDRAM

Display: 4.5 ” color TFT

Features: Bluetooth , QWERTY keyboard, 16 MB MMC, Java, document viewer

History 2003: Symbian OS 7.0: IPv6 and Java ME 2004: Cabir , the first worm (Bluetooth) 2005: Symbian OS 8.1: EKA2 , a real-time kernel (API calls quick and time-bound) 2005: Symbian OS 9.1: digital signing

2003: Symbian OS 7.0: IPv6 and Java ME

2004: Cabir , the first worm (Bluetooth)

2005: Symbian OS 8.1: EKA2 , a real-time kernel (API calls quick and time-bound)

2005: Symbian OS 9.1: digital signing

History 2007: Symbian OS 9.3 supports SQLite 2007: Symbian OS 9.5 supports real-time multimedia and location-based services

2007: Symbian OS 9.3 supports SQLite

2007: Symbian OS 9.5 supports real-time multimedia and location-based services

History

History (2005)

History (2006)

History (2008)

10 Years Later On 24 June 2008: Nokia acquired all shares € 264 million ($410 million) Symbian Foundation , a non-profit organization, established to create one open source mobile operating system

Nokia acquired all shares

€ 264 million ($410 million)

Symbian Foundation , a non-profit organization, established to create one open source mobile operating system

History Symbian Foundation established to unite: Symbian OS S60 , Nokia UIQ , Sony Ericsson and Motorola MOAP(S) , NTT DoCoMo

Symbian OS

S60 , Nokia

UIQ , Sony Ericsson and Motorola

MOAP(S) , NTT DoCoMo

Today

Future

Future

Symbian OS Design

Design Rules 1)User data is sacred 2)User time is precious 3)All resources are scarce

Key Design Features Microkernel: kernel responsibilities are reduced to minimum Client–server: resources are shared between users (services and applications) Plug-in Frameworks: used at all levels from applications to device drivers

Microkernel: kernel responsibilities are reduced to minimum

Client–server: resources are shared between users (services and applications)

Plug-in Frameworks: used at all levels from applications to device drivers

Key Design Features GUI for all applications: only servers have no user interface Event-based: all user interaction is captured as events to applications Object-oriented design: Symbian OS and all applications follow MVC

GUI for all applications: only servers have no user interface

Event-based: all user interaction is captured as events to applications

Object-oriented design: Symbian OS and all applications follow MVC

Key Design Features FAT used as the internal file system for compatibility with removable devices

FAT used as the internal file system for compatibility with removable devices

Symbian OS Layers

1) UI Framework Layer

1) UI Framework Layer UIKON framework controls overall GUI TechView: a minimal test UI Examples: S60 , Series 80 , Series 90 , UIQ , MOAP

UIKON framework controls overall GUI

TechView: a minimal test UI

Examples: S60 , Series 80 , Series 90 , UIQ , MOAP

2) Application Services Layer

2) Application Services Layer Generic: text rendering, MIME content handling, etc. Technology-specific: vCard, vCal, etc. A pplication-specific: plug-ins for contacts, agenda, office, etc.

Generic: text rendering, MIME content handling, etc.

Technology-specific: vCard, vCal, etc.

A pplication-specific: plug-ins for contacts, agenda, office, etc.

3) Java ME

3) Java ME a)Configurations: Java language + JVM + base class libraries b)Profiles: Cell phones use MIDP which includes APIs for GUI and 2D gaming c)Optional packages: 3D graphics, web services, file system access, etc.

4) OS Services Layer

4) OS Services Layer a)Generic: certificate management, etc. b)Communications: Bluetooth, Infrared, USB, TCP/IP , Wi-Fi, etc. c)Multimedia and graphics: graphics, sound, video recording and play, etc. d)Connectivity: backup and restore, file transfer, file browsing, etc.

5) Base Services Layer

5) Base Services Layer The user-side of the microkernel a)User Library: C++ classes, native types b)File Server: file-system utilities c)Store: storage framework, DBMS, etc. d)Other frameworks: Plug-in framework, power management, etc.

The user-side of the microkernel

6) Kernel Services Layer

6) Kernel Services Layer EKA2: The kernel-side of the microkernel Manages processes, threads, scheduling, interrupts, etc. Provides device drivers Not true microkernel

EKA2: The kernel-side of the microkernel

Manages processes, threads, scheduling, interrupts, etc.

Provides device drivers

Not true microkernel

6) Kernel Services Layer Optimized for ROM-based systems: Symbian OS executes in ROM without loading into RAM Optimized for low-power devices

Optimized for ROM-based systems: Symbian OS executes in ROM without loading into RAM

Optimized for low-power devices

Developing on Symbian OS

Developing on Symbian OS SDK for each platform (S60, UIQ, etc.) Windows-based emulator: WINS Eclipse plugin: Carbide.c++ Visual Studio plugin: Carbide.vs Borland IDE for Linux and Mac OS Other languages: Python , Perl , Java , etc.

SDK for each platform (S60, UIQ, etc.)

Windows-based emulator: WINS

Eclipse plugin: Carbide.c++

Visual Studio plugin: Carbide.vs

Borland IDE for Linux and Mac OS

Other languages: Python , Perl , Java , etc.

References

Books The Symbian OS Architecture Sourcebook by Ben Morris Smartphone Operating System Concepts with Symbian OS by Michael J. Jipping

The Symbian OS Architecture Sourcebook by Ben Morris

Smartphone Operating System Concepts with Symbian OS by Michael J. Jipping

Wesites www.symbian.com www.symbianfoundation.org www.wikipedia.org

www.symbian.com

www.symbianfoundation.org

www.wikipedia.org

These slides can be found at: ExpressionLab.com

Thank You! Hatem Mahmoud www.ExpressionLab.com