[ares623]

I want to start developing small apps for my S60 3rd phone..
I downloaded all the required tools to start developing Java apps, but my PC broke weeks ago, and I don't want to redownload and reinstall all of them again.
So now I have my sights at Python.

I have a few questions:
1.) we all know that Java apps open very slowly and also take up a lot of RAM because of the VM. Does Python suffer from this too?

2.) do I need to sign my apps before I could install on the phone?

3.) what are the files I need to download to start developing PyS60? (SDK, IDE, emulators)
3.1) and can I develop on Mac OSX?

[shubhendra]

I think i can answer one of your questions,

3) Please See this post for all downloading you need to do for PyS60

http://discussion.forum.nokia.com/fo...ad.php?t=81130

Now your Question 1, about if Python is slower or faster than J2ME, then i think a forum member who has done programming on both will be able to help you.

[gaba88]

hi ares623
welcome to python

which is the most rapid method to develop applications.

Now your first question i dont know about java but Python is not slow at all. Moreover you can download python apps from this article and can analyse yourself.

Your second question yes first your shell requires to be signed if you want to use all special features like location,Positioning, keys etc.

Now the last if you are really interested you can have a look at this page.

Hope This helps
Enjoy Pythoning
Gaba88

[bogdan.galiceanu]

Originally Posted by ares623

I want to start developing small apps for my S60 3rd phone..
I downloaded all the required tools to start developing Java apps, but my PC broke weeks ago, and I don't want to redownload and reinstall all of them again.
So now I have my sights at Python.

I have a few questions:
1.) we all know that Java apps open very slowly and also take up a lot of RAM because of the VM. Does Python suffer from this too?

2.) do I need to sign my apps before I could install on the phone?

3.) what are the files I need to download to start developing PyS60? (SDK, IDE, emulators)
3.1) and can I develop on Mac OSX?

1) Although Python is an interpreted language it's not as slow as Java ME's VM. It's somewhere closer to the speed of the native language, Symbian C++. The RAM usage is decent.

2) No. You make sis files with a tool called Ensymble, which automatically signs them with a rudimentary certificate which provides the basic capabilities. You only have to sign them if you want extra capabilities.

See also the PyS60 FAQ if you haven't already.

[shubhendra]

"It's somewhere closer to the speed of the native language, Symbian C++"

Bodgan are you sure about this? Because an interpreted language (like python) stands no close to a compiled language.

[croozeus]

Python's performance is reasonable, but it is slower than C++, Java and Flash. So if you need to develop a scientific application which requires a lot of number crunching, or a video streaming application, this is probably not the best solution.

And talking about PyS60 Vs J2ME (or any other development) here are few must read articles by Daniel.

Which technology should I use for development? Round 1: Java
Which technology should I use for development? Round 2: C++
Which technology should I use? Round 3: Python

Originally Posted by ares623

3.) what are the files I need to download to start developing PyS60? (SDK, IDE, emulators)
3.1) and can I develop on Mac OSX?

You need a SDK to test your scripts. And you can code Python in any simple text editor, so you can develop on Mac OS as well.
However, currently SDK is only available for Windows.



Best Regards,
Croozeus

[bogdan.galiceanu]

Originally Posted by shubhendra

"It's somewhere closer to the speed of the native language, Symbian C++"

Bodgan are you sure about this? Because an interpreted language (like python) stands no close to a compiled language.

Yes, I'm sure . I didn't say it was close to the speed of Symbian C++ (which, for small applications, it is), I said it was closer to the speed of Symbian C++ than to the speed of Java.

[jethro.fn]

Originally Posted by ares623

1.) we all know that Java apps open very slowly and also take up a lot of RAM because of the VM. Does Python suffer from this too?

There is a slight start-up delay when selecting an icon of a PyS60 application, but on my N95 it is significantly shorter than the delay of starting a Java application; Ped starts in less than 2 seconds vs. 5 seconds for a simple Java ME stopwatch application.

Originally Posted by ares623

2.) do I need to sign my apps before I could install on the phone?

It depends. 3rd Edition phones have a thing called "capabilities", which govern the features an application is allowed to use.

Many features, such as graphics, audio, Bluetooth, network connections, GPS and camera are available to self-signed applications (the default type of signing if not doing anything special). Some activities, such as simulating keypresses and getting GSM network information require capabilities that are not available to self-signed applications. You need to use Symbian's Open Signed Online to even get an application to run on your own phone.

If you use a "launcer" application for your Python scripts, such as the Script Shell or Ped, you only need to sign the launcer application with all the capabilities you're going to use. You don't need to sign your Python scripts separately. The downside is that there's an extra step involved in starting your program: first you'll need to start the launcher application and then select a Python script to run.

Originally Posted by ares623

3.) what are the files I need to download to start developing PyS60? (SDK, IDE, emulators)
3.1) and can I develop on Mac OSX?

All you need is a decent text editor and Ensymble. Ensymble runs on Linux, OS X and Windows. You need to install a version of Python and OpenSSL if using Windows, Linux and OS X has them built in.

The emulator only runs on Windows. Personally, I've never used it. Deploying a SIS on a phone is relatively quick, and Ped can be used to do in-phone development. If you Open Sign Ped with all capabilities, you can then test capability-restricted features inside Ped, without having to constantly deal with Open Sign Online when your application changes.

[ares623]

thanks for all the replies.

I still don't get what I need to develop PyS60 apps.
I'm on a Mac, so the emulator is a no-go.

I'm just confused from these 2 posts:

Originally Posted by croozeus

However, currently SDK is only available for Windows.

Originally Posted by jethro.fn

All you need is a decent text editor and Ensymble. Ensymble runs on Linux, OS X and Windows. You need to install a version of Python and OpenSSL if using Windows, Linux and OS X has them built in.

Since the SDK is only on Windows, how can I develop on Mac OS X?

oh yeah, I download a pys60-1.4.4_src.zip file from Sourceforge, thinking it was all I need to get started. What is that anyway?

thanks again.

[gaba88]

hi
one thing you can get is if you want to develop applications on mac os then you definitely need a device.
as sdks for mac os are not available.

hope you get it.

[bogdan.galiceanu]

Originally Posted by ares623

oh yeah, I download a pys60-1.4.4_src.zip file from Sourceforge, thinking it was all I need to get started. What is that anyway?

It's the source code of PyS60. It's provided so people can make some modifications if necessary and compile their own versions of PyS60 if they need to do so. Say, for example, that you found a bug with the latest version of Python and know how to fix it. Rather than wait for the next official release you could modify the source code and compile the fixed version.

[jethro.fn]

Originally Posted by ares623

Since the SDK is only on Windows, how can I develop on Mac OS X?

You don't need an SDK.


Procedure for PyS60 application development on a Mac:

1. Install Python 3rd Edition SIS on your phone.

2a. Install Python Script Shell 3rd Edition SIS on your phone. Optionally Open Sign it first, with all capabilities.

and/or

2b. Install Ped 3rd Edition SIS on your phone. Optionally Open Sign it first, with all capabilities.

3. Install Ensymble on your Mac.

4. Write/edit a PyS60 application with TextEdit, XCode or any other program.

5. Create a SIS out of the PyS60 application with Ensymble.

6. Send the SIS to the phone via Bluetooth and install it.

7. Run the application. If not working, repeat from step 4.

[JOM]

Originally Posted by ares623

I still don't get what I need to develop PyS60 apps.
I'm on a Mac, so the emulator is a no-go.

How about some Windows emulator, just to run the S60 emulator? Emulator on emulator is not too fast, but save phone battery

Originally Posted by ares623

I download a pys60-1.4.4_src.zip file from Sourceforge, thinking it was all I need to get started. What is that anyway?

It's the last resource, when you have mysterious problems with your python app. If sample codes, manual and Forum Nokia PyS60 DiBo can't help you, then you go and start browsing the Pys60 source code.

Cheers,

--jouni

[aaaaapo]

Originally Posted by JOM

How about some Windows emulator, just to run the S60 emulator? Emulator on emulator is not too fast, but save phone battery

I use MacOsX (4 GB RAM, intel based processor), Parallels (virtual machine environment), Windows XP in Parallels and S60 emulator (SDK) in Windows.

It works pretty well and saves also nerves. I see S60 Emulator very useful when developing e.g. GUI-stuff.

[shubhendra]

Ya for VM's you need good amount of RAM, i suppose for running an emulator over a VM will require 2GB and above RAM.