A B C D E F G H I J L M N O P R S T U V W X
abstract class - see also concrete class, interface class
A class which describes behavior, but which does not implement it, and therefore cannot be instantiated. Many implementations of the behavior might be available. Each is referred to as a concrete class.
The ACS Publisher ID identifies the developer and that the company he or she works for does really exist. The ID is used to verify the source of the content.
The ACS Publisher ID can be purchased from VeriSign at http://www.verisign.com/products-services/security-services/code-signing/symbian-content-signing/index.html.
active object - see also Active Scheduler
A Symbian OS kernel object which contains a list of all current active
objects, and which monitors them and invokes the RunL function
on the highest priority one that has signalled that it requires attention
with a call to SetActive.
Active Scheduler - see also active object
A Symbian OS kernel object which contains a list of all current active
objects, and which monitors them and invokes the RunL function
on the highest priority one that has signalled that it requires attention
with a call to SetActive.
animation client - see also animation server
A set of functions which allow user interface code, for example, to create an animation server, to communicate with it to create and control animated images, and to destroy it.
An animation server side DLL that allows animation images to be created, manipulated and destroyed.
animation server - see also Window Server
The animation DLL which runs as part of the Window Server.
Application Programming Interface
A set of Symbian OS base classes from which particular classes must be derived in order for the operating system to interact with an application program.
A binary file containing miscellaneous information associated with a Symbian OS application program such as the application icons.
Application Programming Interface
An interface where operations are invoked through programmed function calls, as opposed to a user interface.
A particular class which an application programmer must derive from CEikAppUI as
part of the application framework.
It handles the commands generated when an end-user selects items in menus,
and provides handles to various user interface objects.
A class derived from CCoeControl for displaying
data from the model in a particular format. Multiple views may be used to
display the same data in different ways.
A parameter to a function.
A Boolean expression placed at a particular point in a segment of executable code stating what must be true when execution reaches that point. If the expression evaluates to false when the code is executed, the preceding code is incorrect. Preconditions, postconditions and class invariants are special kinds of assertions.
A call to a resource that starts an operation and returns straight away. The operation may signal its completion later, through e.g. a callback.
AVKON - see also CKON, EIKON, UIKON
S60 extensions and modifications to Uikon and other parts of the Symbian OS application framework.
Binary compatibility
A situation where the execution of a function or thread is suspended. The execution of a functions is blocked when it makes an ordinary synchronous call to another function.
A specification for short-range wireless communications.
Any class that is derived from CBase. Instances
of C classes are the only objects that should be newed on the heap. If an
object has a destructor it must be a C class instance so that its destructor
can be called automatically when a leave occurs.
callback function - see also framework function, observer
A function implemented in a client class which can be called by the clients supplier to signal that some event has happened, such as an asynchronous operation completing. Callback function declarations are usually derived from a mixin observer class.
A capability grants access to a set of APIs, directories, and files. Most capabilities are given at installation. An application signature determines its capabilities.
CBA - see also toolbar
Command Button Area, that is, the toolbar.
CKON - see also AVKON, EIKON, UIKON
A GUI library specific to the Crystal range of Symbian OS devices.
class diagram - see also component diagram, sequence diagram, state chart, UML
A diagram depicting a selection of classes in a system and the relationships between them, including inherits, contains, and uses relationships.
class invariant - see also assertion, postcondition, precondition
An assertion which is part of a class declaration, specifying a Boolean expression which must be true for all instances of the class at all times except perhaps when one of the class member functions is running. The class invariant is evaluated just before and just after a class member is called. A False result indicates there is an fault in the function.
An overview of a class describing what an instance of the class represents, and listing some or all of the members of a class along with their signatures, semantics, and other information, but not their implementation code.
Connected Limited Device Configuration (Sun J2ME)
cleanup stack - see also Leave
A stack for placing references to C type objects so that their destructors can be called when a Leave occurs.
A class or package which uses services provided by a Symbian OS server. Clients and servers run in different threads and possibly different processes.
client class - see also supplier class
A class is said to be a client of the classes whose member functions it calls. Those classes are its suppliers.
component diagram - see also class diagram, sequence diagram, state chart, UML
A diagram showing the dependencies among software components, including source code components, binary code components, and executable components. It may include interfaces.
concrete class - see also abstract class
A class which implements behavior, that is, which contains executable code and which can be instantiated. Most classes are concrete classes.
A class member function called to allocate memory for a new instance of the class, and to initialize the value of its member variables.
Applications and the user have restricted access to the file system. An application can access its own private directory and open directories, but it cant access private directories of other applications.
The file structure is as follows:
/sys/bin holds all executables (restricted access).
/private/ contains application-specific private
data (restricted access).
/private/<SID>, where SID is the ID of the application.
/resource/ contains publicly shared read-only files.
Other directories are open for read and write.
A generic, nestable, arbitrary sized data structure used to represent Service Attributes, Attribute Definitions, Service Search Patterns and various other Bluetooth service discovery entities.
A data element which is heterogeneous set of other Data Elements where each element is treated as an alternative to the others.
A data element which is a nestable, contiguous, heterogeneous sequence of other data elements.
Database Management System, a commonly used term for the Symbian OS database engine.
derive - see also inherit
The Symbian OS-preferred term for 'inherit'.
A string in Symbian OS defined in one of several class all derived from TDesC.
The process of finding the 48-bit address and name of each Bluetooth device currently in range.
A temporary user interface window for presenting context specific information to the user, or prompting for information in a specific context.
A class derived from CEikDocument which is part
of the application framework, and which contains all serializable data and
functions needed to make it persistent.
Digital Rights Management
Dual Tone Multi Frequency - the sound generated when you press a key on a tone dial telephone.
A collection of compiled classes or packages which can be loaded dynamically into an already executing application or other program.
Embedded Application Binary Interface
Symbian OS framework for plug-in DLLs
OpenGL ES native platform graphics interface
EIKON - see also CKON
Generic graphical user interface of the Symbian OS. EIKON defines a particular look and feel demonstrated by the Psion series 5 devices.
An implementation of Symbian OS on a Windows host, including a full emulation of an EPOC device. It is the main development and debugging platform for creators of new EPOC applications.
An application group including, for example, a Calculator, Clock, Composer and Voice recorder.
The button at the right hand side of the CKON GUI taskbar. Selecting the Extras icon displays a screen typically containing third-party applications.
An interface class whose derived classes create objects.
The action taken when an object is no longer needed, including destroying the object to release the resources it uses.
The Symbian OS-preferred term for a callback function.
Generic Object Exchange Profile
The same as Object Exchange Protocol (OBEX).
General Packet Radio System A radio technology for GSM networks. Transmission rates with theoretical maximum of 171.2 Kbps.
Global Positioning System
Global System for Mobile communications. A digital mobile phone system.
Graphical User Interface
High Speed Circuit Switched Data. Data communications technology for GSM. Transmission rates between 14.4Kbps and 57.6 Kbps.
Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. Data transfer protocol.
Image Conversion Library
Integrated Development Environment
Internet Message Access Protocol. An e-mail protocol.
Any general purpose software or hardware which is bought-in rather than built, including libraries, components, frameworks, etc.
inherit - see also derive
For one class to incorporate the member variables, functions, declarations and bodies of another class just by referring to the other class in an inheritance operator.
interface class - see also abstract class
A class which contains only virtual functions, intended to be inherited by other classes, ensuring that they include those functions in their interface.
invariant - see also class invariant
An assertion specifying a Boolean expression which must be true at all times. An invariant, which when evaluated is found to be false, indicates a fault in the code. A class invariant is an invariant applied to a class of objects.
An international organization that creates and promotes inter-operable, low cost infrared data interconnection standards that support a walk-up, point-to-point user model. The standards support a broad range of appliances, computing and communications devices.
Industry standard object-oriented language and runtime execution environment.
Java Platform, Micro Edition is application platform for mobile devices (formerly known as J2ME).
Logical Link Control And Adaptation Protocol
Any function which can leave. It must have an L postfixed to its name.
A landmark is a named object that contains a location. The location can be defined by various attributes, for example, WGS 84 coordinates or a textual address.
A landmark can be categorized by assigning a landmark category to it. A typical landmark category is Restaurant.
Persistent storage of a collection of landmarks and landmark categories.
A Symbian OS exception mechanism. A leave can be generated by calling new(ELeave), User::Leave() or
an L function.
The protocol used for link setup and control. The Link Manager Protocol PDU signals are interpreted and filtered out by the Link Manager on the receiving side and are not propagated to higher layers.
Logical Link Control And Adaptation Protocol
The Bluetooth protocol which provides connection-oriented and connectionless data services to upper layer protocols with protocol multiplexing capability, segmentation and reassembly operation, and group abstractions.
An EPOC server managing primarily the Symbian OS sound resources, that is, the microphone and speaker on EPOC devices.
A C++ function which is an element of a class.
A field in an object's structure defined by its class.
A class member function.
Mobile Information Device Profile. An extension API to the Connected Limited Device Configuration (CLDC), which addresses the specific needs of the mobile phone market.
mixin class - see also abstract class, interface class
An interface class.
Mobile Location Framework
Multimedia framework
A formal text file containing a Symbian OS project specification including the name of the target file, UIDs, library file names etc. Similar to a makefile.
Multimedia Messaging Service Protocol defined by 3GPP. Messaging for text, images, audio.
Message Type Module
NMEA 0183 version 2.1. The NMEA defines electrical signal requirements, data transmission protocol and time, and specific sentence formats for a 4800-baud serial data bus.
A protocol defining a way to exchange data objects between devices. It was adapted for Bluetooth from the IrDA standard.
observer - see also callback function, framework function
An object on which a callback function can be invoked to notify it that some event has occurred in the object it is observing. The observed object does not need to know anything about the observer except that the callback function can be invoked on it. So the observed objects class is not dependent on the observers class and can pre-exist it.
Open Mobile Alliance
OpenGL ES - see also EGL
OpenGL for Embedded Systems, a low-level 3D graphics API.
Over-the-Air. A wireless technique used for transferring an application to a phone.
An object is an owner of another object if it is responsible for its destruction in order to release resources.
A set of classes associated with one another in some way, and organised into a collection for name scoping, ease of handling, etc.
Packet Data Protocol
Pictographs are graphical symbols which a user can insert in the text in editors.
PKI (Public Key Infrastructure)
System of digital certificates, certification authorities, and registration authorities that verify and authenticate the validity of each party involved in an electronic transaction through the use of public key cryptography.
Psion Link Protocol
Post Office Protocol. An e-mail protocol.
postcondition - see also assertion, class invariant, precondition
An assertion attached to a function specifying a condition that must be true when the function returns, provided that it has been called correctly. Otherwise the function contains a fault. A function's postcondition should be evaluated just before the function returns, to check its correctness.
pre-emptive scheduling - see also thread
Scheduling where a threads execution can be suspended and later resumed, under the control of the operating system.
precondition - see also assertion, class invariant, postcondition
An assertion attached to a function specifying a condition that must be true when the function is called. Otherwise it is being called incorrectly, and may fail. A function's precondition can be evaluated at the start of the function call to test whether it is being called correctly.
process - see also thread
A single Symbian OS address space with one or more threads. ROM can be shared between processes but writeable memory addresses can only be addressed by one process.
A selection of protocols and procedures which Bluetooth devices that implement a particular service have to abide by.
A data packet sent as a message over Bluetooth.
A UUID specifying a particular Bluetooth protocol and an optional list of protocol specific parameters.
A Service Attribute which is an ordered list of Protocol Descriptors specifying the protocol stack that must be used to gain access to the service. Each Protocol Descriptor has a UUID to identify the protocol, and an optional list of protocol specific parameters.
A 16+ bit value identifying particular protocols or services for the Logical Link Control and Adaptation Layer.
pure virtual function - see also virtual function
A class virtual member function which has no executable body, only a name, signature, and possibly preconditions and postconditions.
Protocol/Service Multiplexor
Positioning Plug-in
A class that encapsulates a system resource.
An instance of an R class.
A Bluetooth protocol which emulates an RS-232 serial port. It emulates all nine signals of RS-232: TD, RD, RTS, CTS, etc.
Source compatibility
Software Development Kit
Service Discovery Protocol
sequence diagram - see also class diagram, component diagram, state chart, UML
A UML diagram showing messages passing between objects, against time. Time is conventionally on the vertical axis, increasing downwards. The commonest types of messages shown in sequence diagrams are ordinary function calls.
A class or package which provides a set of services for clients, e.g. communication services, timing services, etc. Clients and servers run in different threads and possibly different processes.
An attribute of a Service Record which specifies parameters needed to access the service. Each has a 16-bit identifier. The same attributes may appear in different Service Classes.
Used to categorize common Bluetooth services in order to ensure interoperability between different Bluetooth devices. Each Service Class is identified by a UUID.
A Service Attribute which is an ordered list of UUIDs, each of which identifies a Service Class. The service described by the Service Record implements all the Service Classes in this list.
A Bluetooth defined protocol which provides a means for applications to discover which services are available on other Bluetooth devices and to determine the characteristics of the available services, and the parameters needed to access them.
Service Discovery Protocol Database
A database in a Bluetooth device which can be queried remotely using the Service Discovery Protocol. The database contains Service Records which provide parameters needed when accessing the services the device offers.
A Service Attribute which is a UUID that uniquely identifies the service instance universally.
A Service Attribute which is a string providing a human-readable name for the service.
A record in the Service Discovery Protocol Database of a Bluetooth device corresponding to a particular service offered by the device. A Service Record has a list of Service Attributes which specify the parameters needed to access the service.
A Service Discovery Protocol Database.
A 32-bit number that uniquely identifies each Service Record within the scope of an SDP database.
A message in the form of an operation code passed from a client to a server requesting that a particular service is performed.
A pattern is used to find particular services on Bluetooth devices. It is a list of between 1 and 12 UUIDs.
A GSM digital mobile phone standard which enables a single short text message up to 160 characters long to be sent to a mobile phone.
Part of the specification or declaration of a function comprising its arguments and return type
Session Initiation Protocol
Symbian installation file. Applications made with the SDK need
to be packaged into a .sis file for uploading them to
real devices.
Short Message Service
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. An e-mail protocol.
A communication end-point between two applications, usually via TCP or UDP.
The Symbian OS server that manages sockets-based communications.
state chart - see also class diagram, component diagram, sequence diagram, UML
A UML diagram showing states (i.e. sets of facts) which are active (true) at different times, and the events which cause one state to cease being active and another one to become active. State charts are state transition diagrams extended to include superstates, substates, concurrent sets of states, etc.
supplier class - see also client class
A class is said to be a supplier to the classes which call its member functions. Those classes are its clients.
Scalable Vector Graphics Tiny
Industry standard for universal synchronization of remote data and personal information.
A facility shared between different applications, for example, the file system.
A class with no destructor. The T stands for Type.
An instance of a T class.
Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol. Internet protocol.
thread - see also process
A single path of execution in a process.
The area at the right hand side of the display usually containing a set of command buttons.
A total binary break exists between S60 Platform 2nd and 3rd Edition. This means that the 3rd Edition will not be binary compatible with the 2nd Edition. The total binary break is caused by the ARM compiler standard EABI.
Trusted Computing Base is the collection of software that enforces capabilities, identifiers, and data caging. TCB contains the kernel, the file system, and the software installer.
The method of constructing C class objects so that if a Leave occurs during construction it does not result in a memory leak.
User Interface
Unique Identifier
Universal Unique Identifier
UIKON - see also AVKON, CKON, EIKON
A UI and control framework common to all Symbian OS devices.
Unified Modelling Language - see also class diagram, sequence diagram, state chart
A standard graphical notation for representing various models used in object-oriented software development. The UML standard is maintained by the Object Management Group.
One of a set of up to three hexadecimal numbers attached to a file or application generally used to identify
the structure of the file
the outermost 'interface' provided by the file
a particular file or application.
A Service Attribute type which is common to most Service Records across different SDP databases.
An identifier which universally identifies Bluetooth Service Classes and other entities. UUIDs are actually 128 bit values but for convenience there are two ranges of pre-allocated UUIDs, and values within these ranges can be expressed as 16 or 32 bit values. To following formula converts a 16 bit UUID, or a 32 bit UUID, into a 128 bit UUID:
UUID128 = UUID16 << 96 + BluetoothBase<a href="-..\#UUID">UUID
where BluetoothBaseUUID = 0x0000 0000 0000 1000 8000 0080 5F9B 34FB.
Uniform Resource Locator
A possible sequence of actions that a system can perform so that a particular objective is accomplished.
Data format for exchanging calendaring and scheduling information.
Electronic business card data format.
A class member function whose body can be redefined in other classes which are derived from the class. The body is called using late binding.
Indicates whether a member of a class is public, protected or private.
Wireless Application Protocol. Optimized protocol for viewing content over mobile networks.
Wide Code Division Multiple Access technology
World Geodetic System 1984
Windows Single Process
Wireless Local Area Network
Wireless Markup Language. XML-based markup language optimized for mobile devices with small screens.
Wireless Telephony Application Interface. WAP tools for creating telephony applications.
Wireless Transport Layer Security. The WTLS layer provides privacy, data integrity and authentication for WAP.
A Symbian OS thread that manages user input and drawing to the screen.