Software Development Kits
To encourage and assist developers and value added resellers,
we provide easy to use development environments in 'C', OPL
(Psion basic-like language) and OVAL (Psion Visual Basic-like
language) languages, with a large variety of useful development
tools. We also provide a full support and backup team,
providing sales, system integration, technical support,
development and marketing assistance for all our developers
and customers.
The SIBO OPL SDK is a full-feature software Development Kit
aimed at developers writing horizontal and vertical OPL
applications for all machines in the SIBO range.
The SDK includes ODE (OPL Development Environment) which
is a powerful Windows-hosted IDE. The development kit also
features two comprehensive binders of documentation and a
library of code which is enhanced and improved
SIBO 'C'
The Psion SIBO 'C' Software Development Kits
The Psion SIBO 'C' Software Development Kit provides the
information necessary to develop C language applications for
the Psion SIBO family of hand-held and notebook computers
The 'C' SDK is available in three variants: Documentation,
Standard and Professional.
SIBO C SDK Documentation only
The Documentation variant contains:
Four volumes of SDK documentation, containing over a
dozen of manuals, the Psion software environment,
including libraries, header files and associated software
tools, example program source code that relates to the
documentation.
This variant is not sufficient by itself to develop SIBO
applications in C. It would be suitable for the following reasons:
you already have the Clarion TopSpeed C package, you
require additional copies of the documentation, say, for
design purposes, you wish to upgrade to a later version
of the SDK, you wish to evaluate the SDK development
environment, you intend to develop applications in OPL.
SIBO C SDK Standard Edition
In addition to the material supplied in the Documentation
variant, the Standard variant contains:
TopSpeed C, the Clarion C compiler and library,
TopSpeed Environment, the Clarion multi-window
editor and project system.
This variant contains all the system software necessary to
develop SIBO applications in C. The TopSpeed C components
may be used independently of the Psion SDK components both
to learn C programming and to write C programs to run on a
PC.
This variant would be suitable if:
You intend to develop C applications for any of the SIBO
range of computers, you do not already have the
TopSpeed C package.
SIBO C SDK Professional Edition
In addition to the material supplied in the Documentation and
Standard variants, the Professional variant contains:
· the Clarion TopSpeed TechKit, including the TopSpeed
assembler, the Clarion TopSpeed C Library Source Kit,
containing the source code (both C and assembler) for
the C library that is supplied with the compiler, Psion
SIBO CLIB C library source.
This variant would be suitable for the following reasons:
you develop substantial applications for the PC as well
as for SIBO machines, you wish, or need, to write at
least part of your code in assembly language,. you need
to have control over the C library.
Generally speaking, an application written in C will be more
responsive and may use less memory than one written in OPL.
Large applications, or those that are critically dependent on
speed will benefit from being written in C, which provides the
potential to create a more sophisticated application than is
practical in OPL.
For many applications, however, the difference may not be
significant. Development in OPL involves a much smaller
learning curve, particularly if the programmer is not already
familiar with the C language.
An application written in C must be developed on a PC. For
such development you will need:
a Psion EPOC16 machine
an IBM PC or compatible,
a text or program editor, such as Brief, to run on the
PC,
at least those elements of Clarion TopSpeed C and
the Psion C development environment that are
provided by the Standard version of the SIBO C SDK,
CLIB or PLIB?
An application developed in C may make use of either of two C
libraries: CLIB or PLIB. CLIB contains standard functions,
familiar to most C developers, and described in TopSpeed's C
Library Reference manual. A developer who wishes to port an
existing application to a SIBO machine with a minimum amount
of effort would use CLIB. A pure CLIB program is, however,
restricted to a much simpler user interface than is possible
when using PLIB.
The PLIB library is more closely matched to the EPOC
architecture and will, in general, result in a smaller program
than the equivalent CLIB version. In addition, it provides access
to many of the EPOC system services that are not available in
CLIB. There is, however, more to learn for a programmer
already familiar with standard C libraries.
A compromise route is possible, since a CLIB program may
also use PLIB functions.
Object Oriented Programming
Developers writing for the EPOC16 machines may choose to
write their applications with the aid of Psion's Object Oriented
programming system. This is the system used by Psion in the
development of application software.
Applications written using this system can make use of the
extensive Object Oriented libraries that are built into the ROM of
all EPOC16 machines. As a result, such applications can be
more sophisticated and flexible than those written in "straight"
C.
The C development process
Programs are written on the PC, using either the TopSpeed
Environment or another program editor, such as Brief.
When successfully compiled and linked the program is
transferred to, and run on, the EPOC16 unit. This can
conveniently be done with the aid of the SIBO debugger that is
provided with the 'C' SDK. Those parts of the software that do
not depend on user interface code specific to the EPOC16
machine may be debugged locally, on the PC.
OVAL SDK
The OVAL SDK
There's been a revolution in computer software, from a textbased, program-driven approach to graphics-based, user-driven
interfaces. The new graphical user interfaces (GUIs) have
introduced menus, mice and dialog boxes, and underlying these
developments is a fundamental shift in programming
philosophy. Event-driven programming lets the user control the
software, not the other way round.
Traditional computer programs go in a straight line: input,
process, output. Event-driven software is based on the event
loop: wait for an event, act on it, go back to waiting. An event
could be a mouse click, selecting a menu option, a keypress, or
any other user action. This requires you to write your software in
a new way: your users control your application, and you must
respond appropriately to their commands.
This has led to traditional programming languages being used
in a way that was not foreseen by their designers; C, Pascal,
BASIC and other languages were designed for writing programs
which control the user's actions. The advent of GUIs has
brought new languages designed for event-driven programming.
OVAL is such a language. You design OVAL interfaces in terms
of objects which your users can act on, producing events which
you then respond to. This means you can separate the interface
from the 'engine code' - the part of your program that actually
does the work.
OVAL brings visual programming, rapid application
development and prototyping to the Psion range of handheld
computers. Developers previously limited to working in C and
OPL can now design their applications graphically in the PC
integrated development environment and see them running
immediately on a connected Psion computer.
OVAL is not only code-compatible with Microsoft Visual Basic
but includes a full set of controls which enable you to take full
advantage of the powerful Psion operating system.
With OVAL, you get a Windows-based development
environment, featuring an intelligent source code editor, code
translators for Psion computers, and over 30 controls specially
designed for building Psion-based applications.
The OVAL SDK can be downloaded from our Partner Program
website at:
www.psionteklogix.com/teknet/pdk/workaboutmx-pdk/oval_downloads.htm