P.I.P.S. Explained

P.I.P.S. is a term (recursive acronym) for Symbian software libraries, and means "P.I.P.S. Is POSIX on Symbian OS". It is intended to help C language programmers in migration of desktop and server middleware, applications to Symbian OS based mobile smartphone devices.^{[1] [2]}

Software libraries

The PIPS software libraries provides C and C++ application programming interfaces in standard C libraries such as

• POSIX
  • libc – The "C Standard Library" with system APIs mapped to Symbian OS APIs for better performance
  • libm – A mathematical library
  • libpthread – Implements POSIX-style threading support in terms of the underlying Symbian OS thread support
  • libdl – Implements POSIX-style dynamic linking which extends the dynamic loading model of Symbian OS
• LIBZ
  • libz
• OpenSSL
  • libcrypt
  • libcrypto
  • libssl
• GNOME
  • libglib

Limitations

The P.I.P.S. environment does not support true signalling. Basic signal support is emulated using threads.

Extensions and successors: Open C and Open C++

Open C and Open C++ are extensions by Nokia of P.I.P.S. In contrast to mere P.I.P.S., they were only for Series 60 phones.^[3]

Naming

The name was the result of an internal competition in the Symbian Developer Marketing department, organised by Bruce Carney (Developer Marketing) and Erik Jacobson (Product Manager). The full-stops were inserted by Symbian's Legal department to ensure there were no trademark or copyright infringements.

See also

• POSIX
• POSIX Threads
• C POSIX library

Further reading

• Book: Babin, Steve. Developing Software for Symbian OS – A Beginner's Guide to Creating Symbian OS V9 Smartphone Applications in C++. Wiley. 2007. 460. 978-0470725702.
• Book: Stichbury, Jo. Games on Symbian OS – A Handbook for Mobile Development. Wiley. 2008. 400. 978-0470998144.
• Book: Wilcox, Mark. Porting to the Symbian Platform – Open Mobile Development in C/C++. Wiley. 2009. 442. 978-0470746172.

External links

• P.I.P.S. – Nokia Developer Wiki – page does not exist
• A Guide To P.I.P.S. – Nokia Developer Wiki – page does not exist

Notes and References

1. http://www.symbian.com/news/pr/2007/pr20078721.html Symbian introduces POSIX libraries on Symbian OS
2. Web site: Symbian OS to gain POSIX libraries. https://archive.today/20120905035012/http://www.linuxfordevices.com/c/a/News/Symbian-OS-to-gain-POSIX-libraries/. 5 September 2012. dead.
3. Wilcox, Mark and others, Porting to the Symbian Platform, pages 106–107, 2009, Wiley