Mobile Python: Rapid Prototyping of Applications on the Mobile Platform

Glossary

Application

A program including a user interface that allows rich interaction with the user

Carrier

A mobile network operator

Cell phone

A mobile phone

Console

User interface of the Python for S60 script shell – either on the phone or on the PC over Bluetooth

Event

An external event, such as the user pressing a key or an SMS message arriving, that causes the program to react, typically by way of a callback function

Interpreter

A computer program that executes Python code; you have to install the Python for S60 interpreter on a phone to run Python programs

Library

Equivalent to a module or a collection of modules

MMS

Multimedia message service; an extension to SMS that allows sending of images and sounds or other rich types of data

Mobile network operator

A company that provides services for mobile phone subscribers

Mobile phone

A personal handheld communication device; modern mobile phones, especially smartphones, provide many functionalities, such as web browser, email, camera and music player, in addition to normal telephone functions

Module

A file that contains a collection of related functions and data grouped together; a program may import a module (unlike an object) only once and cannot handle several instances of the same module

Object

A basic building block of programs that contains both data (variables) and functions that are used to modify the data; practically everything in Python is an object, including strings, lists and functions