FAQ-1290 What C++ toolchain do I need for developing on Symbian OS?


FAQ-1290 What C++ toolchain do I need for developing on Symbian OS?

» Symbian OS » Developer Knowledgebase » FAQ-1290

Classification:	C++	Category:	Development
Created:	07/19/2005	Modified:	09/27/2005
Number:	FAQ-1290
Platform:	Symbian OS v6.0, Symbian OS v6.1, Symbian OS v7.0, Symbian OS v7.0s, Symbian OS v8.0, Symbian OS v8.0a, Symbian OS v8.0b, Symbian OS v8.1a, Symbian OS v8.1b, Symbian OS v9, Symbian OS v9.0

Question:
What C++ toolchain do I need for developing on Symbian OS?
Can we use the ADS 1.2 toolchain for compiling Symbian OS?
Other toolchain FAQs

Answer:
What C++ toolchain do I need for developing Symbian OS?
Functional specifications on Symbian OS versions, including toolchain support, can be obtained at http://www.symbian.com/technology/product_descriptions.html. In addition to formal toolchain support, see http://www.symbian.com/developer for the latest tools available from Symbian partners.

Symbian OS v9.x

CodeWarrior for Symbian OS v3.0, and ARM RVCT 2.2 compiler OR GCC-E
PC emulation environment
Eclipse-based tools for Symbian OS v9

Notes:

The RVCT compiler is obtained through ARM. See http://www.arm.com/products/DevTools/RealViewDevSuite.html for more information.
The (free) GCC-E compiler produces EABI compatible binaries and can be used for application development, but does not support some kernel-side programming, including device driver development (see FAQ 1293)
CodeWarrior for Symbian OS, an evolving product line being developed by Nokia in partnership with Symbian, supporting software development on the Symbian OS emulator or target device, and including integrated support for on-target debugging. Announcements in relation to additional IDEs are expected during the lifetime of Symbian OS v9.
Eclipse-based tools for Symbian OS v9 are in development, but there are (at time of writing) no confirmed release dates.

Symbian OS v8.1b

CodeWarrior for Symbian OS v3.0 and ARM RVCT 2.1 compiler.
PC emulation environment

Note:

RVCT v2.1 is used for Symbian OS v8.1b development (note RVCT v2.2 is used for Symbian OS v9 development).

Symbian OS v8.0a, v8.0b, v8.1a

Metrowerks CodeWarrior, Borland C++ BuilderX and MS Visual Studio support for C++ development
PC emulation environment
GCC 2.9 for compiling on target binaries.

Symbian OS v7.0s

Metrowerks CodeWarrior, Borland C++ BuilderX and MS Visual Studio support for C++ development
PC emulation environment
GCC 2.9 for compiling on target binaries.

Symbian OS v7.0

Metrowerks CodeWarrior, Borland C++ BuilderX and MS Visual Studio support for C++ development
PC emulation environment
GCC 2.9 for compiling on target binaries.

Can we use ARM's ADS 1.2 toolchain for compiling Symbian OS?
No.
The Arm Developer Suite (ADS) was re-branded to "RealView Developer Suite" in the transition from version 1.2 to 2.x. The versions of RVCT compiler in ADS 1.2 are not compatible with Symbian OS.

Other toolchain FAQs