Introduction to EPOC OPL Development
by Richard Bloor
The Future of OPL
OPL is currently a core element of the EPOC operating system and will be included in the Crystal DFRD when EPOC release 6 is launched. However this is not a guarantee that OPL will be available on all future EPOC devices, as it's delivery (as with any EPOC application) will be determined by the licensee. The Psion Revo, for example, does not include the OPL development environment (although the run time is present).
Currently it is likely that OPL will be absent from the Pearl and Quartz DFRD's, if only because these devices form factor does not readily facilitate the intensity of text editing necessary for application development. However Symbian may include an OPL runtime in these DFRD's.
So while OPL provides an easy entry point to EPOC development it may not provide a practical platform for commercial application development if only because OPL applications may not be deployable on all future EPOC devices.
Even so OPL provides a useful tool in the EPOC development armoury. The basics can be mastered in a few days and advanced development can be achieved in less than a month. Applications can be developed with relative speed and ideas trailed before transferring to either Java or C++.
What Next?
Hopefully this article has given you some insight into the how the OPL works. If you wish to explore OPL further the following is recommended:
- register with the Symbian Developer Network and download the OPL SDK
- download a copy of the Resource file tutorial (also from the Symbian Developer site), which contains a useful example program illustrating the principal of event programming, use of OPXs and OPMs as well as (obviously) resource files.
