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OPL Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some Frequently Asked Questions about OPL:

  1. What is OPL?
  2. What do the letters OPL stand for?
  3. How much does it cost?
  4. Why can't I get OPL for my other Symbian OS phone?
  5. I can't get my OPL program running. Will you help me?
  6. Will my OPL program run on another type of device?

1. What is OPL?

OPL is an interpreted BASIC-like programming language purpose-built for Symbian OS mobile phones.

In more detail, OPL is an interpreted language that requires a translation phase before execution. OPL consists primarily of the following components:

  1. the runtime (runs on Symbian OS phones)
  2. the translator (runs on Symbian OS phones or as a PC-based tool)
  3. OPLTools (run on a PC)
  4. TextEd (runs on Symbian OS phones to allow for on-target development)
  5. DemoOPL (comprehensive OPL example application)
  6. OPXs (extensions to OPL written in C++ which run on Symbian OS phones)
  7. OPLRSS (language localization tool which runs on PC)

2. What do the letters OPL stand for?

Twenty years ago, OPL was orginally the acronym for 'Organiser Programming Language'. We felt it was time for a change, and to reflect the new open status of the language, 'Open Programming Language' seems more appropriate!

3. How much does OPL cost?

OPL is free! Free to download, free to use and free to develop on. The only time you need to pay is for OPL shareware or commercial OPL software. (This is where OPL developers have written applications and require their users to pay to use them.)

4. Why can't I get OPL for my other Symbian OS phone?

At the moment, OPL is only available for download for the Nokia Communicator 92xx/9300/9500 series (stable), for UIQ (beta) and for Series 6.0 (early alpha). This is because there's been a limited resource working on the OPL port.

We hope that other software engineers will be willing to contribute to this project so that we can port OPL to other Symbian OS phones.

5. I can't get my OPL program running. Will you help me?

Support for OPL developers is available at many existing websites. We've compiled an overview on the Documentation page.

6. Will my OPL program run on another type of Symbian OS phone?

When OPL is available for many different phone models, will a program written for one model run on another?
Yes, in the same manner as a program written for the Psion Series 5 will run on the Psion Revo or Psion Series 7. That is, within the same version of Symbian OS, there's no reason why a programmer can't release their apps for more than one phone. (The limiting factor will be the underlying version of Symbian OS. For the Nokia 92xx, this is Symbian OS 6.0.)

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