Yay, it doesn't have to be Java!

Looked at the Android stuff the other day, wondering how easy it would be to get my OSS app running on that (shameless plug - www.flameproject.org). They talk about Eclipse a lot.

"Cool!" I thought.

I've used Eclipse a lot the last few years, as the C programming IDE/platform for development (on Gentoo Linux mostly).

Several pages in, *still* looking to find out which languages are supported, they have an FAQ section.. and question # 2 is along the lines of "Can I program in C/C++?". The answer "No. Java only."

One language only! (and not even the one I want!)

Ugh. Complete lossage. Scratch Android from the list.

They try and encourage innovation and people to get involved, then they say "Java Only". Perhaps that C/C++ coders are asking frequently enough for it to be question #2 in their FAQ hasn't quite clued them in that there are lots of OSS C/C++ coders around who would like to take their app mobile.

So, next stop, LiMo Foundation website. And yep, they specifically support C and C++.

Unsure of effort involved, but at least it looks possible with LiMo. Whereas with Android... Ugh... Java Only... Complete Lossage. No thanks.

Other (very good) options

Symbian and WinMobile are not the only platforms that allow 3rd-party apps. i have a BlackBerry 8800 that runs those quite well, thank you (even after a swim in the lake).

having dealt at length with WinMobile, i have to say it is still intolerable sh*t, though Symbian seems stable enough. BB8800 is the best smartphone i've ever owned; only my Treo 650 was more stable (and could also run 3rd-party apps).

Next!

So it's shared source only within the cartel, and you need the upcoming DRM, erm, security framework to deploy applications. Thank you for showing us your Linux "credentials".

Next!