Build and inspect the GUI executable¶

For a distribution installation, use the copied application and output paths from Build a real GUI app. The commands below use the repository's examples/gui_app source checkout.

symbian build --project examples/gui_app --output .symbian/gui-app
symbian inspect .symbian/gui-app/gui_app.elf --format elf32
symbian inspect .symbian/gui-app/gui_app.exe --format e32

The CLI loads symbian.toml, resolves the selected SDK's proxy paths and passes the target toolchain to the project's preset. The project builds with Ninja, converts with the native E32 writer, and repeats the build in a separate directory. It compares the ELF and E32 bytes and records actual dependencies. No Python implementation of ELF/E32/DEF parsing is used.

Output	Use
`.symbian/gui-app/gui_app.exe`	Guest E32 executable
`.symbian/gui-app/gui_app.elf`	Original ARM ELF with symbols and DWARF
`.symbian/gui-app/report.json`	Hashes, inputs, tool versions, build logs and native metadata
`.symbian/gui-app/compile_commands.json`	Real CMake compilation database for editors
`.symbian/gui-app/cmake/`	Persistent CMake/Ninja target tree

Edit app.cc, window_server.cc or model.h and rerun symbian build. The persistent tree provides the incremental build; the second build rechecks reproducibility. You can also use cmake --build .symbian/gui-app/cmake for quick compiler feedback, but that alone does not reconvert or update the published .exe and report.

Select another SDK with the project's sdk-location.json. The example uses that SDK's platform headers when the source-checkout header directory is absent, and ${sdk} import paths follow the selection automatically. An ignored CMakeUserPresets.json can inherit symbian-pic; set cmake_preset to its name. The integration fixture in symbian/tests/test_gui.py demonstrates this with paths containing spaces. Do not copy an arbitrary SDK onto the source profile and assume the frozen ordinals remain valid.

The native package writer accepts imported executables and, when the manifest has [application], bundles genuine compiled registration/caption resources on the executable's install drive. It still rejects DLL payloads. The project declares package UID 0xe0000812, independently of executable UID 0xe0000811:

symbian package --project examples/gui_app \
  --artifact .symbian/gui-app/gui_app.exe --output .symbian/gui-package
symbian inspect .symbian/gui-package/gui_app.sis --format sis
symbian toolchain verify-gui-package .symbian/gui-package/gui_app.sis \
  --executable .symbian/gui-app/gui_app.exe \
  --oracles-build build/eka2l1 --output .symbian/gui-package-check

Edit menu text in examples/gui_app/symbian.toml:

[application]
caption = "Symbian GUI Counter"
short_caption = "Counter"
icon = "assets/icon.svg"

[application.localizations.de]
caption = "Symbian Zähler"
short_caption = "Zähler"

The package contains the unchanged EXE, fallback and translated menu resources, and an SDK-compiled SVG-in-MIF icon on the same install drive; target system libraries must already exist. Native inspection checks every embedded hash, resource UID and install path. Use compatible system DLLs from the selected firmware; package inspection alone does not execute the application.

Run checks without a ROM¶

Build and run the host GTests and Python policy tests:

cmake --preset debug
cmake --build --preset debug -j 8
ctest --preset debug
SYMBIAN_GUI_SOURCE_ROOT="$PWD/research/upstream" uv run pytest \
  symbian/tests/test_gui.py -q

The source environment variable enables the real SDK/link fixture. Without it, the two source-dependent cases skip; they are not silently counted as passing. To enable historical validation also build the research oracles and supply their path:

SYMBIAN_GUI_SOURCE_ROOT="$PWD/research/upstream" \
  SYMBIAN_EKA2L1_ORACLES_BUILD="$PWD/build/eka2l1" \
  uv run pytest symbian/tests/test_gui.py -q
symbian toolchain verify-gui .symbian/gui-app/gui_app.exe \
  --oracles-build build/eka2l1 --output .symbian/gui-validation

The emulator source build supplies these validators. verify-gui checks image metadata and checksums; run the GUI separately to exercise imports, drawing and input.

For formatting and the full Python suite:

On macOS, use $(brew --prefix llvm)/bin/clang-format in place of clang-format if Homebrew's LLVM bin directory is not on PATH.

uv run black --check symbian scripts
uv run ruff check symbian scripts
clang-format --dry-run --Werror \
  examples/gui_app/app.cc examples/gui_app/window_server.cc \
  symbian/toolchain/cmake/exe_startup.cc \
  examples/gui_app/model.h cpp/tests/gui_model_test.cc
uv run pytest -q

Source-dependent tests need the prepared headers and, for native image validators, SYMBIAN_EKA2L1_ORACLES_BUILD. Tests requiring absent optional inputs are skipped.