If you have worked through the instructions in "Installation and Configuration," you should now be able to develop a simple ACCESS Linux Platform application and run it in the ACCESS Linux Platform Simulator. The following sections walk you through this process, allowing you to verify that the installation was successful.

If you encounter any problems, refer to Chapter 4, "Troubleshooting."

Booting the Simulator ^TOP^

Before you can boot the Simulator, you must have configured and rootstrapped the simulator target as described in "Configuring Your Scratchbox Target".

1. Reboot your computer. Note that you do not need to do this each time you start the Simulator. You only need to do this before starting the Simulator for the first time after installation.
2. From the Ubuntu menu, choose Applications > Programming > ACCESS Simulator.

   This opens both a terminal window and a separate window that displays the Simulator.

   Alternatively, you can open a new terminal window and start the Simulator with the following command:

alp-sim

Note that you cannot use the same terminal window that you used for configuring the simulator rootstrap because you must start the Simulator session from outside of Scratchbox.

3. When you are prompted for your password in the terminal window, enter your login password. This is needed because the Simulator uses sudo to configure your network settings.
4. The terminal window displays a very long a stream of console messages. At the same time, a separate window opens to display the ACCESS Linux Platform setup screen or home screen (the setup screen appears the first time you run the Simulator after installing it; after that, launching the Simulator will bring up the home screen). The Simulator boot process may take some time. Wait for the activity in both the Simulator window and the terminal window to complete.
5. Ensure that the terminal window has the focus, and press the Return key. You should see a login prompt, like this:

ALP-Device login:

6. Log in with userid root. No password is required.
7. If the Simulator shows a calibration screen that requires you to interact with it, do the following:
   1. Calibrate the simulated touchscreen by placing the point of your cursor on the center of the target and left-click your mouse. The target will move; repeat this process each time the target stops at a new location. When calibration is complete, click Next.
   2. Select your chosen language (English is the default) and click Next.
   3. On the "Set Date and Time" screen, choose a time zone. If necessary, specify the current date and time. Click Next.
   4. Click OK when notified that setup is complete.

Basic Simulator Operations ^TOP^

The Simulator initially starts at the Home screen. At the bottom is a large button labeled Applications; click this button to bring up the applications launcher.

From within an application, or from the launcher, you can return to the Home screen by pressing the Home key on your computer's keyboard.

To display an application's menus, press the F10 key.

Leave the Simulator running, and proceed to "Configuring the Development Environment" to verify the correct operation of Eclipse and the development tools.

For complete instructions on starting and operating the Simulator, see the Development Tools manual. For additional tips on operating the ACCESS Linux Platform Simulator, see the "Testing and Debugging" chapter in the Application Programming manual.

Configuring the Development Environment ^TOP^

This section shows you how to set up a workspace in Eclipse that is suitable for developing applications for the ACCESS Linux Platform.

1. From the Ubuntu menu, choose Applications > Programming > ACCESS Development Suite.

   This launches the ACCESS Linux Platform version of Eclipse.

   Alternatively, you can open a new terminal window and start Eclipse with the following command:

alp-eclipse

2. Click the Browse button.
3. Double-click on "File System" in the left-hand pane, then navigate to /scratchbox/users/$USER/home/$USER/.
4. Optionally, create an additional subdirectory to serve as your workspace (use the Create Folder button in the upper-right corner of the dialog).
5. Click OK to confirm your workspace path and to dismiss the Select Workspace Directory dialog.
6. In the Workspace Launcher dialog, check the Use this as the default and do not ask again checkbox. Figure 2.1 shows what the dialog should look like.
7. Click OK to confirm your choice and dismiss the Workspace Launcher dialog.

Figure 2.1  Selecting an Eclipse workspace

Using a Sample Application ^TOP^

The SDK includes a set of sample applications that you can import into Eclipse. The samples provide a more well-developed frame on which to begin a new project. These samples are located in the
/scratchbox/ALP/samples directory. To import the worldclock sample into Eclipse, complete the following steps:

1. From the Eclipse File menu, choose New > ACCESS C/C++ Application Project.
2. When prompted for a project name. Enter WorldClockSample in the Project Name field and click Finish.
3. Verify that WorldClockSample is selected as the current project in the Project Explorer pane in Eclipse, then choose File > Import from the Eclipse menu.

   This displays the Import dialog.

4. Open the General tab, choose File System, and then click Next.
5. In the From directory combo box, browse to /scratchbox/ALP/samples/worldclock, then click OK.

   The worldclock directory appears in the left-hand pane and all of the files within that directory appear in the right-hand pane within the Import dialog.

6. Click the box next to the worldclock directory so that a checkmark appears in that box.
7. Click Finish to dismiss the Import dialog.

   The files from the worldclock directory are imported into the WorldClockSample project in Eclipse. A copy of these files is created in the WorldClockSample project directory within your workspace.

8. Make sure that the worldclock project is selected, then choose Window > Preferences from the Eclipse menu.
9. In the Preferences window, click the triangle next to ACCESS Linux Platform Development Suite.

   Scratchbox Targets will be exposed.

10. Click Scratchbox Targets. In the right-hand pane, ensure that the alp-simulator target is selected.
11. Click OK to dismiss the Preferences dialog.
12. Choose Build All from the Project menu.

    This builds the sample project for the Simulator.

13. From the Run menu, choose Run As > ACCESS C/C++ Application in Simulator.

    This downloads SampleApp to the Simulator and then launches the Simulator, if it has not already been launched.

The Simulator displays your WorldClockSample project.

Creating a Simple Application ^TOP^

This section shows you how to use the template feature in Eclipse to create a very simple application and then display it in the Simulator.

1. From the Eclipse menu, choose File > New > ACCESS C/C++ Application Project.

   You are prompted for a project name.

2. Enter Hello in the Project Name field and click Next. Do not click Finish at this time.

   The Templates dialog displays.

3. Click the Use Templates checkbox.
4. From the list of available templates, choose Simple Glade Application and then click Finish.

   Eclipse's Project Explorer displays a new project, named Hello that has source files, resources, a makefile, and a manifest. You next need to double-check your target, after which you can build the project.

5. Make sure that the Hello project is selected, then choose Window > Preferences from the Eclipse menu.
6. In the Preferences window, click the triangle next to ACCESS Linux Platform Development Suite.

   Scratchbox Targets will be exposed.

7. Click Scratchbox Targets. In the right-hand pane, ensure that the alp-simulator target is selected.
8. Click OK to dismiss the Preferences dialog.
9. Choose Project > Build All from the Eclipse menu.

   This builds the sample project with a Glade UI.

10. Choose Run > Run As > ACCESS C/C++ Application in Simulator from the Eclipse menu.

The application is downloaded to the Simulator and launched. You should see something like the following:

Next Steps ^TOP^

Now that you have verified that the Simulator, Eclipse, and the toolchain used to build a basic application are all working, you can proceed to the other documentation provided with the SDK.

If you are unfamiliar with ACCESS Linux Platform application development, see Application Programming. Other manuals discuss more specialized areas of ACCESS Linux Platform application development, such as networking, telephony, multimedia, and so forth. The SDK documentation can be found in /opt/alp-dev/sdk/docs; double-click index.html for a brief description and link to each document.