[PyKDE] ANN: PyQt for Sharp Zaurus

[Phil Thompson]

PyQt has now been ported to the Sharp Zaurus and is available from
http://www.river-bank.demon.co.uk/software/Zaurus/. The README is
attached.

The Python packages have also been updated. These are needed - please
remove any previous versions.

Current questions/issues...

- There is no support for the QPE classes because of the mismatch
between the Qtopia SDK and the Zaurus ROMs. What the best way to
approach this problem at the moment?

- What should a .desktop file look like for a Python program?

- How do you launch an application from a telnet session for it to be
displayed?  Setting QWS_DISPLAY doesn't seem to work.

Have fun.
Phil
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             Installing Python and PyQt Binaries on the Sharp Zaurus


INTRODUCTION

This file describes the installation of the binary packages (.ipk files) for
Python and PyQt on the Sharp Zaurus PDA.


LIMITATIONS

The current version has no support for the Qt Palmtop environment because the
Qtopia SDK does not match the current Zaurus ROMs.  However, "traditional" PyQt
programs run fine and QPE support can be added when available by changing a
couple of lines in your programs.

PyQt is quite large (about 4M) as is calls almost every Qt function.  There is
no point in trying to install or run PyQt unless you have additional storage in
your Zaurus.  The instructions in this document assume you have CompactFlash
installed - make appropriate adjustments for other storage media.


REQUIREMENTS

The minimum you need are the .ipk files for Python and PyQt.  These are
available at http://www.river-bank.demon.co.uk/software/Zaurus.

You may also want the other .ipk files containing different Python extension
modules.  More of these will be added over time.

You will almost certainly need the nipkg script.  This is a modified version of
the ipkg script that is supplied with the Zaurus and makes better use of
storage to allow bigger packages to be installed.


INSTALLATION

Create a temporary directory on your additional storage and make it your
current directory...

	mkdir /mnt/cf/pyqt
	cd /mnt/cf/pyqt

Copy the .ipk files you want to install and the nipkg script to that directory.

For each of the .ipk files you want to install, run...

	./nipkg -t . install <.ipk file>

The packages don't currently have any dependency information so the order of
installation isn't important.

You can remove the temporary directory and its contents afterwards.


CREATING SPACE TO RUN PYTHON PROGRAMS

You also need to make sure you have enough virtual memory available to run PyQt
programs - this means adding swap space if you haven't already done so.  This
step is not necessary if you are running ordinary Python programs.

The following steps create and enable an 8M swap file on the CompactFlash
device.

	dd if=/dev/zero of=/mnt/cf/swapfile bs=1024 count=8192
	mkswap /mnt/cf/swapfile
	swapon /mnt/cf/swapfile


RUNNING PYTHON PROGRAMS

The easiest way to run Python programs is from the Zaurus terminal emulator.

Question: How do you launch a QPE application from a telnet session?

Question: What should the contents of a .desktop file look like for a PyQt
	program?


FUTURE ENHANCEMENTS

PyQt will be further developed for the Zaurus to...

	- implement the QPE classes
	- reduce the run-time memory requirements.


Phil Thompson
<phil at river-bank.demon.co.uk>