Building a SIS File in Carbide.c++

From Symbian Developer Community

1 Introduction
2 Carbide.c++ build configurations
3 Summary
4 Related Info

Introduction

Symbian applications are packaged for installation in (.sis) files based on a specification in a package (.pkg) file. Many manufacturers further mandate that only digitally signed .sis files may be installed - these files are often then given the file extension ".sisx".

This topic discusses how you configure Carbide.c++ to automatically create and sign your sis file when you build a configuration for hardware.

Carbide.c++ build configurations

If you created an application using the Carbide C++ Project wizard (as described in our Symbian C++ Quick Start) an installation file will be created when you build a project with a hardware "build configuration" (e.g. GCCE or ARMv5 configurations).

Note
Note: No sis file is automatically created when you select the Emulator (WINSCW) configurations. It is possible to do so, but there is not much point as binaries can be built directly into the Emulator filesystem.

However if you imported a project or manually added a build target then the SIS builder will not automatically be configured; the project compiles without errors but no installation file will be created.

To create a new SIS builder configuration, first right-click on the project and go to the 'Project Properties. Next, select the Carbide.c++ category and choose Carbide Build Configurations. Check that you have selected the correct configuration that you want to add SIS building to: for example Phone Release (GCCE) [S60_5th_Edition SDK]. If there is no profile in the SIS Builder-tab, you have to create it manually.

Click on Add to bring up the SIS Properties dialog.

If the application has only user-grantable (or no) capabilities (like in the Symbian C++ Quick Start then you can configure as shown below; you need to specify that the application is to be self signed and the package file. You do not need to fill in the Output File Name and Signed SIS File Name boxes as standard names will be assigned automatically. You do not need to fill in the certificate name because this will be created automatically on your behalf.
If you have your own certificate - perhaps a developer certificate - then you can specify its details instead. Again you do not need to specify the output and signed SIS file names as the defaults are almost always acceptable.