Kindle - C/C++ programming
 

Hi!

I'm considering the possibility to buy Amazon Kindle.

I want to port my pbchess (https://sourceforge.net/projects/pbchess/) program to Amazon Kindle.

The questions are:

1. Can I write C/C++ programs for Amazon Kindle (not only java/KDK) ? What UI library used for Kindle? gtk+ ?

2. Can I connect to Amazon Kindle through telnet / ssh?

1. Yes, but you will most probably never see an official distribution channel for these programs and be dependent on hacks to run them. As the Kindle comes with a Java AWT derived UI, the interface for C/C++ will simply be the framebuffer plus some e-ink specific controls. Look at fbKindle, luigi's term app or similar software for examples.
2. Look at the USB networking thread to see how to set this up.

Neither of this is possible for non-hacked devices.

@hawhill, is (2) possible with a new k3 delivered with 3.1 preinstalled ?
( I read on the USB networking thread that you cannot do with 3.1)

Uh, well, in fact I did not test. But I *think* that was written there before the 3.1 Jailbreak came into existence. I don't think you need anything other than a jailbroken phone to install it. For a brief period of time, 3.1 was out and no jailbreak existed. Maybe someone else can comment on this, you may want to ask more explicit in the relevant thread if the new jailbreak re-enables the hack. I could not really confirm my suspicion (already had hack installed before 3.1), so I did not answer the question over there.

Hawhill's right, the comment you refer to was probably posted in the time window in which we didn't have a 'vanilla' 3.1 jailbreak available.

Yup I can open SSH on my Kindle 3.1

Thanks!

I still have some questions:

1. I saw gtk+-2.16.5 in the Kindle_src_3.0.1_525120101.tar.gz. Does it mean that I can use gtk+ to develop for kindle?
3. What hacks should I install to run my applications?

1. you probably can, but this will require some extra preparational steps
while arranging the cross-build environment. Currently Qt looks like a simpler
alternative if it comes to GUI applications for Kindle.

2. jailbreak is a must. Usbnetwork will make the life easier and will also
allow you to run anything in ssh console window.
In order to do this without ssh console you'll need launchpad or
lrizzo's launchpad substitute.

Sorry if this is hijacking the thread, but I think it's an appropriate place for my question. I'm a 4th year electrical engineering student working on a senior project involving development for a Kindle 3 Wi-Fi. I have some background in C and C++ programming, however after looking over the readme I don't think I have the skills that are suggested for installing the usbNetwork hack.

How might I go about getting my programs onto the device without this hack? Is it going to be more beneficial for me to spend some more time with it and do more research as opposed to trying to work around it? How feasible does it seem for someone who can't install the usbNetwork hack to attempt to write code for the device? Sorry for all the questions. I've been browsing these forums a lot recently and I think all I've been wondering is sort of spilling out :P

Thanks!

Well, I don't think there are much more ways than this hack, with the exception of writing your own update packages - which I would consider being even more advantaged stuff than just using the usbNetwork hack. FWIW, I do not remember the procedure as being all that complex, though.

But using the usbNetwork hack you're all set to shoot yourself in the knee rather badly (as in "bricking your Kindle"), so I would at least suggest doing this only if you have enough knowledge to judge about what exactly you're doing.

@sergeyvl12:

You wrote your question 8 months ago. Did you try port your program. Can you share with your knowledge and experience?

yep, he did it! See russian forum ^_^
http://www.the-ebook.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=21182