Services are an abstract concept in Qtopia whereby items of functionality are associated with a set of providers of the service. The service mechanism can be used as a form of remote procedure call, that is, by invoking a service, an application is invoking an operation in another application that provides the service. This allows applications to invoke the services of other applications, while allowing the specific application providing the service to be selected by the system integrator or end-user.
Features
Remote Procedure Call
The service mechanism can be used as a form of remote procedure call. By invoking a service, an application is invoking an operation in another application that provides the service.
Application Selection
Where only one application should provide a service yet multiple applications are installed with provide the service, the user can select which application they wish to use. For example, the user might choose between multiple web browsers.
Hardware Button Mappings
Some Hard Keys can be assigned to invoke an action in an application. For example, pressing a key with an "addressbook" icon on it may cause the Contacts application to show, while pressing and holding the key might cause the user's business card to be beamed via IrDA; the use can configure which actions are associated with which keys.
