Here’s my M.Sc. thesis I finished last year. It provides a great deal of insight into making your Symbian OS applications as compact as possible. The first chapters also provide an introduction to Symbian OS development more generally.

From the abstract:

The thesis studies methods, practices and patterns that lead to smaller software. The thesis explores concrete means for software size optimisation on the Symbian Platform.

The focus is on C++ software that is designed to run on mobile phones and other wireless devices.

During the thesis a real, mobile, end-user application was analysed and optimised in size. The used optimisation methods are discussed and the results analysed. Based on the case study, recommendations for small memory software development are presented.

The importance of a good technical architecture was noted. C++ class derivation was surprisingly discovered as the biggest source of binary bloat in Symbian OS applications.

It requires skill and discipline to create small software but at least it can be done. The attitude of developers is the greatest obstacle. Many people just do not care about the size of the software they write.