Thursday, December 20, 2007
When the Windows Mobile Managed APIs were introduced they made use of a new underlying Windows CE 5 feature (that WM 5.0 is based on): volatile registry keys (see dwOptions). Volatile keys are also available on normal/desktop/server Windows. In a nutshell, volatile registry keys do not survive an OS reboot so anything you write there is not persisted the next time you restart. The obvious question at this point is: Does the managed registry API support volatile keys? The answer is "no" for both the full .NET Framework and the .NET Compact Framework. Let's explore an UNSUPPORTED solution for both platforms.
On the surface without too much digging it appears that the native RegCreateKeyEx is wrapped by RegistryKey.CreateSubKey. So for the BCL team to add support for volatile keys to the managed API, one way would be to add a new overload to CreateSubKey that accepts our desire for volatileness and at the point it calls RegCreateKeyEx it passes in REG_OPTION_VOLATILE instead of 0 which is what the implementation does now (i.e. a change of one line of code).
But since we are not the BCL team and we cannot edit the library's code, we can create a helper static method to do that job for us. Maybe that method would live in the static Program class with a signature something like this:
1. I've made the method an extension method which means that we can call it in either of these two ways (the first being more natural):
a) Where the framework's implementation passes 0 as the 4th argument to the native RegCreateKeyEx, we will pass REG_OPTION_VOLATILE.
b) Wherever the framework's implementation calls private/internal methods we will have to use reflection to access them (unless you fancy duplicating all of that too;)).
Yes, I know the above is very ugly, very unsupported and very much a hack. I have created a VS2008 solution with the above that you can use to test it out at your own risk. It contains two projects, one for NETCF to run on your Windows Mobile and one for the desktop.
It is quite possible that by running the code from the project your machine will be wiped clean and that your monitor will go up in flames after transferring all your money out of your bank account. You have been warned!
So, at your own risk, get the VS2008 projects here.
On the surface without too much digging it appears that the native RegCreateKeyEx is wrapped by RegistryKey.CreateSubKey. So for the BCL team to add support for volatile keys to the managed API, one way would be to add a new overload to CreateSubKey that accepts our desire for volatileness and at the point it calls RegCreateKeyEx it passes in REG_OPTION_VOLATILE instead of 0 which is what the implementation does now (i.e. a change of one line of code).
But since we are not the BCL team and we cannot edit the library's code, we can create a helper static method to do that job for us. Maybe that method would live in the static Program class with a signature something like this:
public static RegistryKey CreateSubKey(this RegistryKey rk, string subkey, bool isVolatile)Note on the above:
{
if (!isVolatile)
{
return rk.CreateSubKey(subkey); // i.e. no change
}
else
{
// call our own method since we cannot change the framework's
return MothCreateVolatileSubKey(rk, subkey, RegistryKeyPermissionCheck.Default);
}
}
1. I've made the method an extension method which means that we can call it in either of these two ways (the first being more natural):
RegistryKey rk1 = Registry.CurrentUser.CreateSubKey("my vol", true);
RegistryKey rk2 = Program.CreateSubKey(Registry.CurrentUser, "my vol", true);2. As you can imagine the implementation of MothCreateVolatileSubKey is a simple duplication of the implementation of the existing framework method with 2 differences:a) Where the framework's implementation passes 0 as the 4th argument to the native RegCreateKeyEx, we will pass REG_OPTION_VOLATILE.
b) Wherever the framework's implementation calls private/internal methods we will have to use reflection to access them (unless you fancy duplicating all of that too;)).
Yes, I know the above is very ugly, very unsupported and very much a hack. I have created a VS2008 solution with the above that you can use to test it out at your own risk. It contains two projects, one for NETCF to run on your Windows Mobile and one for the desktop.
It is quite possible that by running the code from the project your machine will be wiped clean and that your monitor will go up in flames after transferring all your money out of your bank account. You have been warned!
So, at your own risk, get the VS2008 projects here.
Labels: dot NET general, Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 20:48 
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Three years ago I was speculating about this very topic, and was planning to implement it for the company I worked for at the time. I never got the chance, but the OpenNETCF guys delivered Padarn today! Very cool...
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 10:11
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Loke Uei has a cool walkthrough of using PowerShell to talk to the Device Emulator via the new managed CoreCon APIs. Check it out.
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 01:17
Friday, September 21, 2007
Steven only posts once in a blue moon but when he does every .NET Compact Framework developer should take notice. Read the details of the GC Heap data file format.
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 22:30
Thursday, September 13, 2007
If you are playing with Beta 2 of NET CF 3.5 then you are probably missing the brand new diagnostic/performance/configuration/etc tools. Well now there are more than ever before and available in the form of a Power Toys package that you can get here.
[Source: NETCF blog]
[Source: NETCF blog]
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 09:05
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
It looks like the world has gone crazy with this Facebook thingy. I have zero time for real socialising let alone for online socializing so I have ignored the whole thing. By "ignored", I mean I have acted on invitations (meaning I had to create my space or whatever it is called) and other things that come into my email inbox, but I have not customised anything or initiated connections/invitations or even uploaded a photo. So why am I talking about it here?
It turns out that there is a .NET API for Facebook! It also looks like supreme device developer and all around top geezer, The Foot, has started porting it to support the .NET Compact Framework. Check out his blog post for more (which follows on from this one that includes screenshots).
It turns out that there is a .NET API for Facebook! It also looks like supreme device developer and all around top geezer, The Foot, has started porting it to support the .NET Compact Framework. Check out his blog post for more (which follows on from this one that includes screenshots).
Labels: Links, Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 23:20
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
A little known brand new feature in Windows Mobile 6 is the ability to do inking using the same technology as for the Tablet PC (Windows Ink Service Platform). Luis talks about it on the WM blog with a code example. One of the commenters of that blog post asked for a managed version (I don't blame him; in this day and age what was the WM dev team thinking?!). To get a managed version (and a bit more info on the API) go to Alex's blog and look for the hidden links.
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 12:33
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Via David I found this WM security blog post and via that I found this old but great WM security article.
After you consume the info above (and most of my trusted mobile dev readers will already know that stuff) then you are left craving for a pretty and concise diagram that illustrates the flow of an app's execution on Windows Mobile. I hope your craving is satisfied with the following (thanks Mark!):
At some future point you should expect to see the diagram linked somewhere from this excellent page of security resources for Device Projects.
After you consume the info above (and most of my trusted mobile dev readers will already know that stuff) then you are left craving for a pretty and concise diagram that illustrates the flow of an app's execution on Windows Mobile. I hope your craving is satisfied with the following (thanks Mark!):
At some future point you should expect to see the diagram linked somewhere from this excellent page of security resources for Device Projects.
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 00:41
Friday, July 13, 2007
Occasionally I get people asking me about developing web apps that are accessible from Windows Mobile. Every time I explain how with something as powerful as the .NET Compact Framework, they should be writing smart clients on the device that can also work in offline mode, cache data and offer a richer user experience. These apps can then access their server as needed either via web services or via some kind of SQL synchronization mechanism if that is what they are using on their backend. Some people insist though on offering a suboptimal solution to their customers so what answer do we have for those? Head over to Thom's blog to explore Mobile Web Development with ASP.NET.
A related question I hear is "what capabilities does Pocket Internet Explorer (PIE) offer?". Well, it is not called that anymore, it is IE Mobile and there is a homonymous blog. Visit their blog for tons of useful info, including the standards support in IE Mobile.
Finally, one of the co-authors of my book wrote in the distant past a book on mobile web dev that you may be interested in.
PS: Might as well link to my answer for the often asked question about Silverlight for Mobile.
A related question I hear is "what capabilities does Pocket Internet Explorer (PIE) offer?". Well, it is not called that anymore, it is IE Mobile and there is a homonymous blog. Visit their blog for tons of useful info, including the standards support in IE Mobile.
Finally, one of the co-authors of my book wrote in the distant past a book on mobile web dev that you may be interested in.
PS: Might as well link to my answer for the often asked question about Silverlight for Mobile.
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 17:06
Friday, June 29, 2007
The MEDC world tour is over and my contribution was participating in panels and presenting at two locations: Las Vegas and Berlin. In both the US and the European events I delivered the sharing assets and the mobile UI tips sessions. You can find the powerpoint slides from both my breakouts in this ZIP file (tip: some of the slides have URLs for more info at the bottom).
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 07:17
Sunday, June 24, 2007
A few people asked me this week for my material for the Windows Mobile session I did at DevDays last week.
You can get the demos from this post. What you'll also find from there are links to screencasts I have done and other relevant blog posts. Note that even though those demos are for WM5 projects running in VS2005, the code is identical to what I showed in VS2008 Beta 1 targeting WM6 – no code change whatsoever.
Download the slides here (pptx inside another ZIP). If you are on a legacy version of powerpoint, see this post.
You can get the demos from this post. What you'll also find from there are links to screencasts I have done and other relevant blog posts. Note that even though those demos are for WM5 projects running in VS2005, the code is identical to what I showed in VS2008 Beta 1 targeting WM6 – no code change whatsoever.
Download the slides here (pptx inside another ZIP). If you are on a legacy version of powerpoint, see this post.
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 11:16
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
In this post I assume you have read my blog entry on Extension Methods. When I described extension methods I finished by saying:
So to quote myself from the article:
When we faced this issue in the SDF from OpenNETCF, we took one decision in some cases (utility classes) and the other decision (inheritance) in other cases. Unfortunately, utility classes suffer from the inherent non-discoverability for client code and inheritance is not always possible due to sealed classes. So many times we opted for a 3rd approach (that I was never entirely comfortable with): Introducing a replacement class e.g. TextBox2. Now, there are still scenarios where that approach is the only viable technique, but for some cases using the Extension methods as I describe in the article is a better alternative.
I'll just give one more example here. If we wanted the System.Windows.Forms.Timer class in the NETCF to have a compatible interface with the desktop version, one thing we'd have to do is add Start and Stop methods. Easily achieved by dropping the following code file in just the device project and not the desktop project:
"Overall, I like this feature *a lot* (will post some concrete examples of why in the future)."The time has come to explain myself. I've been waiting for my MSDN magasine article to go live so it can be the first to describe the proposed usage :-)
So to quote myself from the article:
"While using .NET Compact Framework classes, the occasion often arises that a particular class has members missing compared to the full Framework. Typically, developers have to write the missing functionality themselves and then decide whether to use inheritance if possible to add the missing members or add them to a utility helper class."Please visit the article to see a good example of how extension methods can help with the above scenario.
When we faced this issue in the SDF from OpenNETCF, we took one decision in some cases (utility classes) and the other decision (inheritance) in other cases. Unfortunately, utility classes suffer from the inherent non-discoverability for client code and inheritance is not always possible due to sealed classes. So many times we opted for a 3rd approach (that I was never entirely comfortable with): Introducing a replacement class e.g. TextBox2. Now, there are still scenarios where that approach is the only viable technique, but for some cases using the Extension methods as I describe in the article is a better alternative.
I'll just give one more example here. If we wanted the System.Windows.Forms.Timer class in the NETCF to have a compatible interface with the desktop version, one thing we'd have to do is add Start and Stop methods. Easily achieved by dropping the following code file in just the device project and not the desktop project:
public static class TimerExtensions...and then the codefile that uses the Timer can be the same on both platforms, e.g.
{
public static void Start(this Timer t)
{
t.Enabled = true;
}
public static void Stop(this Timer t)
{
t.Enabled = false;
}
}
private void menuItem1_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)We have seemingly added extra methods to a class so our utility methods are discoverable and if the real NETCF class ever got those methods implemented, our code gracefully bows out at runtime. Try it out... coding is believing how cool this is :)
{
timer1.Start();
}
private void menuItem2_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
timer1.Stop();
}
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 18:11
Monday, June 18, 2007
In my July MSDN magazine article, I have collected in a single place my tips for writing cross-platform managed code, in this case meaning code that targets both the Windows desktop and Windows Mobile. Even though the article was written with the .NET Compact Framework and the full .NET Framework in mind, most of the techniques apply in other scenarios as well.
Consider how many frameworks/CLRs we have today: .NET Compact Framework, full .NET Framework (aka desktop framework), .NET Micro Framework, Silverlight CLR, MONO (framework for non-Windows platform) etc. To that list you should add scenarios where you wish to target two different versions of the same framework type e.g. both v1.0 and v2.0 of the NETCF/Full Fx. Even though it looks the same, the framework/CLR between versions is effectively a different framework so again some of the principles in the article apply. Read the article here.
Consider how many frameworks/CLRs we have today: .NET Compact Framework, full .NET Framework (aka desktop framework), .NET Micro Framework, Silverlight CLR, MONO (framework for non-Windows platform) etc. To that list you should add scenarios where you wish to target two different versions of the same framework type e.g. both v1.0 and v2.0 of the NETCF/Full Fx. Even though it looks the same, the framework/CLR between versions is effectively a different framework so again some of the principles in the article apply. Read the article here.
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 11:31
Monday, June 11, 2007
Mobile Development Handbook
My book is now in my hands, and here is the proof... and another wobbly photo of the back :-D
At some point in 2006 I started writing a book and at some point in April 2007 we completed the project. I say "we", because I had two excellent co-authors, both long standing Device Application MVPs: Peter Foot and Andy Wigley. I would have liked to be able to say that I also am a .NET Compact Framework MVP, but unfortunately I lost that title when joining Microsoft last year as per the rules.
We explicitly targeted two audiences with our book and implicitly excluded one audience segment:
1. Existing C# and VB device developers - YES
If you are already targeting Windows Mobile devices you will know that all existing books talk about version 1.0 of the .NET Compact Framework and Visual Studio.NET 2003. Since those times there have been three service packs for v1.0, version 2.0 with two service packs and, of course, Visual Studio 2005. Furthermore, v3.5 is in Beta 1 right now as is Visual Studio "Orcas". Our book covers what is new in the .NET Compact Framework and Visual Studio 2005 compared to their predecessors. It also covers throughout the chapters, but also in a dedicated chapter, version 3.5 of the NETCF and VS "Orcas" for Devices.
2. Existing .NET developers who are complete newbies to device development - YES
There are millions of proficient .NET desktop developers that would like to know how to write code for their mobile device or generally want to find out how to transfer their skills or business logic to the mobile platform. The book's tone is certainly aimed directly to those developers by continually contrasting and comparing with desktop development as applicable, highlighting what is different or missing when doing device development.
3. Existing native device developers - NO
This book is all about managed code, but we never introduce any basic .NET concepts from scratch. We expect readers to know about those either through experience with previous versions of NETCF or through .NET desktop development. So if you are a native device developer, you should pick up another book to learn the basics of .NET. We also have made no assumptions of knowledge about the Windows CE and Windows Mobile platform. The reason is so desktop developers can get an introduction to the whole stack/environment and not just the dev platform and tools. So, as a native device developer, you will encounter concepts explained that you probably already are intimately familiar with.
Whether you are looking for a book to read cover-to-cover or for a reference that you go back to, this book will fulfil your needs. It isn't just a book on the raw technology, but more importantly it captures lessons from developers that have practised mobile and embedded development in the real world.
Mobile Development Handbook
My book is now in my hands, and here is the proof... and another wobbly photo of the back :-D
At some point in 2006 I started writing a book and at some point in April 2007 we completed the project. I say "we", because I had two excellent co-authors, both long standing Device Application MVPs: Peter Foot and Andy Wigley. I would have liked to be able to say that I also am a .NET Compact Framework MVP, but unfortunately I lost that title when joining Microsoft last year as per the rules.
We explicitly targeted two audiences with our book and implicitly excluded one audience segment:
1. Existing C# and VB device developers - YES
If you are already targeting Windows Mobile devices you will know that all existing books talk about version 1.0 of the .NET Compact Framework and Visual Studio.NET 2003. Since those times there have been three service packs for v1.0, version 2.0 with two service packs and, of course, Visual Studio 2005. Furthermore, v3.5 is in Beta 1 right now as is Visual Studio "Orcas". Our book covers what is new in the .NET Compact Framework and Visual Studio 2005 compared to their predecessors. It also covers throughout the chapters, but also in a dedicated chapter, version 3.5 of the NETCF and VS "Orcas" for Devices.
2. Existing .NET developers who are complete newbies to device development - YES
There are millions of proficient .NET desktop developers that would like to know how to write code for their mobile device or generally want to find out how to transfer their skills or business logic to the mobile platform. The book's tone is certainly aimed directly to those developers by continually contrasting and comparing with desktop development as applicable, highlighting what is different or missing when doing device development.
3. Existing native device developers - NO
This book is all about managed code, but we never introduce any basic .NET concepts from scratch. We expect readers to know about those either through experience with previous versions of NETCF or through .NET desktop development. So if you are a native device developer, you should pick up another book to learn the basics of .NET. We also have made no assumptions of knowledge about the Windows CE and Windows Mobile platform. The reason is so desktop developers can get an introduction to the whole stack/environment and not just the dev platform and tools. So, as a native device developer, you will encounter concepts explained that you probably already are intimately familiar with.
Whether you are looking for a book to read cover-to-cover or for a reference that you go back to, this book will fulfil your needs. It isn't just a book on the raw technology, but more importantly it captures lessons from developers that have practised mobile and embedded development in the real world.
Mobile Development Handbook
Labels: Links, Mobile and Embedded, Personal
# posted by The Moth @ 14:13
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Finally, the world gets an up to date book on Mobile Development! You can browse it at amazon or look for it at your favourite book shop online or offline.
Its 600+ pages are spread over the following 18 chapters:
Its 600+ pages are spread over the following 18 chapters:
1. .NET Compact Framework—a Platform on the MoveI highly recommended you check it out, for example, on the publisher's official book page.
2. Building a Microsoft Windows Forms GUI
3. Using SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition and Other Data Stores
4. Catching Errors, Testing, and Debugging
5. Understanding and Optimizing .NET Compact Framework Performance
6. Completing the Application: Packaging and Deployment
7. Exchanging Data with Backend Servers
8. Networking
9. Getting Connected
10. Security Programming for Mobile Applications
11. Threading
12. Graphics Programming
13. Direct3D Mobile
14. Interoperating with the Platform
15. Building Custom Controls
16. Internationalization
17. Developing with Windows Mobile
18. Introducing .NET Compact Framework Version 3.5 and Visual Studio "Orcas"
Labels: Mobile and Embedded, Personal
# posted by The Moth @ 22:08
Sunday, May 27, 2007
With Orcas Beta 1 you also get NETCF Beta 1 with a build number of 7066. The last public NETCF drop was in the January CTP (and remained unchanged in the March CTP) with a build number of 6282. I documented what was new in that build of v3.5 compared to v2.0 and added a couple more later. Those new APIs are all still in build 7066 and in addition we also get the ones below:
* System.Delegate gets a new CreateDelegate static method and the two associated properties: Method and Target.
* There are new types in the System.Security.Cryptography (in mscorlib): AsymmetricKeyExchangeDeformatter (and the Formatter) and RSAPKCS1KeyExchangeFormatter (and the Deformatter).
* X509 in System.dll: X509Store, X509CertificateCollection, ClientCertificates property on System.Net.HttpWebRequest and 4 enums in System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates (OpenFlags, StoreLocation, StoreName, X509FindType).
* DataGridCell was moved from system.windows.forms.datagrid.dll to system.windows.forms.dll
In addition to the list above (inc. the ones from my links above), I previously mentioned the headline NET CF features. Well, finally in this Beta 1 drop you can play with those! The LINQ implementation in System.Core.dll is now compatible with the desktop naming and we also get the LINQ to XML implementation in System.Xml.Linq. The Compact WCF implementation resides in the new assemblies System.ServiceModel.dll (dependencies of which include the new System.Runtime.Serialization.dll) and Microsoft.ServiceModel.Channels.Mail.dll. For a "Hello World" example, check out Mark's two blog posts.
If at this point you are ready to play with this stuff, then first visit this download page for two reasons:
1. It includes some additional new features that are not visible at the public API level that I describe in my posts.
2. If you proceed with the download you will actually be able to compile projects referencing the Compact WCF assemblies. Simply remove your existing "Microsoft .Net Compact Framework 3.5 Pre-Release" and install the download (same build number as above, but with correctly signed assemblies).
* System.Delegate gets a new CreateDelegate static method and the two associated properties: Method and Target.
* There are new types in the System.Security.Cryptography (in mscorlib): AsymmetricKeyExchangeDeformatter (and the Formatter) and RSAPKCS1KeyExchangeFormatter (and the Deformatter).
* X509 in System.dll: X509Store, X509CertificateCollection, ClientCertificates property on System.Net.HttpWebRequest and 4 enums in System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates (OpenFlags, StoreLocation, StoreName, X509FindType).
* DataGridCell was moved from system.windows.forms.datagrid.dll to system.windows.forms.dll
In addition to the list above (inc. the ones from my links above), I previously mentioned the headline NET CF features. Well, finally in this Beta 1 drop you can play with those! The LINQ implementation in System.Core.dll is now compatible with the desktop naming and we also get the LINQ to XML implementation in System.Xml.Linq. The Compact WCF implementation resides in the new assemblies System.ServiceModel.dll (dependencies of which include the new System.Runtime.Serialization.dll) and Microsoft.ServiceModel.Channels.Mail.dll. For a "Hello World" example, check out Mark's two blog posts.
If at this point you are ready to play with this stuff, then first visit this download page for two reasons:
1. It includes some additional new features that are not visible at the public API level that I describe in my posts.
2. If you proceed with the download you will actually be able to compile projects referencing the Compact WCF assemblies. Simply remove your existing "Microsoft .Net Compact Framework 3.5 Pre-Release" and install the download (same build number as above, but with correctly signed assemblies).
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 16:43
Thursday, April 19, 2007
While chatting with users of a new .NET language that will RTM later this year (Vulcan.NET), I asked what they were doing for .NET Compact Framework support. They had most of it pretty much sussed. They understood that the tool support is the biggest hurdle since, at the end of the day, their language compiles down to IL so there should be no issues.
That last statement is true except the NETCF CLR only understands a (very rich) subset of the entire IL set. It doesn't support some niche opcodes mostly used by managed C++ (which the NETCF does not support). I promised I'd find the list of what is supported and what isn't. Dan from the NETCF team has posted such a table on his blog and even though it was written for v2.0 it still holds true for v3.5 of the NETCF. Check it out here.
That last statement is true except the NETCF CLR only understands a (very rich) subset of the entire IL set. It doesn't support some niche opcodes mostly used by managed C++ (which the NETCF does not support). I promised I'd find the list of what is supported and what isn't. Dan from the NETCF team has posted such a table on his blog and even though it was written for v2.0 it still holds true for v3.5 of the NETCF. Check it out here.
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 21:15
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
While we looked at new features in NETCF 3.5 for the device developer, there are also tons of improvements in the IDE (VSD "Orcas"), the top 5 IMO being:
1. Unit Testing for Devices
Note that this also works for v2.0 device projects in Orcas too, yay!
2. New Project dialog
3. Device Emulator v3
This has all the goodness of Device Emulator v2.0 plus it can be automated/scripted via COM - the clue is the DEMComInterface.idl file in your DE installation directory.
4. Device Configuration Manager & Device Certificate Manager
Previously available as a powertoy for WM5. To see them in action, from your VS Orcas Tools menu, select Device Security Manager:
5. Windows Mobile 5 SDKs and .NET Compact Framework v2.0 SP2 in the box. No more need for separate downloads :)
1. Unit Testing for Devices
Note that this also works for v2.0 device projects in Orcas too, yay!
2. New Project dialog
3. Device Emulator v3
This has all the goodness of Device Emulator v2.0 plus it can be automated/scripted via COM - the clue is the DEMComInterface.idl file in your DE installation directory.
4. Device Configuration Manager & Device Certificate Manager
Previously available as a powertoy for WM5. To see them in action, from your VS Orcas Tools menu, select Device Security Manager:
5. Windows Mobile 5 SDKs and .NET Compact Framework v2.0 SP2 in the box. No more need for separate downloads :)
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 18:35
UPDATE: After Beta 1 I updated the text below with a new addition/screenshot and struck out the inapplicable text (bug fixed).
Nick blogged about this first, and Neil followed. Both have screenshots on their blogs so check them out.
If you ask me, we needed this simplicity for newbies to device development because the old approach was way too confusing. Having said that, previously I could create any project type in two clicks and now I need a lot more; so penalising the expert user is definitely the case here IMO. Rule number one of UI development: less clicks is good. Rule number two: offer two navigation paths: one for the novice, one for the expert.
Regardless of the above, before Orcas RTMs, we have to fix the combobox behaviour: When I select NETCF version 2.0 in the bottom combobox and then select a platform in the top, why the heck does the value in the bottom combobox revert to the default of 3.5? Rule number three of UI development: If I have made selection, don't revert it based on another selection on the same dialog! What makes it worst in this instance is that when selecting something in the top combobox, the bottom combobox is hidden out of view so the change goes unnoticed unless you are looking for it.
Also, again regardless to the above, I would expect those combobox values to be remembered between different launches but unfortunately they are not (yet?).
As of Beta 1, the dialog has a new addition at the bottom: a hyperlink to get new SDKs (e.g the WM6 SDKs).
Nick blogged about this first, and Neil followed. Both have screenshots on their blogs so check them out.
If you ask me, we needed this simplicity for newbies to device development because the old approach was way too confusing. Having said that, previously I could create any project type in two clicks and now I need a lot more; so penalising the expert user is definitely the case here IMO. Rule number one of UI development: less clicks is good. Rule number two: offer two navigation paths: one for the novice, one for the expert.
Also, again regardless to the above, I would expect those combobox values to be remembered between different launches but unfortunately they are not (yet?).
As of Beta 1, the dialog has a new addition at the bottom: a hyperlink to get new SDKs (e.g the WM6 SDKs).
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 18:16
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Whinge and you shall receive. 18 months ago I moaned about the lack of FileAs in Windows Mobile 5.0 and showed how to achieve that programmatically . WM6 offers it out of the box in the UI as you can see below :)
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 12:41
Friday, March 09, 2007
I am late with this news (stuck in a place with no network connection).
Build 7045 (ie 2.0.7045.0) of the .NET Compact Framework is out of the door. No need to copy/paste here what is fixed since it is described on the download page.
One of the big ones is new diagnostics (that finally work on Vista) and, as usual, Steven has all the details.
Build 7045 (ie 2.0.7045.0) of the .NET Compact Framework is out of the door. No need to copy/paste here what is fixed since it is described on the download page.
One of the big ones is new diagnostics (that finally work on Vista) and, as usual, Steven has all the details.
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 16:40
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Over the last two posts I enumerated additions to the .NET Compact Framework 3.5, and there will be more posts as more Orcas CTPs come out. In particular, the two headline items of NETCF 3.5 are not listed at all in my previous two blog entries and they are: Compact WCF and Compact LINQ.
1. I have mentioned before Compact WCF. It is not in the January CTP, but when it does appear I’ll let you know.
2. LINQ is a topic that I’ll be talking a lot more about with regards to the full framework 2.5. Once I've written a few posts on that, I will come back to indicate what is missing from Compact LINQ [1].
The best people to describe the headline features and focus areas of the NETCF 3.5 are the Compact Framework team of course and they have done so here.
Cheers
Daniel
[1] If you are familiar with LINQ already, note that in the Jan “Orcas” CTP the NETCF LINQ bits use the old namespaces (e.g. System.Query ) in line with the May 2006 LINQ CTP rather than move on to the new System.Linq namespace. They are obviously aligned in future versions. Namespaces aside, the Compact LINQ implementation largely lives in System.Core assembly like its big brother.
1. I have mentioned before Compact WCF. It is not in the January CTP, but when it does appear I’ll let you know.
2. LINQ is a topic that I’ll be talking a lot more about with regards to the full framework 2.5. Once I've written a few posts on that, I will come back to indicate what is missing from Compact LINQ [1].
The best people to describe the headline features and focus areas of the NETCF 3.5 are the Compact Framework team of course and they have done so here.
Cheers
Daniel
[1] If you are familiar with LINQ already, note that in the Jan “Orcas” CTP the NETCF LINQ bits use the old namespaces (e.g. System.Query ) in line with the May 2006 LINQ CTP rather than move on to the new System.Linq namespace. They are obviously aligned in future versions. Namespaces aside, the Compact LINQ implementation largely lives in System.Core assembly like its big brother.
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 23:06
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
All the API additions I listed in my previous .NET Compact Framework 3.5 post, are namespaces/types/members that were already present in the full dotnet Framework v2.0 and are now also part of the NETCF 3.5
Here I will list a couple of additions that are brand new:
* When querying the Platform property of the static OSVersion property of the System.Environment class, we get back the PlatformID enumeration. NETCF 2.0 had a smaller list than the full framework and now with 3.5 not only it catches up by adding the Unix value but it even goes further by adding a brand new value: Xbox (not a surprise if you read this).
If you ask me, the full framework team should also add this enumeration value for code compatibility.
The other addition is entirely specific to device development and hence lives under the Microsoft.WindowsCE.Forms assembly. The SystemSettings class gets a new property (to make a grand total of 2!) named WinCEPlatform that returns the homonymous enumeration which has 3 values: WinCEGeneric, PocketPC and Smartphone
(I guess we’ll have to learn to map those last two to WM6 professional and standard :-p)
Next I'll list the real headlines of NETCF v3.5
Here I will list a couple of additions that are brand new:
* When querying the Platform property of the static OSVersion property of the System.Environment class, we get back the PlatformID enumeration. NETCF 2.0 had a smaller list than the full framework and now with 3.5 not only it catches up by adding the Unix value but it even goes further by adding a brand new value: Xbox (not a surprise if you read this).
If you ask me, the full framework team should also add this enumeration value for code compatibility.
The other addition is entirely specific to device development and hence lives under the Microsoft.WindowsCE.Forms assembly. The SystemSettings class gets a new property (to make a grand total of 2!) named WinCEPlatform that returns the homonymous enumeration which has 3 values: WinCEGeneric, PocketPC and Smartphone
(I guess we’ll have to learn to map those last two to WM6 professional and standard :-p)
Next I'll list the real headlines of NETCF v3.5
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 12:56
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Hot from the factory, get it here.
Just like the WM6 SDK, works fine on Vista on top of VS2005 SP1 as the screenshots show.
Just like the WM6 SDK, works fine on Vista on top of VS2005 SP1 as the screenshots show.
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 14:19
Monday, February 12, 2007
The next version number of the .NET Compact Framework is 3.5, compared to version number 2.0 that ships today. This is so the version numbers can align with v3.5 of the full framework (NetFx3.5). You can play with NETCF 3.5 in the Orcas Jan CTP.
Below is some new NETCF stuff that I found (v3.5.6282.0):
* Remember the EventWaitHandle class that I wrote 2 years ago? It is now part of the compact framework (System.Threading). As part of the addition, the inheritance hierarchies have changed so AutoResetEvent and ManualResetEvent now inherit from EventWaitHandle and not WaitHandle (making this blog entry half-obsolete :)).
* Remember the Stopwatch class that I wrote? It is now in the CF (System.Diagnostics).
* The Array class get the Resize method and some new Sort overloads.
* The CompilerGeneratedAttribute class from the System.Runtime.CompilerServices namespace is now added.
* The SerializationException class from the System.Runtime.Serialization namespace is added.
* System.Text.StringBuilder gets a new overload for the AppendFormat method and also both overloads of the AppendLine method.
* The System.Threading.Thread class gets the static MemoryBarrier method.
* The String class now contains the Contains method.
* A whole bunch of classes get a public Dispose method including GraphicsStream, FileStream, MemoryStream, StreamReader, StreamWriter, StringReader, StringWriter, TextReader, TextWriter and others.
* To support the next addition, the InvalidDataException class is added to the System.IO namespace in System.dll
* We get the entire System.IO.Compression namespace (i.e. GZipStream, DeflateStream, CompressionMode) from the System.dll
* Relevant to the previous addition, there is a new enum System.Net.DecompressionMethods that is the type of the new property AutomaticDecompression on the HttpWebRequest class.
* We get the entire System.Media namespace (SoundPlayer, SystemSound, SystemSounds) from the System.dll
* Mainly to support the previous addition, we get two classes in the System.ComponentModel namespace: AsyncCompletedEventArgs and AsyncCompletedEventHandler.
* The Trace class from the System.Diagnostics namespace only had 3 overloads of the Assert method. Now it becomes much more useful with 4 overloads for each of the methods Write, WriteIf, WriteLine and WriteLineIf. It also gets the Fail, Flush and Close methods. Add to that the new TextWriterTraceListener and tracing looks much better overall in NETCF v3.5
Stay tuned for more coming this week...
Below is some new NETCF stuff that I found (v3.5.6282.0):
* Remember the EventWaitHandle class that I wrote 2 years ago? It is now part of the compact framework (System.Threading). As part of the addition, the inheritance hierarchies have changed so AutoResetEvent and ManualResetEvent now inherit from EventWaitHandle and not WaitHandle (making this blog entry half-obsolete :)).
* Remember the Stopwatch class that I wrote? It is now in the CF (System.Diagnostics).
* The Array class get the Resize method and some new Sort overloads.
* The CompilerGeneratedAttribute class from the System.Runtime.CompilerServices namespace is now added.
* The SerializationException class from the System.Runtime.Serialization namespace is added.
* System.Text.StringBuilder gets a new overload for the AppendFormat method and also both overloads of the AppendLine method.
* The System.Threading.Thread class gets the static MemoryBarrier method.
* The String class now contains the Contains method.
* A whole bunch of classes get a public Dispose method including GraphicsStream, FileStream, MemoryStream, StreamReader, StreamWriter, StringReader, StringWriter, TextReader, TextWriter and others.
* To support the next addition, the InvalidDataException class is added to the System.IO namespace in System.dll
* We get the entire System.IO.Compression namespace (i.e. GZipStream, DeflateStream, CompressionMode) from the System.dll
* Relevant to the previous addition, there is a new enum System.Net.DecompressionMethods that is the type of the new property AutomaticDecompression on the HttpWebRequest class.
* We get the entire System.Media namespace (SoundPlayer, SystemSound, SystemSounds) from the System.dll
* Mainly to support the previous addition, we get two classes in the System.ComponentModel namespace: AsyncCompletedEventArgs and AsyncCompletedEventHandler.
* The Trace class from the System.Diagnostics namespace only had 3 overloads of the Assert method. Now it becomes much more useful with 4 overloads for each of the methods Write, WriteIf, WriteLine and WriteLineIf. It also gets the Fail, Flush and Close methods. Add to that the new TextWriterTraceListener and tracing looks much better overall in NETCF v3.5
Stay tuned for more coming this week...
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 21:23
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Remember, you heard/saw it here first!
It looks like the Windows Mobile 6 SDKs are out. Gone are the “for Pocket PC” and “for Smartphone” monikers. Instead, there is Professional and Standard... another mark of the convergence of the two form factors no doubt :-)
As you can see from the images in this post, the install works great on VS2005 SP1 on Vista!
UPDATE: When they are back online I’ll let you know. Please take your complaints here.
UPDATE 2: They are back online and I've updated the link above. Additional information here.
It looks like the Windows Mobile 6 SDKs are out. Gone are the “for Pocket PC” and “for Smartphone” monikers. Instead, there is Professional and Standard... another mark of the convergence of the two form factors no doubt :-)
As you can see from the images in this post, the install works great on VS2005 SP1 on Vista!
UPDATE: When they are back online I’ll let you know. Please take your complaints here.
UPDATE 2: They are back online and I've updated the link above. Additional information here.
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 03:31
Thursday, February 08, 2007
I *think* engadget are the first to break the news that what was codename "Crossbow" is now officially Windows Mobile 6
Mel has the screenshots and links to reviews, Loke lists the developer features, Scott talks about the security improvements, John asks us to stay tuned for more and the Outlook Mobile team lists their favourite features .
Like Peter says, it will be hard to get devices in the early stages (typically takes 4-6 months), so the vast improvements in the emulator are most welcome.
Mel has the screenshots and links to reviews, Loke lists the developer features, Scott talks about the security improvements, John asks us to stay tuned for more and the Outlook Mobile team lists their favourite features .
Like Peter says, it will be hard to get devices in the early stages (typically takes 4-6 months), so the vast improvements in the emulator are most welcome.
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 10:30
Monday, February 05, 2007
A few people have asked me for the code I used in my WM5 Managed API screencasts (part one, two, and three). While I can’t find that exact code, it was almost identical to what I used in my Tech Ed session last year, which luckily I could find. You may download the VS2005 project here.
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 00:04
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
A very long time ago I blogged a bit about the Windows Mobile 5.0 managed APIs (also see this).
Recently I also described how to work around installing the free WM5.0 SDK on Windows Vista.
With v5.0 now being the de facto standard of Windows Mobile devices out there and given that the next version of Windows Mobile fully supports these APIs, it is never too late to jump in and learn how to use them and what they are about. In December I wrote a short article for the msdn flash on this very topic (subscribe to the flash now if you don’t already!).
So, if you want to learn more about the WM v5.0/vNext managed APIs or need more proof that mobile development works fine on Vista, download my 3-part nugget, which I hinted at in the article:
Note: The first 2-3 minutes of all videos is the same introduction. The last 1-2 minutes of all videos is the same summary and links. The 17-19 minutes in between is the demo bit, different in each part of course.
Recently I also described how to work around installing the free WM5.0 SDK on Windows Vista.
With v5.0 now being the de facto standard of Windows Mobile devices out there and given that the next version of Windows Mobile fully supports these APIs, it is never too late to jump in and learn how to use them and what they are about. In December I wrote a short article for the msdn flash on this very topic (subscribe to the flash now if you don’t already!).
So, if you want to learn more about the WM v5.0/vNext managed APIs or need more proof that mobile development works fine on Vista, download my 3-part nugget, which I hinted at in the article:
Part 1: Configuration, Telephony and Forms [streaming file and zip download]
Part 2: Status [streaming file and zip download]
Part 3: PocketOutlook [streaming file and zip download]
Note: The first 2-3 minutes of all videos is the same introduction. The last 1-2 minutes of all videos is the same summary and links. The 17-19 minutes in between is the demo bit, different in each part of course.
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 17:47
Friday, January 05, 2007
Want to win 12 hours of free online training for Windows Mobile development from e-learning? Check out Mark’s blog for details.
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 17:55
Monday, January 01, 2007
Exactly two years ago on New Year's day, I wrote the Best of "The Moth" 2004 blog enrty where I picked my favorite blog entries out of 96 posts. Exactly one year ago I had to choose from 151 posts to find the ones I thought were the best in terms of content and the result was the Best of "The Moth" 2005.
The year of 2006 I made 142 blog entries and below are a select few. Happy New Year!
01. I didn't have a chance to play with it as much as I wanted to, but with very little public info available, this blog served it well: .NET Micro Framework, its product sheet and other NETMF links.
02. Recognising an idiom of the using statement.
03. A cute desktop feature implemented for the Windows Mobile/WinCE platform in a reusable NETCF control: TextBox cue banner.
04. A picture is worth a 100 words and a video is... a whole bunch of pictures! Check mine out following the instructions here for my nuggets.
05. A comprehensive collection of links for Windows Workflow Foundation (WF).
06. I collected the links to my 9 blog posts on sharing assets between desktop and mobile platforms in one place. Follow the numbered links.
07. The most controversial feature of Windows Vista is something every developer must understand: User Account Control.
08. One of Vista's features is becoming my obsession and that is SideShow. My series of SideShow gadgets blog posts will continue in 2007 and so far you can read parts one, two, three, four and five.
09. I spent 6 months last year focusing almost entirely on Vista developer features that are new and that are *not* part of NetFx3. I have catalogued my blogging & screencasting efforts in a large collection of links to content that supports my speaking engagements on Vista. IMO this blog post alone could have been the best of "The Moth" this year:
The year of 2006 I made 142 blog entries and below are a select few. Happy New Year!
01. I didn't have a chance to play with it as much as I wanted to, but with very little public info available, this blog served it well: .NET Micro Framework, its product sheet and other NETMF links.
02. Recognising an idiom of the using statement.
03. A cute desktop feature implemented for the Windows Mobile/WinCE platform in a reusable NETCF control: TextBox cue banner.
04. A picture is worth a 100 words and a video is... a whole bunch of pictures! Check mine out following the instructions here for my nuggets.
05. A comprehensive collection of links for Windows Workflow Foundation (WF).
06. I collected the links to my 9 blog posts on sharing assets between desktop and mobile platforms in one place. Follow the numbered links.
07. The most controversial feature of Windows Vista is something every developer must understand: User Account Control.
08. One of Vista's features is becoming my obsession and that is SideShow. My series of SideShow gadgets blog posts will continue in 2007 and so far you can read parts one, two, three, four and five.
09. I spent 6 months last year focusing almost entirely on Vista developer features that are new and that are *not* part of NetFx3. I have catalogued my blogging & screencasting efforts in a large collection of links to content that supports my speaking engagements on Vista. IMO this blog post alone could have been the best of "The Moth" this year:
Vista-only features for the managed developer.Stay tuned in 2007 via one of the subscribe options on the left :-)
Labels: dot NET general, Links, Mobile and Embedded, Vista
# posted by The Moth @ 14:56
Thursday, December 28, 2006
There is a NETMF book on the horizon and check out its very own book website (thanks Mike for the heads-up).
NETMF also gains its own NETMF MSDN area :-)
NETMF also gains its own NETMF MSDN area :-)
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 16:05
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Remember the problem I got when trying to deploy to a real device from VS2005 on Vista? As that blog entry says, the solution was to run VS elevated once and that rectified the issue.
On an internal list I noticed someone else had a device issue on Vista this time with Platform Builder 6.0 and their error apparently was:
PB Debugger Warning: Debugger service map is set to none. If your image has debugging support it may not boot properly
...guess what the solution was again? Correct, run VS elevated once.
The other day at an offsite I did a very short intro to Windows Mobile development so I wanted to show first a small desktop app, then the same code in a device project connecting to a device and then connecting to an emulator. I prepared the machine before the short presentation by running VS normally for the desktop project and then running another instance elevated for the device project. I also wanted to save time by launching the emulator ready to use, so I did that from the VS menu and the first instance of VS that I came across was the desktop project. Can you spot the mistake I made?
When later in the presentation I tried to connect from the device project to the emulator I was treated to this:
The moral of the story: You cannot have an elevated VS instance talking to a non-elevated emulator.
On an internal list I noticed someone else had a device issue on Vista this time with Platform Builder 6.0 and their error apparently was:
PB Debugger Warning: Debugger service map is set to none. If your image has debugging support it may not boot properly
...guess what the solution was again? Correct, run VS elevated once.
The other day at an offsite I did a very short intro to Windows Mobile development so I wanted to show first a small desktop app, then the same code in a device project connecting to a device and then connecting to an emulator. I prepared the machine before the short presentation by running VS normally for the desktop project and then running another instance elevated for the device project. I also wanted to save time by launching the emulator ready to use, so I did that from the VS menu and the first instance of VS that I came across was the desktop project. Can you spot the mistake I made?
When later in the presentation I tried to connect from the device project to the emulator I was treated to this:
---------------------------Cryptic or what? The solution of course was to shut down the emulator and this time launch it from the elevated VS instance.
Device Emulator
---------------------------
Error: The current VMID is in use. Wait for the other application to exit.
---------------------------
OK
---------------------------
The moral of the story: You cannot have an elevated VS instance talking to a non-elevated emulator.
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 02:07
Saturday, December 23, 2006
I hope by now everyone has heard about the XNA Framework, a set of managed code libraries for writing games on the Xbox and the PC.
Not everyone will know that the engine in XNA is based on the CLR of the .NET Compact Framework (I first heard about it here). What this could mean to device developers is that the next version of the NETCF has even more performance improvements (wouldn’t you back port any perf changes you made ;-)).
Existing NETCF application developers are prime candidates for becoming good XNA game developers (assuming you are not graphically challenged like me!). For those of you that haven’t dabbled with the NETCF before, learn how to write XNA code that performs well and read these 2 fresh posts by Chris To of the NETCF team: Part 1, Part 2.
Not everyone will know that the engine in XNA is based on the CLR of the .NET Compact Framework (I first heard about it here). What this could mean to device developers is that the next version of the NETCF has even more performance improvements (wouldn’t you back port any perf changes you made ;-)).
Existing NETCF application developers are prime candidates for becoming good XNA game developers (assuming you are not graphically challenged like me!). For those of you that haven’t dabbled with the NETCF before, learn how to write XNA code that performs well and read these 2 fresh posts by Chris To of the NETCF team: Part 1, Part 2.
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 01:00
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
In the presentation to students that I mentioned here, I thought it was essential to show the smart device project deploy to the actual device (rather than the emulator that I use almost exclusively nowadays) since for newbies to the dev experience, I think it adds a lot of value to see that "this stuff is real".
When prepping for the event I realised that deploying to the device (and not the emulator) was broken on Vista! The error shown in the Error List was:
the required ActiveSync proxy ports are not registered
...this came from the Device Connectivity Component
I had heard the rumour that there are issues with VS2005 development on Vista but other than the one I talked about here, I had never faced *any* issues so this was a first for me! Luckily someone from the VSD team was able to give me a virtual slap and remind me that I should dogfood the workarounds we give to the public: Run VS2005 elevated – doh! I have never had to do that to date... Luckily I received this advice before my presentation earlier today :-)
Blogging this in case anyone else faces this issue (surprisingly no search results for the error above). If you are running WMDC on Vista RTM with VS2005 (without SP1) and you get the error above, run VS elevated (right click and select “Run as administrator”) and the issue goes away... phew!
For other device development issues on Vista see the relevant VSD blog entry.
When prepping for the event I realised that deploying to the device (and not the emulator) was broken on Vista! The error shown in the Error List was:
the required ActiveSync proxy ports are not registered
...this came from the Device Connectivity Component
I had heard the rumour that there are issues with VS2005 development on Vista but other than the one I talked about here, I had never faced *any* issues so this was a first for me! Luckily someone from the VSD team was able to give me a virtual slap and remind me that I should dogfood the workarounds we give to the public: Run VS2005 elevated – doh! I have never had to do that to date... Luckily I received this advice before my presentation earlier today :-)
Blogging this in case anyone else faces this issue (surprisingly no search results for the error above). If you are running WMDC on Vista RTM with VS2005 (without SP1) and you get the error above, run VS elevated (right click and select “Run as administrator”) and the issue goes away... phew!
For other device development issues on Vista see the relevant VSD blog entry.
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 17:42
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Ignore if you are not into embedded stuff. If you are, you heard it here first :-).
In the past I've talked about NETMF, and now you can download the product sheet here.
In the past I've talked about NETMF, and now you can download the product sheet here.
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
# posted by The Moth @ 21:21
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
When we talk about the NetFx3 technologies, there are always one or two attendees (not the same ones each time!) that ask if any of the technologies are applicable to mobile devices. There are no plans for WF and no immediate plans for WPF (often confused with WPF/e which is actually quite a different technology with an unfortunate name IMO).
However, the WCF story is good with Orcas and it is now public information! Read all about the WCF support on Roman's blog post. Below some choice quotes:
Go read the full story!
However, the WCF story is good with Orcas and it is now public information! Read all about the WCF support on Roman's blog post. Below some choice quotes:
"... The WCF programming model support will be limited to channel layer messaging (no service model support on the device) [...]
[...] We'll expose all necessary extensibility points so people could plug in their own transport and layered channels, while maintaining a unified programming model. [...] The channels we plan to deliver out of the box are Http and... yes, e-mail (for WCF on desktop and device)."
Go read the full story!
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
Monday, October 09, 2006
Remember that rss download feed I was telling you about? It just "dropped me a line" to say that all the MEDC content is available for anyone to download!
Go get the MEDC 2006 conference DVD!
My session was APP330...
Go get the MEDC 2006 conference DVD!
My session was APP330...
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
Saturday, October 07, 2006
I promised I’d let you know when WMDC for RC1 was out. Also given that most people searching for an ActiveSync replacement or for Windows Mobile Device Centre land on my blog, it is only fair that I let you have some links!
WMDC Beta3 page here. (Notice how now there is also support for Windows Mobile 2003 :))
How did I know? I got notified via the download center RSS feed (don’t tell me you are not subscribed to that?!) about the download page.
WMDC Beta3 page here. (Notice how now there is also support for Windows Mobile 2003 :))
How did I know? I got notified via the download center RSS feed (don’t tell me you are not subscribed to that?!) about the download page.
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
A topic I've done a lot of work on in the past and just one of the areas covered in Nick Randolph's podcast so go listen here (funny American and Aussie accents aside :-p).
Inspired by the podcast, I gathered some of the relevant blog posts I've written on the subject in chronological order (click on the numbers): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Favourite quote by Nick near the end (47:51):
Microsoft Developer Show #8
Inspired by the podcast, I gathered some of the relevant blog posts I've written on the subject in chronological order (click on the numbers): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Favourite quote by Nick near the end (47:51):
"...you need the equivalent of the vb6 to vb.net converter/wizard... you'd run it on a VB6 app and it would come back with 18 million lines of code that had to be changed and your application only had 500K lines of code! "LOL... been there, done that, got the t-shirt :D
Microsoft Developer Show #8
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Over the last year I have had a few people contact me with questions relating to the Point to Point Message Queue class I wrote for MSDN. This blog entry will serve as a URL where I can point future questions regarding it.
1. It seems that under certain circumstances, on certain platforms, the queue does not close properly. A possible solution is to declare a dedicated named event that you create in the ctor of the queue. Set it in the
2. It also seems that under certain other conditions (that amongst other things include multiple senders) the class spikes the cpu. This is due to the way the native API works and the solution is not to run the thread that is responsible for raising events. To do that, follow the advice of the article and create a new P2PMessageQueueSender class that inherits from the original one and simply overrides the
3. If you are porting the code to NETCF v2.0 (when I wrote the article it wasn’t released yet), there are things you can do to the code other than simply recompiling it, such as making any worker threads to background (IsBackground=true) .
Of course, the easiest thing for you to do is none of the above. Simply get the SDF from OpenNETCF, which will include the above improvements (plus you can then get support from the team as opposed to the “as is” code of my old msdn article ;-)).
For other NETCF questions, please use the newsgroup and forum...
1. It seems that under certain circumstances, on certain platforms, the queue does not close properly. A possible solution is to declare a dedicated named event that you create in the ctor of the queue. Set it in the
Close method. In the Monitor method, change the WaitForSingleObject to WaitForMultipleObjects and include this new event.2. It also seems that under certain other conditions (that amongst other things include multiple senders) the class spikes the cpu. This is due to the way the native API works and the solution is not to run the thread that is responsible for raising events. To do that, follow the advice of the article and create a new P2PMessageQueueSender class that inherits from the original one and simply overrides the
StartEventThread with an empty method (Note that this solution should also work for the 1st issue described above)3. If you are porting the code to NETCF v2.0 (when I wrote the article it wasn’t released yet), there are things you can do to the code other than simply recompiling it, such as making any worker threads to background (IsBackground=true) .
Of course, the easiest thing for you to do is none of the above. Simply get the SDF from OpenNETCF, which will include the above improvements (plus you can then get support from the team as opposed to the “as is” code of my old msdn article ;-)).
For other NETCF questions, please use the newsgroup and forum...
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
Friday, September 22, 2006
I followed the launch link from Mike's blog and, unless I am reading too much into it, the official product name for the next version of Windows CE is... (drum roll)...
Windows Embedded CE 6.0
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
Thursday, September 21, 2006
At most of my sessions on Vista I make the assertion that everyone has switched to .NET 2.0 and usually I get everybody nodding, but last week someone said:
"No, because it is not supported on Windows XP embedded".
I didn't know that at the time, but looking at the fountain of all knowledge (aka MSDN) I found this download that contradicts that statement: .NET 2.0 for XPe
While following links from the XPe site I also found a chat from a month ago about the longest product name ever:
"Windows XP Embedded Service Pack 2 Feature Pack 2007 Community Technology Preview"
What makes it even funnier is that besides the "2007" in its title, it is actually scheduled for release this year :-))
"No, because it is not supported on Windows XP embedded".
I didn't know that at the time, but looking at the fountain of all knowledge (aka MSDN) I found this download that contradicts that statement: .NET 2.0 for XPe
While following links from the XPe site I also found a chat from a month ago about the longest product name ever:
"Windows XP Embedded Service Pack 2 Feature Pack 2007 Community Technology Preview"
What makes it even funnier is that besides the "2007" in its title, it is actually scheduled for release this year :-))
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
Thursday, September 14, 2006
If you missed my session at MEDC, I'll be doing a repeat online for the Windows Virtual Mobile Group next Wednesday 20th September (12:00AM Eastern Time, 17:00 GMT)
Register Now!
I’ll be assuming knowledge of device development of course so if you are a desktop developer, get started ;-)
Register Now!
I’ll be assuming knowledge of device development of course so if you are a desktop developer, get started ;-)
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
Thursday, September 07, 2006
No, it is not out for public consumption yet (although it is running here on my laptop). I was going to write an explanation to address the WMDC confusion... but Mel beat me to it here.
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
For all my mobility developer friends, just got word that there is a new resource where you can get and contribute information regarding the Mobile Client Software Factory.
I then looked at Eugenio's latest blog entry and found a sea of resources: bookmarked!
I then looked at Eugenio's latest blog entry and found a sea of resources: bookmarked!
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
Friday, July 14, 2006
When talking about TextBox with cue banner I thought I had done a good job at the end of the post of hinting that someone should write a pure managed version; a version that is not restricted to Windows Vista, but rather would work on WindowsCE/WindowsMobile devices (via the .NET Compact Framework of course).
Since nobody stepped up, I thought I'd tackle it myself :-). I have to say that what I thought would be a 10 minute job ended up taking 6 times as long and right about now I give up as what I have is good enough and a nice starter for someone else to take and polish, iron out any issues etc.
So, with no pinvokes and explicitly tested on WM 5.0 and WinXP, here is the TextBoxWithPrompt code file. Simply save this file and add it to one of your projects and then build all. Now open a form and go to the toolbox where you can drag the TextBoxWithPrompt onto your form and change its
As always feel free to contact me via the link on the left about my blog entries.
Since nobody stepped up, I thought I'd tackle it myself :-). I have to say that what I thought would be a 10 minute job ended up taking 6 times as long and right about now I give up as what I have is good enough and a nice starter for someone else to take and polish, iron out any issues etc.
So, with no pinvokes and explicitly tested on WM 5.0 and WinXP, here is the TextBoxWithPrompt code file. Simply save this file and add it to one of your projects and then build all. Now open a form and go to the toolbox where you can drag the TextBoxWithPrompt onto your form and change its
TextPrompt property to e.g. “Enter your name”As always feel free to contact me via the link on the left about my blog entries.
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Thank you all that attended my webcast.
For those that missed it, you can replay it here: .NET Compact Framework for Desktop developers. You get the same experience except slide animations seem to have been taken out and of course you can't interact and ask questions.
Speaking of questions, looks like my content was so clear that I didn’t have to clarify anything :-p. Instead, here are some of the questions that I received.
Q1) I see from one of the last slides that you won't be covering SQL CE/SQL Mobile/SQL Everywhere. Please consider doing so in a future webcast.
A1) Thank you for the suggestion. In the mean time you can find info on SQL Everywhere here and here. Ask questions on this topic here.
Q2) Does Groove offer support for mobile devices yet?
A2) I have absolutely no idea. I would think not and indeed searching seems to bring back no relevant results so I'll stick with "no it is not supported at the moment" guess. If anyone has info to the contrary please enlighten me and I'll update this. Groove home page.
Q3) Are there any particularly cool open source projects for Windows Mobile?
A3) Yes, SDF from OpenNETCF. Source for v1.x is free and for v2.x available at a small fee. Binaries are free regardless of version.
Q4) What's your initial opinion of the new Mobile Client Software Factory? Is it useful for beginners or should novices focus on more meat and potatoes issues?
A4) I think it is a great effort. As everything else, only you know if it is of value for your particular scenario but definitely do check it out.
Q5) Windows Mobile or Tablet PCs?
A5) Mobility development is a wide field from laptops to tabletpcs to UMPCs to PocketPCs to Smartphones to watches! Depending on the job requirements one or more of the previous platforms can be chosen for any particular project. There is no universal answer.
Expect to read more on this blog soon regarding the Vista mobility story
Q6) Mapping for devices?
A6) See this and this. I would expect this to fully support mobile browsers or someone will be missing a trick.
Q7) In some Windows Mobile devices the .Net Compact Framework is in the system ROM in others it has to be downloaded and installed, what is the performance and other impacts of the built in framework vs a downloaded version?
A7) If you are building against a NETCF version that you expect to be in ROM on all your target devices, then there is no issue. If you don't, then you need to deploy the NETCF runtime with your app. In that case, NETCF is installed in RAM and hence using some of it (much like installing any application on your device). The other difference between the NETCF being in RAM or ROM is a tiny perf advantage in the ROM case. This is not something you should be worried about as it will definitely not be your perf bottleneck if you have one.
For those that missed it, you can replay it here: .NET Compact Framework for Desktop developers. You get the same experience except slide animations seem to have been taken out and of course you can't interact and ask questions.
Speaking of questions, looks like my content was so clear that I didn’t have to clarify anything :-p. Instead, here are some of the questions that I received.
Q1) I see from one of the last slides that you won't be covering SQL CE/SQL Mobile/SQL Everywhere. Please consider doing so in a future webcast.
A1) Thank you for the suggestion. In the mean time you can find info on SQL Everywhere here and here. Ask questions on this topic here.
Q2) Does Groove offer support for mobile devices yet?
A2) I have absolutely no idea. I would think not and indeed searching seems to bring back no relevant results so I'll stick with "no it is not supported at the moment" guess. If anyone has info to the contrary please enlighten me and I'll update this. Groove home page.
Q3) Are there any particularly cool open source projects for Windows Mobile?
A3) Yes, SDF from OpenNETCF. Source for v1.x is free and for v2.x available at a small fee. Binaries are free regardless of version.
Q4) What's your initial opinion of the new Mobile Client Software Factory? Is it useful for beginners or should novices focus on more meat and potatoes issues?
A4) I think it is a great effort. As everything else, only you know if it is of value for your particular scenario but definitely do check it out.
Q5) Windows Mobile or Tablet PCs?
A5) Mobility development is a wide field from laptops to tabletpcs to UMPCs to PocketPCs to Smartphones to watches! Depending on the job requirements one or more of the previous platforms can be chosen for any particular project. There is no universal answer.
Expect to read more on this blog soon regarding the Vista mobility story
Q6) Mapping for devices?
A6) See this and this. I would expect this to fully support mobile browsers or someone will be missing a trick.
Q7) In some Windows Mobile devices the .Net Compact Framework is in the system ROM in others it has to be downloaded and installed, what is the performance and other impacts of the built in framework vs a downloaded version?
A7) If you are building against a NETCF version that you expect to be in ROM on all your target devices, then there is no issue. If you don't, then you need to deploy the NETCF runtime with your app. In that case, NETCF is installed in RAM and hence using some of it (much like installing any application on your device). The other difference between the NETCF being in RAM or ROM is a tiny perf advantage in the ROM case. This is not something you should be worried about as it will definitely not be your perf bottleneck if you have one.
Labels: Mobile and Embedded
Saturday, July 01, 2006
It seems many NETCF developers are being bitten on Windows Vista after installing the WM 5.0 SDK for Visual Studio. The symptom is that although the SDK installation appears to go fine, the WM 5.0 project templates do not appear in VS2005.
The problem has to do with User Account Control (btw, I'll have a lot more to say about UAC in a future blog post). The way to work around it (on Vista Beta 2 at least) is to disable UAC and then install the WM 5.0 SDK thus getting the project templates to appear.
Specifically:
1. Launch "Control Panel"
2. Navigate to "User Accounts and Family Safety -> User Accounts"
3. Click on "Change Security Settings"
4. On the window that appears, uncheck the "Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer" checkbox (requires restart)
5. Now install the WM 5.0 SDK (or do a repair if you already had)
6. Launch VS2005 to verify you have the templates
7. Enable UAC again
The above
The problem has to do with User Account Control (btw, I'll have a lot more to say about UAC in a future blog post). The way to work around it (on Vista Beta 2 at least) is to disable UAC and then install the WM 5.0 SDK thus getting the project templates to appear.
Specifically:
1. Launch "Control Panel"
2. Navigate to "User Accounts and Family Safety -> User Accounts"
3. Click on "Change Security Settings"
4. On the window that appears, uncheck the "Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer" checkbox (requires restart)
5. Now install the WM 5.0 SDK (or do a repair if you already had)
6. Launch VS2005 to verify you have the templates
7. Enable UAC again
The above