Beginning PocketPC programming, Some help please?

[KrAkEdUpAbE]

I am just starting on pocket pc programming, I am familiar with C++, but where do I start for Pocket pc programming?

 

[Descartes]

You have two choices:

eMbedded Visual Tools, or simply eVT. It looks just like Visual Studio 6 and includes eVC++ and eVB. There are some differences of course, *especially* with respect to eVB. It also includes a pseudo-emulator (i.e. not a true emulator like Palm's POSE). A good place to start would be DevBuzz. If you're familiar with VC++ 6 then you really shouldn't have any problems with eVC++. It's obviously much easier to design your interfaces in eVB, but you can of course use the resource editor in VC++ 6 and create dialogs as normal.

The second and, imo, the best choice is to use the .NET Compact Framework. You will need Visual Studio .NET 2003 in order to work with the .NET Framework. VS.NET 2k3 is codename "Everett" and was previously known as SDE. I've been on the beta since the beginning and it.... is.... fantastic when compared to eVT. It also comes with *true* emulator. The .NET CF is simply a subset of the larger .NET Framework.

That should get you started. If you have any more questions, let us know 🙂

 

[Descartes]

Here's a better overview of the .NET CF.

 

[Alternex]

I've used eMbedded Visual Tools a while back and it worked fine. However, now I'm using Visual Studio .Net 2003 w/ the compact framework and it's a lot easier and simpler to use. Pocket PC programming functionality was built right in to the main visual studio package as opposed to eMbedded Visual Tools which seemed more like a side dev tool.

 

[KrAkEdUpAbE]

thanx for allt he help guys, so do i go an return all the books i just got on eVT? Any book recommendations ? TY TY Guys😀

 

[tkdkid]

So...how do I get my hands on a copy of visual studio .net 2003?

I've got 2002 and would like to start doing some pocketpc development.

 

[Alternex]

The compact framework is so new that you probably won't find many (if any) books on it. This isn't really a problem though, you can just pick any good book on the .NET framework and learn how to program that. Then when you use Visual Studio 2003 and start a pocket pc project, it's pretty much the same thing except for the smaller form size. I started a pocket pc project without having to learn anything, you just program as you would normally. Sure there's some stuff that's in the regular framework that's not in the compact framework but if you're not touching some of the more advanced stuff you won't even know what's missing.

Unfortunately, Visual Studio .NET 2003 is only available to MSDN subscribers right now because it's in beta stage. When it does come out it should only be around $60 to upgrade from VS2002. If you can you should really give it a shot, it's pretty fun programming for .net and it's so easy. Plus you don't have all mess and bugs as you do when programming with VB6/C++ etc..

For .net framework books, any beginner book should be ok. For a deeper understanding I really like the Jeffrey Richter book from MS press. Anyways feel free to PM me if you have any questions or just want to talk about .net..