Windows CE Development Tools
This book is written with the assumption that the reader knows C and is at least familiar with Microsoft Windows. All native code development was done with Microsoft eMbedded Visual C++ under Windows XP. To compile the example programs in this book, you need Microsoft eMbedded Visual C++ 4.0, which is conveniently supplied on the companion CD. You also need the appropriate platform SDKs for the Windows CE device you're targeting.Each example already has a predefined project set up, but you can also choose to create the projects from scratch. For almost all the examples, simply create a generic WCE Application project. For the examples that require access to functions unique to the Pocket PC, special code links to those functions, even though the project settings don't specifically define a Pocket PC application.For developers who want to build applications that run on the Pocket PC 2000 and 2002, you need to use Embedded Visual C++ 3.0. Unfortunately, there isn't enough room on the companion CD for both eVC 3 and eVC 4, but eVC 3 is available as a download from the Microsoft Web site. You'll also need the appropriate SDKs for those older Pocket PC systems. Many of the examples in the book can be compiled for the older Pocket PC devices. Some examples, however, such as the Bluetooth, OBEX, and services examples, use features that aren't available on the older systems..NET Compact Framework applications are developed with Visual Studio .NET 2003. This tool isn't provided on the CD because it's huge and, unfortunately for us programmers, not free. Still, this tool is an incredibly productive development environment. For those interested in developing managed code, the pain of the cost of upgrading is mitigated by the increase in developer productivity. You'll need Visual Studio .NET 2003 to compile the examples in the Compact Framework chapter. This tool provides the necessary runtimes for all Pocket PC devices as well as embedded versions of Windows CE based on version 4.1 or later.