Embedded Visual Basic Windows Ce And Pocket Pc Mobile Applications [Electronic resources]

How This Book Is Organized

Because we assume that you're new to eMbedded Visual Basic, Chapter 1 covers the basics of installing eMbedded Visual Tools and the Pocket PC Platform SDK. Chapter 1 also covers some of the basic differences of debugging an application in eVB versus debugging with Visual Basic 6.

Chapter 2 outlines the differences between eMbedded Visual Basic and Visual Basic 6, highlighting those items unsupported in eVB and providing workarounds for those that apply.

With the exceptions of Chapters 1, 2 and 9, each chapter covers a specific library or set of associated libraries usable in eMbedded Visual Basic. Each chapter walks you through using as much of the covered libraries as practical by writing a sample application.

We didn't feel that you should be forced to move through the book chapter by chapter to get use out of later chapters, so the sample applications in later chapters don't depend on code from earlier chapters. Be aware, though, that tips and workarounds are explained the first time they are used, so if something doesn't make full sense, you may want to peruse the earlier chapters.

Chapter 9 covers the Windows CE API. Rather than use a sample application, the chapter focuses on several examples on how to use the APIs to achieve things not natively supported in eVB.

The following is a brief listing of the chapters in this book and what they cover:

• Chapter 1, "An Introduction to Windows CE," give you a quick overview of Windows CE and its platforms and covers the installation of eMbedded Visual Basic.

• Chapter 2, "Introducing eMbedded Visual Basic," outlines the differences between Visual Basic 6 and eVB.

• Chapter 3, "Manipulating Files," covers file manipulation using the Windows CE TreeView, FileSystem, and File controls.

• Chapter 4, "Working with Menu Controls for Pocket PC," discusses how to create and use menus with the MenuBar control.

• Chapter 5, "Using the Windows CE WinSock for IR Communication," demonstrates socket communications using TCP/IP or IrDA with the WinSock control.

• Chapter 6, "The Pocket Outlook Object Model: Accessing Contacts and Calendar Items," demonstrates manipulating Contacts and Appointments using the Pocket Outlook Object Model (POOM).

• Chapter 7, "Storing and Retrieving Data with ActiveX Data Objects CE," covers data manipulation using ADOCE.

• Chapter 8, "Using SQL Server in a Mobile Environment," discusses using Microsoft SQL Server CE for storing and transferring data.

• Chapter 9, "Harnessing the Windows CE API," highlights how you can use the Windows API with Windows CE.

Finally, Appendix A gives full outlines of object models used throughout the book, listing and briefly describing all supported methods, properties, and events.