Steven Pratschner's .Net CF WebLog

    A reader recently pointed out another error in my hosting book.  The error involves an API I used in the book that was cut before the final release went out. On pages 253-256 I describe a hosting API named IHostControl::GetDomainNeutralAssemblies...

The .Net Compact Framework 3.5 Power Toys include a new utility called the NetCF Configuration Tool. The Configuration Tool is a diagnostic tool.  You won't typically use it in the course of everyday development, but it will come in handy for tasks...

I've completed all that I had planned to write (at least for now) about how to use the CLRProfiler with NetCF.   Here's a brief explanation and a link to each post the series: Part I, Getting Started. Describes how to install the profiler, launch...

If you've used the CLRProfiler for NetCF you've probably noticed that your application runs much slower when being profiled.  You likely have also seen the huge amount of data the profiler generates, even for relatively simple applications. ...

By default, a managed device application is run with the version of the .Net Compact Framework it was built with.  Only if that version is not present on the device will we "promote" the application to run with the latest installed version...

This series of posts provides an introduction to using the CLRProfiler for the .Net Compact Framework.  In previous posts ( part 1 , part 2 , and part 3 ) we've looked at various profiler features as we try to solve a performance problem with a sample...

We've just released the final 3.5 version of the PowerToys for NetCF to the web.  You'll need to install the 3.5 NetCF runtime on your device to use these tools.  For now, you can get the correct runtime by installing Visual Studio 2008 . ...

In the first two parts of this series ( part 1 and part 2 ) I described how to get started using the CLRProfiler and how to use the histograms and the "Show Who Allocated" view to see what types of objects you're allocating and to determine...

I was helping a customer use PInvoke to call EnumServices today and got stuck a few times so I thought it may be helpful to post the solution in case anyone else runs into this someday. EnumServices returns a buffer containing a number of structures of...

Next week is the annual Øredev conference in Malmö, Sweden. We're very fortunate to have 3 detailed .Net Compact Framework sessions there. Doug Boling will be doing sessions on performance and on how to enable GPS in your applications and I'll be doing...

The Remote Performance Monitor (RPM) first shipped in version 2 service pack 1 of the .Net Compact Framework.  Since that time, numerous customers have come to depend on RPM to help them diagnose performance problems and find memory leaks in their...

Yesterday I started a series of posts on how the use the CLRProfiler for the .Net Compact Framework.  The first post contained the basic information you need to get started.  I described how to install the profiler, launch an application on...

Version 3.5 of the .Net Compact Framework contains a new memory profiler called the CLRProfiler. The CLRProfiler is a great tool for looking into the details of how your application is allocating and using managed objects. For example, the profiler allows...

The last few versions of the Remote Performance Monitor enable you to view snapshots of the GC heap on demand .  The view of the heap presented by RPM is oriented around finding managed memory leaks.  Specifically, the data is organized so that...

If you’ve installed the Beta2 version of Orcas you may have noticed that the NetCF diagnostic tools (RPM, CLRProfler, ...) are missing. Don’t worry, these haven’t been cut from Orcas, they will just be distributed via the web in a separate “power toys...

Last week I did an MSDN webcast on writing high performing device applications using the .Net Compact Framework. The webcast contains both in depth information on the internal workings of the Compact Framework and a set of tips and tricks for optimizing...

A few weeks ago I posted an entry describing how to use the .Net Compact Framework Remote Performance Monitor to find managed memory leaks . The other day I ran across a post from Rabi Satter describing how he used to tool to solve a critical leak for...

Service Pack 2 of the .Net Compact Framework V2.0 includes some new features in the Remote Performance Monitor aimed at finding memory leaks in the managed heap. These features allow you to take snapshots of the GC heap at any point in time and view the...

The November issue of .Net Developers Journal includes a new article on using the Remote Performance Montior . In the article I describe how to interpret the various memory-related counters to optimize how your Compact Framework application uses memory...

I’ve recently been made aware of two more updates I need to provide for my book on Customizing the .Net Framework CLR . As always, I apologize for any inconvenience these discrepancies may have caused. Chapter 2, Page 7. The table which lists the methods...

In my earlier post on using the .Net Compact Framework Remote Performance Monitor, I describe that you must manually copy two files (netcfrtl.dll and netcflaunch.exe) to your device before you can launch an application to receive performance statistics...

Service Pack 1 of the .Net Compact Framework version 2 (see http://blogs.msdn.com/netcfteam/archive/2006/04/21/580901.aspx ) includes a new utility called the .Net Compact Framework Remote Performance Monitor (RPM). The RPM helps you diagnose performance...

Releasing a book before the product on which it is based ships is always a risky proposition as product changes are inevitable, which may invalidate some of what you've written. My situation is no exception. I finished writing my book on advanced CLR...

I recently wrote an article for . Net Developers Journal on how operations like boxing and string manipulations can affect the performance of the Compact Framework's garbage collector. Credit for the ideas and samples in the article go to Roman Batoukov...

Here's Part III of the series on the design of the .Net Compact Framework CLR. Previous posts in this series provided an overview of how the CLR manages memory and described the basic design tenants of the JIT compilers: Part I, Overview and Background...