Visual Studio For Devices : Managed Development

VS 2005 SP1 is now available !

MobileDevGroup — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 02:14:00 GMT

Yes VS 2005 SP1 is now available for download. Here are some useful links I wanted to share.

VSTS patches download	http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=bb4a75ab-e2d4-4c96-b39d-37baf6b5b1dc&DisplayLang=en
Express patches download	http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=7b0b0339-613a-46e6-ab4d-080d4d4a8c4e&DisplayLang=en
TFS patches download	http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=a9ab638c-04d2-4aee-8ae8-9f00dd454ab8&DisplayLang=en
How to obtain VS 2005 SP1	http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=929697
Hotfixes in VS 2005 SP1	http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=918526
VS 2005 SP1 Release Notes	http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=928957
Heath’s blog with a ton of useful SP1 related information on install issues, install times, insights into how SP1 install works, etc	http://blogs.msdn.com/heaths/archive/tags/VS+2005+SP1/default.aspx

So as a device developer what should you expect ? Some big areas we touched upon were:

We Added Development Support for Windows Embedded 6.0 platform based devices
Ability to develop using SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition
Added 15 Device Side MFC Classes to MFC for Devices
Fixed issues with eVC to VS 2005 Migration Wizard
Updated to the latest Version of Device Side Native Compilers
Included the latest versions of the Windows CE Remote Tools

and many other bug fixes both from our team as well as other teams we work with.

Thanks

Amit

Sample code for the MSDN Webcast: Creating Custom Controls for Managed Code with Design Time Support in Visual Studio 2005

MobileDevGroup — Wed, 20 Jul 2005 18:48:00 GMT

A few day back Xin had presented a WebCast on MSDN Webcast: Creating Custom Controls for Managed Code with Design Time Support in Visual Studio 2005. The demo code and additional information can be downloaded from here.

Feb CTP and Device Development

MobileDevGroup — Wed, 09 Mar 2005 18:27:00 GMT

If you are a device developer (or evaluating device development in VS 2005) please continue to use the November CTP for that. Information on November CTP and the patches needed is also in given our blog below.

Thanks

Amit Chopra

Visual Studio 2005 and developing for CE based devices

MobileDevGroup — Wed, 02 Feb 2005 20:04:00 GMT

A number of people have been trying to get this information on newsgroups and other means so I thought it would be nice to put a blog to provide an answer to CE support question.

VS2005 will support both Managed (VB,C#) and Native Development (C++) for devices. We support Windows Mobile 2003 and 2003 Second Edition for Pocket PC and Smartphone out of the box and also support development and debugging on CE 5.0 based devices. For customers developing with on previous CE platforms such as 4.1 or 4.2, eVC will continue to remain the recommended development platform.

Thanks

Amit Chopra

VS2003 and Device Development

MobileDevGroup — Tue, 25 Jan 2005 01:06:00 GMT

This came up on one of the C# Frequently Asked Questions site where a customer was unable to determine if the standard SKU for Visual Studio 2003 supported Device development or not.

Smart device development is available in all editions of Visual Studio .NET 2003: Visual Studio .NET 2003 Professional, Visual Studio .NET 2003 Enterprise Developer, and Visual Studio .NET 2003 Enterprise Architect. Smart device development is not available in stand-alone editions: Visual Basic .NET 2003 Standard, Visual C# .NET 2003 Standard, Microsoft Visual J#™ .NET 2003 Standard, or Microsoft Visual C++® .NET 2003 Standard. http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/productinfo/overview/whatsnew.aspx

For Whidbey (Visual Studio 2005) the Standard Edition will also provide full device development in Native (C++) as well as Managed (VB .NET and C#). The express SKUs however will not have this functionality.

Thanks

Amit

Using Visual Studio 2005 to debug against Windows CE 5.0 devices without using ActiveSync

MobileDevGroup — Thu, 06 Jan 2005 00:35:00 GMT

We got a few posts from customers asking us on how best to debug a Windows CE 5.0 device without using Active Sync. Edward Xu, who is a Software Design Engineer/Test in our group, put together this information that will be useful in this regards.

This information only applies to the Visual Studio 2005 Beta 1 and the November CTP Drop. When newer functional device bits are available via new CTPs or the next Beta, we will update this Blog to reflect the changes.

Without the help of ActiveSync, VS 2005 does not automatically copy the connectivity binaries down to the device and hence debugging becomes problematic.

In order to use debugger on Windows CE 5.0 devices without active sync, you need to:

Step 1. Manually copy the following files down to the device

For VS 2005 Beta 1 users: Please Copy
Clientshutdown.exe
ConmanClient2.exe
ConmanSurrogate.exe
ConmanRPC_DLL.dll
TcpConnectionA.dll

From the desktop folder:
<VS Install Dir>\compactframeworksdk\connectionmanager\target\wce400\<CPU Type>, to \windows on device

For VS 2005 November CTP users: Please Copy
Clientshutdown.exe
ConmanClient2.exe
TcpConnectionA.dll

From the desktop folder:
<VS Install Dir>\compactframeworksdk\connectionmanager\target\wce400\<CPU Type>, to \windows on device
And Copy
EdbgTL.dll
From the desktop folder: <VS Install Dir>\smartdevices\debugger\target\wce400\<CPU Type>, to \windows on device

Step 2. Manually launch the conmanclient2.exe

On the device side, open the command prompt and run
Conmanclient2.exe /transport:tcpconnectiona.dll /property:port=5655 /id:Con

Step 3. Set the correct IP address

On the desktop side, open VS 2005
Tools à options à device tools à devices
Choose Windows CE 5.0 device, click on “properties”.
On the “Windows CE 5.0 device properties” dialog, click on “configure”.
On the “Configure TCP/IP” Transport dialog, choose “use specific IP address” and type in the IP address of your windows CE 5.0 device.
Click OK.

Now debugger is ready to go, and you should be able to deploy and debug program(s) running on Windows CE 5.0 device now.

'The Device Bits in December CTP are older than November CTP' - How and Why does this happen ?

MobileDevGroup — Tue, 28 Dec 2004 22:51:00 GMT

I recently responded to a customer's question with a note saying that the device bits in the December CTP are older than the November CTP. I am sure the next logical question people would have in mind would be - how and why would that happen. I'll make an attempt at explaining why even a newer CTP could have some bits which are older than the previous CTP. Before I get into the detail, take a look at this blog by the release team which explains how our build process works.

So based on that we have the Main Build and multiple VBLs under that. A set of teams in the division check code into Labs assigned to them, example my team usuallys work in VBL22. We build each lab daily and then usually once a week or so, these changes are moved to the Main Lab. Once it passes the release criteria, that code from Main is then Reverse Integrated into the rest of the labs to get all labs in sync. And this cycle continue.

The Dec CTP (looking at the help About) indicated that it from lab23 which is not the lab where my team checks code in directly. Also I noticed that the build number for this release is 041115 (Interpret YY,MM,DD). Which means that while this build has Lab23 bit which will be the most recent for the VS Team System , the bit from the Lab22 (my team's lab) could be considerably older depending on when Lab22 integrated to Main and then from Main to Lab23. Contrast that with the November CTP - it showed a build main.041202. So that should explain the How this happened.

Now to the Why part. Why does something like this happen ?. This Dec CTP release is focused on VS Team System. Once that team identifies a build in it's lab it takes then a few days to get the right set of fixes. During this phase we usually will not merge other labs so that this lab continues to be stable and in a known state. This means that team can deliver a stable build to our customers and can provide a good experience with the features they want to showcase in that build and it make the preview a lot more useful. The downside is that the other lab by virtue of the integration cycles will have older bits and this is exactly what happened in the Dec CTP.

So my suggestion to our device development community

- To try the latest feature set of VS Team Systems, sure use, the Dec CTP. If you are evaluating other features, most teams have team or individual blogs where they publish up to date known issues or build related information.

- For the latest feature in Managed Device development, continue to use the Nov CTP and the patch I put a few hours ago.

- And if you are doing Native Device development, Beta 1 release would be the best option so far. Nov CTP has a bug preventing Native Device Project from showing up and at this point and a patch for that is unlikely.

Couple of other suggestions.

When logging suggestions and defects from the Product Feedback Center, do mention the Build Number from Help About as it will help us get to the issue more quickly.

and

When installing these CTPs, I recommend a clean image of the machine. While uninstalling is getting better, a few older bits could stay behind making identification of some issues much harder for the team.

Our team would love to hear about your experiences with our tools so please feel free to use this blog, the product feedback center or the VS2005 newsgroups to send your thoughts / comments / suggestions our way. The microsoft.private.whidbey.smartdevices and microsoft.private.whidbey.smartdevices.cplusplus are the 2 most relevant newsgroups for device development for VS 2005 and you can continue to use the Microsoft public newsgroups for disucssion of VS 2003, NETCF 1.0 and eVC 4.0.

Thanks

Amit Chopra

A Patch for the November CTP (VS 2005, Standard)

MobileDevGroup — Tue, 28 Dec 2004 19:09:00 GMT

http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/1/6/116F9AB8-BEBE-425D-A81E-0603BCE6DA2E/SmartDeviceProject.msiIf you build a managed VB or C# .NET CF Application using the November CTP and then press F5 or CRTL+F5 to deploy the application, currently it fails to deploy. This patch will enable you to deploy Managed .NET CF Apps successfully.

While this patch will unblock users who have been wanting to do Managed Development with the November CTP Drop, it is being provided AS-IS and has gone through very limited testing and verification. Though most people who tried this patch and help verify it (Thanks Daniel, Alex, Neil and many others) said it worked, there were one or two instances where after installing this patch, there were package load failures in the Smart Device Project Package.

So here is what is needed

1. Make a copy of the smartdeviceproject.dll and keep it safely in case you experience a package load or other failures that prevent you from even using the designers. This file is in the <VS Install Folder>\smartdevices\projects\ folder.

Close VS if it is running. Download the Patch from MSDN.

2. Install the MSI and it will copy the smartdevicesproject.dll on your machine. Then copy this to the <VS Install Folder>\smartdevices\projects\

3. Restart Visual Studio, Create and Build a new C# or VB .NET CF Application. Press F5 or CTRL+F5 and your application should successfully get deployed to the emulator.

Thanks

Amit Chopra

My kingdom for a GUID

MobileDevGroup — Thu, 21 Oct 2004 00:36:00 GMT

I've never encountered this issue before, but apparently there's no NewGuid() method in .NET CF v1. Peter Foot, one of our MVPs, has written a little class that will generate a GUID for you with a simple P/Invoke.

[Author: Neil Enns]

New mobility articles are up on MSDN

MobileDevGroup — Fri, 01 Oct 2004 19:36:00 GMT

Three new articles on developing for Windows Mobile devices just went live on MSDN. One of them is the first in a series on migrating eVB applications to VB.NET.

Architecting Disconnected Mobile Applications Using a Service Oriented Architecture
The Windows Mobile platform, which includes Microsoft .NET Compact Framework and Microsoft SQL Server CE, encapsulates the complex tasks of communication management and data exchange while your device is in a disconnected state. (16 printed pages)

Games Programming with Cheese: Part Three
An introduction to games programming on the Windows Mobile-based Smartphone by using the .NET Compact Framework and Visual Studio 2003. There are a number of downloads for the project at different stages of development. (23 printed pages)

Migrating eVB File Controls to Visual Basic .NET
This article provides information to help you port the eMbedded Visual Basic (eVB) file controls (File System and File control) to Visual Basic .NET when migrating your applications from eVB to Visual Basic .NET. (5 printed pages)

[Author: Neil Enns]

What tools do I need to develop for Pocket PC and Smartphone?

MobileDevGroup — Thu, 23 Sep 2004 17:34:00 GMT

Robert's posted a nice little write-up over at the Windows Mobile blog on the different tools available for developing apps on Pocket PC and Smartphone devices. This is a bit of a tricky subject, since depending on the release of Windows Mobile you're targeting the tools can be quite different. His chart helps clear things up.

If you're looking for download locations for the various tools and SDKs you can find all of them at the Windows Mobile Developer's Center at MSDN. The Tools and Downloads page has direct links for everything Robert mentions.

Of course, the coolest tool on the block is Visual Studio 2005, which includes support for both native and managed Windows Mobile development. If you have a Beta 1 CD from one of our events and haven't given it a try yet please do! Don't forget to submit your feedback using the Product Feedback Center. If you don't have a CD kicking around, or you want the latest and greatest, and you're an MSDN Subscriber you can download the Beta 1 Refresh directly from the Visual Studio site.

[Author: Neil Enns]

Accessing Connection Manager through .NET CF

MobileDevGroup — Wed, 15 Sep 2004 21:14:00 GMT

Every so often someone asks on either an internal alias or our public newsgroup about the right way to establish a data connection using the Compact Framework. Most of the time you don't have to do this since many of the built-in classes will bring up the connection automatically, but sometimes it's necessary.

The API to use is called ConnMgrEstablishConnection(), and normally you'd P/Invoke to it to do all the magic. But there's a better way! The fine folks at OpenNETCF.org have a complete class library for interacting with Connection Manager as part of their Smart Device Framework. You can use the library to not only open or close connections, but also to listen for events like Connected, Disconnected, and ConnectionFailed.

[Author: Neil Enns]

Generating compressed CABs for Pocket PC and Smartphone

MobileDevGroup — Wed, 15 Sep 2004 19:28:00 GMT

At a partner event yesterday I was asked if it was possible to generate compressed CAB files for Smartphone and Pocket PC. It turns out the answer is yes and no.

All Smartphone devices support compressed CAB files, and cabwizsp.exe (the tool for creating Smartphone CABs) generates compressed CAB files automatically.

Pocket PC devices do not support compressed CABs. Cabwiz.exe, the tool for creating Pocket PC CABs, does not even implement creating compressed CAB files.

If you have one of the preview drops of Visual Studio 2005 you can use the new cabwiz.exe tool (this version works for both Pocket PC and Smartphone) that's in it to generate compressed CAB as well. To do so you have to add the /compress flag, as the default is to generate uncompressed CABs. These compressed cabs will work on all Smartphone devices, and Pocket PC devices running a future version of Windows Mobile (but none of the current ones).

[Author: Neil Enns]

Having trouble with USB connectivity?

MobileDevGroup — Tue, 31 Aug 2004 16:30:00 GMT

An update for WindowsXP was just released that resolves an issue with USB device connectivity to USB 2.0 ports. In particular this can affect Pocket PCs if you power-cycle them while they're connected.

Here's the writeup from the KB article:

When you connect a Pocket PC handheld device to a USB 2.0 hub or turn off the device and then turn it back on while the device is still connected to the USB 2.0 hub, Windows may not redetect the device. This problem may also occur with other USB devices that have pending transfers if the device is disconnected and then reconnected, or if the device is turned off and then turned back on while it is still connected to the USB 2.0 hub. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.

You can grab the update from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=e8704911-1f94-47e6-8a69-26b47a29c8da&DisplayLang=en.

[Author: Neil Enns]

Access the HTC cameras from your app!

MobileDevGroup — Tue, 17 Aug 2004 16:52:00 GMT

One of the most requested features on the Smartphone developer newsgroups is for a camera API. We're working on one for the next release of Smartphone, but until then check out the new wrapper released by the folks at OpenNETCF.org. Neil Cowburn has a managed wrapper that works on any HTC device that has an integrated camera and the compact framework installed.

Nice job, Neil!

[Author: Neil Enns]