Re: Can I ( how do I ) do the requested PDA programming project?

a) Is my assumption that using 2003 .net ( or even the 2005 beta .net )
will allow me to 'easily' program a pocket PC based PDA

You will find programming for PPC easier using the 2005 version of VS.
The support for PDA/ Mobile device development is a lot better and the
emulators are far superior. The later the Beta release the more stable
the platform, however if you can manage to get hold of a release verion
of the software, (maybe by going to the MS launch of VS05) then I would
highly recommend it.

SQLMobile is better than SQL Server CE 2.0 and you will be better off
with either this or SQLite for database access on a PDA.

b) Can the application wake up every so often to alert the user? I'm
thinking that for power management reason it would have to power
down
for a while. Maybe PDAs can run for a week with out having to shut
down. I expect a weeks is about the time lapse between data dumps.

You can use some of the new components of the CF 2.0 to alert on
specific events without using PInvoke :) It was a bit of a nightmare
with CF1.0!

c) Since this application is the only thing that needs to run on this
PDA, what is the least expensive model that I should purchase. (
This
project might need up to 80 PDAs )

I would suggest not buying a device if it is for a final dissertation.
The emulators in VS 2005 should provide adequate demonstration support.
If it is for a commercial project I would suggest looking at the newer
devices coming out at the moment with Windows Mobile 2005 as this has
the .Net CF 2.0 already on it and therefore reduces issues with
upgrading the CF.

d) Should I consider other PDAs and Oss like Palm? Would this result
in
significant hardware/software costs reductions.

If you want to consider Palm you are likely to end up programming in
Java rather than C# and you will struggle with low level device driver
support far more than on the MS based OS. You will also find that Palm
and MS have recently agreed to bring out Palm devices on the MS OS...
http://blogs.msdn.com/windowsmobile/archive/2005/09/27/474536.aspx

Mono does not yet support device development as they are struggling
with User Interface issues for the PDA's.

Best of Luck
Sarah


Simon Hart (nospam) wrote:
> Hi Anthony,
>
> > My Questions:
> >
> > a) Is my assumption that using 2003 .net ( or even the 2005 beta .net )
> > will allow me to 'easily' program a pocket PC based PDA
>
> VS.NET 2003 and .NET Compact Framework has its fair share of bugs and many
> limitations which most have workarounds.
> VS.NET 2005 will be in GA Nov 7 2005 which is much improved many new classes
> many bugs fixed plus it makes developing DPI-aware and orientation aware
> applications easy. DPI and orientation aware only effect applications running
> on WM2003 SE.
> I have not yet given SQL CE 2.0 a run for its money but will soon. I dare
> say many others in this newsgroup have.
>
> > b) Can the application wake up every so often to alert the user? I'm
> > thinking that for power management reason it would have to power down
> > for a while. Maybe PDAs can run for a week with out having to shut
> > down. I expect a weeks is about the time lapse between data dumps.
>
> This would be a platform invoke call required to do this to my knowledge.
> Anything is possible with Pocket PC development, if its not possible through
> managed wrappers then you can do p/invokes (WinAPI calls).
>
> > The again the PDAs will most likely be recharged each nght. Side
> > question if some other application is running on the PDA ( There should
> > not be, but lets be prepared ) can this application keep running in the
> > background and come forward to get it's survey questions answered.
>
> By default Pocket PC apps should be kept running in the background as it
> reduces load time when toggeling between favourite programs running on the
> device. In fact Microsoft recommends the main form should not be finalized.
> If your main form has an "OK" button top right, then you need to set the main
> forms MinimizeBox property to true.
>
> > c) Since this application is the only thing that needs to run on this
> > PDA, what is the least expensive model that I should purchase. ( This
> > project might need up to 80 PDAs )
>
> Try looking at the lower end HP iPAQs. They are quite cheap but good machines.
> You could also look at Dell Axim model range they are probebly cheaper than
> HP but not quite so good quality device.
>
> > d) Should I consider other PDAs and Oss like Palm? Would this result in
> > significant hardware/software costs reductions.
>
> There is no CLR from Microsoft that runs on the PalmOS. I am not sure of any
> open source projects such as http://www.mono-project.com that target .NET
> Compact Framework.
>
> Pocket PC's have had a majority of the PDA market share for some time now.
> Ands it continuing to get stronger. Originally way back this was not the case
> because Windows CE was so flakey and hard to setup. For these reasons big
> players like Sony starting working with Palm and rolling out there Clie
> product range with PalmOS.
>
> Here are some resources that a fellow developer recently asked me for which
> should get you started:
>
> http://samples.gotdotnet.com/quickstart/CompactFramework/ - Very good for
> the beginner - has basic examples in VB.NET and C# on getting started with
> .NET Compact Framework
>
> http://www.pocketpcdn.com/ - Pocket PC developers Network - very good site
> with regular updated reports on the latest stuff available to programmers.
>
> http://msdn.microsoft.com/smartclient/understanding/netcf/FAQ/default.aspx -
> If you have a problem that you just can't figure out, see here, generally it
> will contain an answer - v.good.
>
> http://www.opennetcf.org - Fantastic open source project extension to the
> .NET Compact Framework. Contains many controls not available in the .NETCF.
> Latest version is 1.4.
>
> http://www.develop.com/compactframework/ - Develop Mentor - this site is ok
> for some tutorials.
>
> Good luck with your project!
>
> Cheers
> Simon.

.