Re: Deployment and debugging of apps from VS2005 via ActiveSync &

Tech-Archive recommends: Repair Windows Errors & Optimize Windows Performance

[Dammit - sometimes I hate Windows! I had written a full response but the
whole thing got hosed as I pressed the 'send' button.]

OK - I figure it is my turn to try and give a little back, so here it is
again – as much as I can from memory.

The instructions shown here:

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms228708.aspx

are correct but as is often the case are short of just a small amount of
clarification that would make it really obvious as to what is required (at
least to a dullard like me anyway).

The first "secret" to become aware of is that you need to read the document
literally when it states:

"From the command prompt on the device…"

and

"At the command prompt on the device…"

because this is literally what the document really means.

It really does want you to invoke ‘conmanclient2.exe’ and ‘cmaccept.exe’
from command prompts.

The bit that is left out and that is (IMHO) far from obvious, is that if,
like me, you had been happily using ActiveSync over WiFi to deploy and debug
your projects prior to VS2005, that you wouldn’t need to have used a command
prompt up to now and so may very well not have one available.

I was at least aware that the Pocket PC was not fitted with a command prompt
as ‘standard’, but it still took a while for the penny to drop that I would
have to install one first.

For that I went here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=74473fd6-1dcc-47aa-ab28-6a2b006edfe9&DisplayLang=en

to get hold of a copy of the:

Windows Mobile Developer Power Toys v3.0

(My app is an embedded one based on PPC 2003 BTW, and the above link works
for me in the sense that it supports my platform. I’m not sure where you
would go to get hold of something suitable for use with anything later.)

The second "secret" that you need to know is that you need to utilise two
separate command prompts – one for each of the two server apps that you need
to run.

This is slightly counter-intuitive because just about the first thing that
the 'Programming WinCE 101' book says is that you can not run more than one
instance of any given app on the PPC because the OS will make sure of it
behind the scenes.

Anyway – it works!

Simply start two copies of the command prompt and run up ‘conmanclient2.exe’
in one and ‘cmaccept.exe’ in the other and with a bit of luck it will work
for you too!

Having said all of that, a small part of me is paranoid that I have over
complicated the solution to what is basically a much simpler problem. If
anybody knows better please pop up with a correction.


"Paul G. Tobey [eMVP]" wrote:

Nothing visible happens on the device. The program is just a server program
waiting for Visual Studio to connect to it.

Paul T.

"TonyC" <TonyC@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:99F9BA8F-2238-4999-B6D1-8147DE5C0110@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hmmm... looks like my optimism was misplaced.

I have tried very very hard to get the suggested instructions on:

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms228708.aspx

to work but to no avail.

Endless hours trying to Google up a solution have failed as well.

Could I request some further clarification please?

Specifically, with respect to these two instructions (drawn from the web
page above):

"From the command prompt on the device, run conmanclient2.exe.

Determine the IP address of the device."

I have never had the need to run this program before, so I have no idea
how
to tell whether it is doing its job or not.

What should I expect to see when it runs please?

I have run "conmanclient.exe" and it pops up a UI, but i get nothing
(visible)from "conmanclient2.exe".

Neither does it show up in the list of running programs (whereas
conmanclient shows up as "Connection Manager").

Also what, specifically, is meant by "from the command prompt" please? I
have been starting (or attempting to start!) both apps by simply touching
them with the stylus in the normal way, but use of the phrase "command
prompt" makes me worry that I might be missing a trick somewhere or other.

If and when I ever do manage to see conmanclient2 put up a UI I am
guessing
that it will show me... well, actually, I don't know... what will it show
me?

I am trying to do this on an iPAQ 4150 which has .NETCF v1.0 SP3 and v2.0
SP1 loaded on it. My understanding is that this is an acceptable
configuration.

[Apologies for all the dumb questions, but when something doesn't work it
is
amazing how ruthlessly it exposes scope for interpreting the instructions
in
various different ways. Everything will be so obvious once I can get it
to
work.]

Best regards, Tony C.


"TonyC" wrote:

Thanks Paul.

I've searched for that information for weeks without success.

"Paul G. Tobey [eMVP]" wrote:

You need to use the network connectivity scheme, which doesn't actually
use
ActiveSync itself, to make your debugging connection:

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms228708.aspx

I've never done this with Pocket PC devices, but it works fine with
Windows
CE, non-PPC devices.

Paul T.

"TonyC" <TonyC@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:370D0828-15DE-44B0-AE56-6553E359AA7B@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I need to be able to use VS 2005 to launch and debug Pocket PC
applications
over Ethernet.

Unfortunately, this ability seems to have been removed in ActiveSync
4.2.

This is an essential ability for me, as our application can not be
mounted
in the USB cradle (nor can we use the emulator) because the connector
on
the
base of the PPC is in use for some special purpose real physical
hardware
that is integral to the functioning of the app. This hardware is
absolutely
integral to the design of the overall system in terms of being the
fundamental 'reason d'etre' for the project and can not be removed -
even
temporarily - or the app will not function.

This used to work fine with VS2003 & AS 3.8, but now that we have to
use
VS2005 & AS 4.2 we have a serious and urgent problem.

Does anybody know of a way of deploying and debugging Pocket PC apps
in
the
VS2005 universe without cradling the device please? frankly, we are
becoming
a little desperate.

Any and all help and suggestions would be gratefully appreciated.






.

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