Developing applications for Pocket PC /Windows Mobile 5

Question

I have to develop an application for the Motorola MC70 which runs Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.01.0478 (Pocket PC?).

I have no idea how to make an application for those devices... I tested regular exe which gave me the expected "'x' is not a valid Pocket PC application".

Is Visual Studio the only way to develop for these devices? I only used Visual Studio for like 3 days in 2006 (for a C# .NET course). I have 4 years of full time experience with C++, 12 years of (part-time) experience with Delphi and 2+ years of full-time PHP experience.

So my question is:

1. Is Visual Studio is the only IDE to develop for Windows Mobile (if not, what are the alternatives)?
2. Which version of the suggested IDE I should use?
3. Is there free version of this IDE which can do the work?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Visual Studio certian is the most common and preferred IDE for developing native applications for CE-based devices. You can, however, get by with eMbedded Visual C++ 4.0 for a WinMo 5 (and earlier) device.

The debugger and compiler aren't as good as those in Studio, but they work, were the basis for applications for several years, and it's free. If you're familiar with Visual C++ 6.0, you'll be right at home.

If you want to do managed development, then yes, Visual Studio is really the only option. I understand that some have gotten SharpDevelop to compile apps, but I don't think there's a debugging story, which in my mind makes it a non-starter.

Answer 2

To answer your questions:

1.Is Visual Studio is the only IDE to develop for Windows Mobile (if not, what are the alternatives)?

A. Without making things really difficult for yourself. No, Visual Studio is your only real option.

2.Which version of the suggested IDE I should use?

A. For Visual Studio 2008 you need the Professional or Team System Edition

3.Is there free version of this IDE which can do the work?

A. No the free version of Visual Studio (Express) cannot be used to develop for Windows Mobile.

Answer 3

There is cegcc, a port of the GNU compiler collection targeting Windows CE. For an IDE you could use Eclipse CDT. In my opinion, this is the best approach if your host system runs something other than Windows.

Answer 4

You also need to install Symbol Mobile SDK if you want to use hardware features of that device (like barcode scanner, MSR etc). It can be downloaded from symbol dev zone if you have account there.