Has MSDN Dropped Compact Framework already?

Question

MSDN Documentation used to indicate if a method was supported on the compact framework. But now I can't find that info anymore.

I know that Microsoft has dropped Compact Framework like a hot potato, but I did not know that they had ripped it out of the docs.

As examples of what I am talking about here is a link to the Graphics Members. They used to show which methods were supported in the Compact Framework next to each method. Now they do not.

Also, here are two methods:

1. Graphics.MeasureString Method (String, Font, Int32)
2. Graphics.MeasureString Method (String, Font)

The first is not supported in the compact framework, but the second is. But the docs don't tell you that (at least not at the bottom where they used to).

Am I missing something? Is there a way to still get this info?

Answer 1

The docs that show .NET Compact Framework support are still available on MSDN. The box in the upper right (when in Classic Help view mode) has links to other versions. You will want the link to the "Microsoft Visual Studio 2008/.NET Framework 3.5" doc set.

That link from the Graphics Members takes you here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.drawing.graphics_members(VS.90).aspx This doc set has the .NET CF icons/version info.

VS 2010 docs/.NET 4 do not show .NET CF info since .NET CF app development is not exposed in Visual Studio 2010, and CF 3.5 is the most recent public version.

VS 2010 supports Silverlight for Windows Phone development (for Windows Phone 7 only), which is dependent on .NET CF. But this doc'ed in the Silverlight doc set.

In case it's interesting, the Silverlight Class Library has icons/versioning that replace the .NET CF icon. Look for the blue phone icon, representing Silverlight for Windows Phone: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.windows.controls.button_members(VS.95).aspx

Answer 2

You're looking at the VS10 docs. The VS'08 docs still show the icons, as Mike points out. FWIW, the accuracy of the "supported platforms" list at the bottom of the method page was always sketchy at best when it came to the CF. The icons when looking at the full member list is far more accurate.

Keep in mind that the team dealing with the online docs are far removed from the CF team and devices teams. In fact a lot of the people doing the docs are probably not even developers, so what they output is based purely on the inputs they get. Their inputs probably come from the framework teams, and since the CF/WinPhone team aren't yet shipping any releases, they're likely not giving any info to the docs teams.