Introduction
Welcome to the .NET Compact Framework, the fast, trimmed-down version of the Microsoft .NET Framework tailored especially for devices. The .NET Compact Framework is Microsoft's next-generation development framework for easily creating complex applications for the Pocket PC and Windows CE platforms. Using the .NET Compact Framework, developers can target Windows CE using C# or Visual Basic. For the first time, developers need not become experts in writing for Windows CE in C/C++, nor need they settle for the previous, watered-down Visual Basic dialect, Embedded Visual Basic.
This book will bring you up to speed on how to use Smart Device Extensions in Visual Studio 7.1 to write, deploy, and test applications that target the .NET Compact Framework.
If you have a Windows CE device and you wonder how to get the .NET Compact Framework running on it, this book can help. It details how to get around the most common obstacles developers face when trying to target Windows CE devices.
This book is aimed at developers already familiar with either C# or Visual Basic .NET. It does not spend any time introducing elements of language syntax or programming constructs. If you are an experienced .NET Framework developer, this book can help you understand what functionality is available to you on the .NET Compact Framework.
All of the topics covered in this book are treated with enough detail that a developer who knows nothing about the topic can master it by the end of the chapter. Each chapter is filled with code snippets and full sample applications to drive home the chapter's major points. All code snippets and sample applications are presented in both in C# and Visual Basic. Some sample listings include input data or special steps needed to use the code. Such information is always included after the C# and Visual Basic code listings.
What's in This Book
This book covers a full spectrum of topics, teaching readers how to solve a wide variety of problems by using the .NET Compact Framework, such as these:
Setting up the development environment
Targeting nonstandard Windows CE devices
Understanding the connectivity layer between Visual Studio and your device
Deploying the .NET Compact Framework manually
Understanding the Common Language Runtime for the .NET Compact Framework
Optimizing your code for the Just-In-Time compilers used by the .NET Compact Framework
Avoiding code pitching
Designing .NET Compact Framework applications by using the Visual Studio.NET Form Designer
Designing applications for different target platforms
Working with the .NET Compact Framework UI controls
Multithreading on the .NET Compact Framework
Using Timers on the .NET Compact Framework
Waiting for a thread to finish
Invoking user interface elements from outside threads
Coordinating threads with a Mutex
Managing threads with a thread pool
Atomic variable updates
Controlling access to data objects with a Monitor
Connecting with sockets to a remote party by using TCP/IP
Accepting socket connections from a remote party by using TCP/IP
Reading and writing data by using a connected socket
Communicating with the UDP protocol and multicasting
Serializing objects
Interacting with HTTP and HTTPS servers
Communicating with another device by using the infrared port
Creating and populating a DataSet
Extracting and altering data in a DataSet
Adding constraints to a DataSet
Setting up parent-child relationships in a DataSet
Defining columns with an expression
Setting up an autoincremented column
Creating sorted views of data with a DataView
Binding a DataView to a DataGrid
Creating a Microsoft SQL Server CE database
Interacting with a Microsoft SQL Server CE database by using the SQL CE managed providers
Using the DataSet to manage a Microsoft SQL Server CE database
Loading and saving a DataSet as XML by using files and streams
Using XML schema to describe a DataSet
Using the Visual Studio XML editor to alter the contents of a DataSet
DiffGram support on the .NET Compact Framework
Investigating the XML Web service architecture
Creating a Web service client
Consuming a Web service that exposes a DataSet
Reading XML documents with the XmlTextReader
Writing XML documents with the XmlTextWriter
Parsing XML documents with the XmlDocument
Using reflection to dynamically load .NET assemblies
Dynamically discovering type information by using reflection
Instantiating objects by using reflection
Invoking object members by using reflection
Encrypting and decrypting data by using a password or a session key
Creating, storing, loading, and sharing session keys
Computing a hash
Measuring the performance of a .NET Compact Framework application
Using the .NET Compact Framework performance counters
Packaging a .NET Compact Framework application
Building an application CAB file by using the CAB Wizard
Distributing a .NET Compact Framework application
Targeting the SmartPhone with the .NET Compact Framework
The sample applications for this book are available for download from the Sams Web site at www.samspublishing.com. All of the sample applications for this book are written in both C# and Visual Basic.
Conventions Used in This Book
The following typographic conventions are used in this book:
Code lines, commands, statements, variables, and code-related terms appear in a monospace typeface.
You'll see sidebars throughout the book, which are meant to give you something more, such as a little more insight or some new technique. Here's what a sidebar looks like:
|
To download the code on the Sams Web site at www.samspublishing.com, enter this book's ISBN (without the hyphens) in the Search box and click Search. When the book's title is displayed, click the title to go to a page where you can download the code. |
What You'll Need
To use this book, you will need Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Developer or Enterprise Architect editions, version 7.1. The Professional edition does not include the Smart Device Extensions through which you can develop applications that target the .NET Compact Framework.
SHARING ENCRYPTED TEXTAlthough password-based encryption and decryption is convenient, the resulting encrypted text is not necessarily portable to other devices. If your application calls for encrypting and decrypting data that can be securely exchanged between two devices, see the section titled “Encrypting and Decrypting by Using a Handle to a Session Key.” |
Smart Device Extensions and the .NET Compact Framework enable you to target Pocket PC and Windows CE devices. It is strongly recommended that you have a device like the one you plan to support with your projects so that you can test your work. If you do not have a compatible device with which to test, you can use one of the device emulators included with the Smart Device Extensions.
Chapter 1, “Setting Up Your Development Environment,” describes specifically what Pocket PC and Windows CE devices are supported by the Smart Device Extensions. Also, Chapter 1 holds information about what specifications your desktop computer needs to use the Smart Device Extensions.
Online Resources
There are several places on the Internet where you can get help with the .NET Compact Framework and participate in discussions about it. There is an official Usenet group at http://microsoft.public.dotnet.framework.compactframework. Also, you can find useful tweaks and tools for Smart Device Extensions at http://smartdevices.microsoftdev.com.
You are now ready to start learning about how to use the .NET Compact Framework to create compelling applications for Pocket PC and Windows CE devices. I hope you have fun and learn a lot about this exciting platform.