34.4. Debugging

In the past, writing applications for mobile devices was a time-consuming process. The release of the Compact Framework brought with it a new wave of interactive debugger support for building device applications. Now, developers wanting to build mobile applications have the same support for debugging applications as for desktop or web applications. Subsequent chapters in this book cover the debugging features within Visual Studio 2008. Most of these apply equally to debugging device applications.

As you saw in Chapter 31 on the Device Security Manager, Visual Studio 2008 comes with a feature-rich device emulator that you can use to debug your application in place of a real device. While this is a convenience, it is highly recommended that you do your final round of application testing on a real device to ensure compatibility. In Chapter 31 you were also introduced to the Device Emulator Manager that, combined with the Windows Mobile Device Center (or ActiveSync on earlier versions of Windows), enables you to work with the emulator in much the same way as you would with a real device.

The Device Emulator Manager that ships with Visual Studio 2008 also enables you to dynamically adjust some features of the emulator. For example, you can adjust the battery level to see how your application will behave when the system is running low on power, or you might want to simulate plugging in a headset or car kit. You can do all this from the Emulator Properties window, accessible from the File menu of the running emulator itself. The Device Emulator Manager also supports automation so that device testing using an emulator can be integrated into your testing process.

Some of the new features of the Device Emulator Manager will only work with the latest emulator images, downloadable from www.microsoft.com.