Smart Device Programming with Visual Studio .NET 2005 (July 11, 2006)

Chat Topic: Smart Device Programming with Visual Studio .NET 2005
Date: Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Please note: Portions of this transcript have been edited for clarity

mikefos (Moderator):
Welcome to today’s MVP-hosted chat. Our chat today covers the broad topic of Smart Device Programming with Visual Studio .NET!

We are pleased to welcome our Experts for today’s chat. I will have them introduce themselves now.

*Introductions

timg_msft (Expert):
Hi, I'm Tim Gerken, a test lead on the .NET Compact Framework team.

markpre_ms (Expert):
My name is Mark Prentice and I’m a Program Manager on the .NET Compact Framework team.

DanE_MSFT (Expert):
I'm Dan Elliott. I test the .NET CF.

DavidKline_MSFT (Expert):
Hello, I'm David Kline, a Software Development Engineer in Test on the .NET Comapct Framework team.

Amit Chopra MSFT (Moderator):
Hi, I am Amit Chopra, I work as a Program Manager with the Visual Studio for Device Team

mikejo_MSFT (Expert):
I'm Mike Jones, a programmer writer for the .NET Compact Framework.

t-danhor_MSFT (Expert):
Hi, I'm Dan Horbatt, a Program Manager Intern on the .NET Compact Framework team.

AndyRiv_MSFT (Expert):
My name is Andy Rivas and I'm a Software Development Engineer in Test on the .NET Compact Framework team.

Ryan Chapman [MSFT] (Expert):
Hi there--I'm Ryan Chapman, a developer with NetCF.

mikefos (Moderator):
Let’s begin the chat!

*Start of Chat

markpre_ms (Expert):
Q: DanE: Any update on when the 2.0SP1 is going to be officially released as a 4.2/5.0 QFE?
A: They have been created, and will be included in the June Updates for both 4.2 and 5.0. They are also available for customer through Product Support.

Amit Chopra MSFT (Moderator):
Q: I'm Software Development Engineer in France, I work on WM 5.0, do you know if there a free profiling tool?
A: There is a new Managed Profiling Tools that has shipped with NETCF 2.0 Sp1

Amit Chopra MSFT (Moderator):
Q: I don't know if this falls in this topic so I apologize if it another topic. Is there going to be a way to use vb.net or c# to write mobile services?
A: If the ask that you want to write a web service on the device or do you want to access a web service from code on the device ? The former is not supported but the later is. You can use VB or C# for NETCF to access a web service from device side code

Amit Chopra MSFT (Moderator):
Q: When asking about writing a service for a device I meant like a windows service. Sorry for the confusion. I have seen an article about doing this with Embedded C++ but it appears you have to export functions which is not supported in managed code.
A: Not that I am aware off. Anyone from NETCF Team can comment on this functionality in V 2.0 ?

Ryan Chapman [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: My apps seem faster with CF2sp1 Release. Was anything done to tweak performance after the beta?
A: Hi Ginny--we didn't make any specific performance changes, I'd be interested in particular scenarios in which you've noticed an improvement.

markpre_ms (Expert):
Q: Not sure this fully on topic but it is Smart Device related. If I Do an Excel workbook with macros on a PC and then try to run it on a smart device with Pocket Excel, will it run as programmed or do I need to watch for any traps?
A: Its my understanding Pocket Excel is not extensible, Macros on the desktop will not be brought down to the device.

Ryan Chapman [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: It is my understanding that the mobile devices have a limited number of processes that can run at a time (32). Is this still true for mobile 5.0? What are the effects of console apps that run in the background?
A: Yes, that limit is still in place in WM 5.0. All processes count towards the 32 process limit.

Ryan Chapman [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: yes I know it but it just give memory information and no duration and time during function executions...
A: Unfortunately, NetCF does not have profiling support.

Amit Chopra MSFT (Moderator):
Q: Amit, are there any plans to expand the functionality of the data tools for SQL Mobile/Everywhere in VS?
A: Yes, there will be new designers that will happen, but my team is not owning this work, The work for this is happeing by the pro-tools team and we are making them as consistent to the desktop experience as possible

timg_msft (Expert):
Q: Does 5.0 still have a limit on the size of a compiled function. I have run into this in 2003 with very large functions that throw an error. Has this been changed.
A: The size of a compiled function problem was a limitation of .NETCF 1.0. As far as I know, that limitation was removed in .NETCF 2.0.

Ryan Chapman [MSFT] (Expert):
Q: How much RAM does a .NET CF app require, compared to writing the same app using native C++ code? WM5 devices are already pretty tight on available RAM and I'm concerned that I might not have enough for my app (a game that has lots of audio/graphics).
A: This is a difficult question to answer simply. I would suggest that you take a look at the following blog post by our previous PUM for in depth information about how NetCF uses memory--I think you'll be able derive an answer from here: https://blogs.msdn.com/mikezintel/archive/2004/12/08/278153.aspx

AndyRiv_MSFT (Expert):
Q: What are the installers available in WM 5.0 devices? Are they same for PPC and Smartphone?
A: Shalin, if I understand your question correctly, the WM 5.0 installers (cab files) available in the V2 SP1 MSI are for Pocket PC and Smart Phone. The contents of the cab files are identical.

Markih_MSFT (Expert):
Q: We want to use xsl to translate an xml file to view in the browser on the pocket pc. Is this possible?
A: XSL transform is possible on an xml file in pocket IE. Note we do not have the ability to do XSLT transforms though and there is not managed support for XSL transforms. So if you desire to do this programmatically it would have to be written in native code. There are numerous desktop samples that you could utilize. More info on this can be found on https://www.pocketpcdn.com/articles/xmlfaq.html

timg_msft (Expert):
Q: I have noticed when looping through a folder on the pocket pc the dll names are all lowercase? Is there a reason for this?
A: file names are case insensitive.

Christian (Moderator):
Well that wraps things up for our chat. Thanks to our guests for participating and asking so many great questions, and also thanks to our Experts for being here to answer them.

We will post the transcript from today’s chat on: https://msdn.microsoft.com/chats/transcripts/mobileembedded/default.aspx

Christian (Moderator):
Have a great day everyone!

Top of page