Device Capabilities and Required Development Tools
Visual Studio supports application development for devices that run many versions of Windows Mobile and Windows CE. However, Visual Studio does not support application development on legacy devices. This situation could lead to confusion as to what is required by way of development tools, .NET Compact Framework version, and underlying Windows CE operating system.
Note
Visual Studio installs the Pocket PC 2003 and Windows Mobile 5.0 software development kits (SDKs) and emulators automatically. To develop applications for Windows Mobile 6.0 or custom Windows CE-based devices, you must install additional SDKs. For more information, see Hardware and Software Requirements for Smart Device Projects.
Tools Comparison Charts
The following tables provide a snapshot of the variations in smart device hardware, hardware features, and development tools. These listings can change over time. You can obtain the most up-to-date and complete information by reviewing the technical article Introduction to Development Tools for Windows Mobile-based Devices in the MSDN Library.
Overview of IDE Capabilities
This table provides an overview of the capabilities of the different IDEs. Column heading abbreviations are as follows:
eVT3C = eMbedded Visual C++ 3.0
eVT3V = eMbedded Visual Basic 3.0
eVC4 = eMbedded Visual C++ 4.0 and service pack 4.0
VS2003 = Visual Studio .NET 2003
VS2005 = Visual Studio 2005
VS2008 = Visual Studio 2008
|
|
eVT3C |
eVT3V |
eVC4 |
VS2003 |
VS2005 |
VS2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Code type |
Native Code |
X |
|
X |
|
X |
X |
|
Interpreted Code |
|
X |
|
|
|
|
|
Managed Code |
|
|
|
X |
X |
X |
|
Server-side Code (Web) |
|
|
|
X |
X |
X |
Device SDKs |
Pocket PC 2000 and Pocket PC 2002 |
X |
X |
|
X |
|
|
|
Smartphone 2002 |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Windows Mobile 2003 |
|
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition |
|
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
Windows Mobile 5.0 |
|
|
|
|
X |
X |
|
Windows Mobile 6.0 |
|
|
|
|
X |
X |
.NET Compact Framework Tools and OS Support
This table provides an overview of which tool versions and which Windows Mobile software versions support .NET Compact Framework versions 1.0, 2.0, and 3.5.
|
|
Version 1.0 |
Version 2.0 |
Version 3.5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tool |
Visual Studio .NET 2003 |
X |
|
|
|
Visual Studio 2005 |
X |
X |
|
|
Visual Studio 2008 |
|
X |
X |
Windows Mobile software version |
Windows Mobile 6.0 |
|
In-ROM (2.0 SP1) |
User installable |
|
Windows Mobile 5.0 |
In-ROM (1.0 SP3) |
User installable |
User installable |
|
Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition |
In-ROM (1.0 SP2) |
User installable (Pocket PC only) |
User installable |
|
Windows Mobile 2003 |
In-ROM (1.0 SP1) |
User installable (Pocket PC only) |
User installable |
|
Smartphone 2002 |
|
|
|
|
Pocket PC 2002 |
User installable |
|
|
|
Pocket PC 2000 |
User installable |
|
|
Database Technology Support
This table provides an overview of which database technologies are supported by various versions of Windows Mobile. Column heading abbreviations are as follows:
SSC 3.5 = SQL Server Compact 3.5
SSCE 3.1 = SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition Version 3.1
SQL Mobile 3.0 = SQL Server 2005 Mobile Edition Version 3.0
SQL CE 2.0 = SQL Server 2000 Windows CE Edition
EDB = Embedded Database
CEDB = Windows Embedded CE database
ADOCE = ActiveX Data Objects for Windows CE
|
SSC 3.5 |
SSCE 3.1 |
SQL Mobile 3.0 |
SQL CE 2.0 |
EDB |
CEDB |
ADOCE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Windows Mobile 6 |
User Installable |
In ROM |
User Installable |
User Installable (Professional and Classic Only) |
In-ROM |
In-ROM* |
Unsupported User Install |
Windows Mobile 5.0 |
User Installable |
User Installable |
User Installable |
User Installable (Pocket PC Only) |
In-ROM |
In-ROM* |
Unsupported User Install |
Windows Mobile 2003 |
User Installable (Pocket PC Only) |
User Installable (Pocket PC Only) |
User Installable (Pocket PC Only) |
User Installable (Pocket PC Only) |
N/A |
In-ROM |
In-ROM |
Smartphone 2002 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
In-ROM |
N/A |
Pocket PC 2002 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
User Installable (Pocket PC Only) |
N/A |
In-ROM |
In-ROM |
Pocket PC 2000 |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
User Installable (Pocket PC Only) |
N/A |
In-ROM |
In-ROM (most devices) |
* In Windows Mobile 5.0, CEDB is In-ROM but deprecated. Developers should use EDB instead.
Notes
Check with the device manufacturer regarding upgrading a device to a later version of Windows CE or Windows Mobile. Microsoft does not supply upgrades for specific devices to end users.
Visual Studio Express Editions do not include support for Smart Device projects.
The eMbedded Visual Basic tools are no longer supported. The eMbedded Visual Basic run time is no longer in device ROM.
eMbedded Visual C++ 4.0 and eMbedded Visual Basic 4.0 can be downloaded from the Mobile Developer Center.
The current version of the Compact Framework is 3.5, available as a RAM install from the Mobile Developer Center.
See Also
Concepts
Updating Projects Created with Previous Tools