Component Help Reference

Windows® Embedded Studio contains a component database of Microsoft-provided components. This component database includes the components that make up Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional, as well as components that are designed specifically for embedded development. These components cannot be modified by using Component Designer, but the settings of some of them can be changed in the Target Designer editor after they are added to a configuration.

This section describes reference information about the components that Microsoft provides. This information includes a brief description of each component and its purpose, the applications and services that the component offers, how the component interacts with other components, and the settings that you can configure by using Target Designer. Further information includes a listing of the file and registry resources that are associated with each component, any programming interfaces that are exposed by the component, and the dependencies for each component.

The components that Microsoft provides support a wide spectrum of technologies that are used in embedded systems. These include networking and communications technologies; graphics and streaming applications; class, protocol, filter, and other kinds of drivers; language packs and input method editors; and cryptographic and security applications. For information about creating custom components, see Author Components and Customize Shells in Windows XP Embedded Help.

The components that are described in this reference are of all types, including not only components that contain applications, services, and device drivers, but also platform base components, prototype components, and macro components.

For further information about component types, see Component Types in Windows XP Embedded Help. For general information about components, see Components in Windows XP Embedded Help. For information about specific Windows services and the components that provide them, see Componentized Windows Services in Windows XP Embedded Help

This collection of Microsoft-provided components alone should serve most purposes in most embedded system run-time images. Use the information that is provided in this reference to reduce the footprint of your run-time image, to reduce development time, and to select the proper components for your purposes.

**Note   **Do not attempt to open or edit system level definition (.sld) files supplied as part of Windows® XP Embedded. Opening or editing these files may compromise the integrity of the Windows XP Embedded-based platform database and may result in incorrect run-time build behavior.

Last updated on Wednesday, October 18, 2006

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