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Emulator Usage Scenarios

Whether you are a platform developer creating an OS based on Windows CE or an application developer targeting the OS, you can use the Emulator to make your work more efficient.

As a platform developer, you can use the Emulator from within Platform Builder and include the Emulator in the SDK for your platform. You can customize the Emulator that you deliver with your SDK in the following ways:

  • You can emulate custom hardware by taking advantage of a DMA transport, thereby enabling applications to target the same drivers that are in your physical target device.
  • You can use the skinning model for the Emulator to mimic the appearance and behavior of a target device for the benefit of application developers and end users. For more information, see Emulator Skin.

If you are using the Emulator in Platform Builder, you can include KITL in your OS image. KITL allows you to debug your OS during development and is typically the way you would use the Emulator. However, if you create an OS image as part of an SDK, do not include KITL in the OS image. Doing so can cause problems for application developers who do not have access to Platform Builder. If you do include KITL in an OS image, the Emulator blocks the development tools as it launches, and then waits for a KITL connection with Platform Builder that cannot be made.

As an application developer, you rely on the Emulator delivered with the SDK. Using an SDK that includes an Emulator OS image, you can develop applications while the physical target device is being developed. You may be able to target specific APIs, even though you do not have access to the target device because it is not yet complete.

See Also

Emulator

 Last updated on Friday, October 08, 2004

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