Beginning PocketPC Database Development

Hi,

I'm looking for resources to get me started developing a database app for
the Pocket PC (Windows Mobile 5.0)

I would be developing using the CF 2.0, probably utilising a SQL Server DB
as the backend.

But that's about as far as I've got! Before being hit with a myriad of
options, for example:

SQL Server CE on the Pocket PC - how does this sync with the main SQL Server
DB running on the server? Can I use SQL Express?

What are the data access components available to me? Is ADO still a valid
technology in this environment?

What about ActiveSync? How do you get it to synchronise data with your
database?

As you can see, I'm very much a novice to this environment, and would really
appreciate a few pointers to get me started.

Thanks

r_z_aret
Tue Apr 03 13:53:17 CDT 2007

On Tue, 3 Apr 2007 18:54:06 +0100, "DMG" <noemailplease@nowhere.com>
wrote:

>Hi,
>
>I'm looking for resources to get me started developing a database app for
>the Pocket PC (Windows Mobile 5.0)
>
>I would be developing using the CF 2.0, probably utilising a SQL Server DB
>as the backend.

I just used google (http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search) to
look up
sql .net cf newbie
in threads posted after 1 Jan 05, and got 73 hits. I took a quick look
and am pretty sure you'll find a useable sample of tools and opinions
to help you narrow down your search a bit.


>
>But that's about as far as I've got! Before being hit with a myriad of
>options, for example:
>
>SQL Server CE on the Pocket PC - how does this sync with the main SQL Server
>DB running on the server? Can I use SQL Express?

I just used google to look up
sqlexpress .net cf
with the same time restriction and got 72 hits. I took a quick look,
and the answer to the last question seems to be yes, but perhaps with
some restrictions.


>
>What are the data access components available to me? Is ADO still a valid
>technology in this environment?
>
>What about ActiveSync? How do you get it to synchronise data with your
>database?

One way is to use RAPI in a desktop application.

>
>As you can see, I'm very much a novice to this environment, and would really
>appreciate a few pointers to get me started.
>
>Thanks
>

-----------------------------------------
To reply to me, remove the underscores (_) from my email address (and please indicate which newsgroup and message).

Robert E. Zaret, eMVP
PenFact, Inc.
20 Park Plaza, Suite 478
Boston, MA 02116
www.penfact.com

DMG
Wed Apr 04 14:58:01 CDT 2007

Thanks, I'm still looking through Google, haven't found any concrete
resources just yet but I'm sure I'll come across something.

r_z_aret
Thu Apr 05 13:21:33 CDT 2007

On Wed, 4 Apr 2007 20:58:01 +0100, "DMG" <noemailplease@nowhere.com>
wrote:

>Thanks, I'm still looking through Google, haven't found any concrete
>resources just yet but I'm sure I'll come across something.
>

When starting with a broad search such as yours, I am more effective
if I work at it a bit, and then pause (maybe for a day) to digest and
recover my sanity. I often have insights that help me search
effectively.

-----------------------------------------
To reply to me, remove the underscores (_) from my email address (and please indicate which newsgroup and message).

Robert E. Zaret, eMVP
PenFact, Inc.
20 Park Plaza, Suite 478
Boston, MA 02116
www.penfact.com

DMG
Thu Apr 05 17:20:32 CDT 2007

OK, I'm beginning to see the bigger picture now.

I have managed to deploy a 'Hello World' app to my device, by manually
deploying the .NET CF 2.0 and building the CAB files. I'm using #Develop to
do this, as I can't afford VS 2005 Pro yet, and as you are probably aware
you have to do it the hard way!

As far as I can tell, for my db development I want to:

- have a SQL db (either Express or CE) on my 'server' (my desktop)
- have the same (or relevant parts thereof) replicated on my device; I
create the tables programmatically
- use RDA to 'push' and 'pull' the data when needed

I'm fairly confident that once I get something going, it will snowball from
there.

Am I right so far? Also, I have been looking (but as yet cannot find) a SQL
manager for the pocket device. I have seen such a thing for SQL 2000; it
would be really useful as it would let me quickly browse, on the device,
whether my db creation routines had worked, and examine my offline data
before I tried to push it back to the server.

Does such a tool exist?

Thanks for your help


<r_z_aret@pen_fact.com> wrote in message
news:esea13163n4occjp8d1uvluirvf3th72n9@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 4 Apr 2007 20:58:01 +0100, "DMG" <noemailplease@nowhere.com>
> wrote:
>
>>Thanks, I'm still looking through Google, haven't found any concrete
>>resources just yet but I'm sure I'll come across something.
>>
>
> When starting with a broad search such as yours, I am more effective
> if I work at it a bit, and then pause (maybe for a day) to digest and
> recover my sanity. I often have insights that help me search
> effectively.
>
> -----------------------------------------
> To reply to me, remove the underscores (_) from my email address (and
> please indicate which newsgroup and message).
>
> Robert E. Zaret, eMVP
> PenFact, Inc.
> 20 Park Plaza, Suite 478
> Boston, MA 02116
> www.penfact.com

ctacke/>
Fri Apr 06 08:53:45 CDT 2007

If it helps, you only need VS 2005 Standard not Pro.


--
Chris Tacke - Embedded MVP
OpenNETCF Consulting
Managed Code in the Embedded World
www.opennetcf.com
--



"DMG" <noemailplease@nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:OpQdAD9dHHA.588@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> OK, I'm beginning to see the bigger picture now.
>
> I have managed to deploy a 'Hello World' app to my device, by manually
> deploying the .NET CF 2.0 and building the CAB files. I'm using #Develop
> to do this, as I can't afford VS 2005 Pro yet, and as you are probably
> aware you have to do it the hard way!
>
> As far as I can tell, for my db development I want to:
>
> - have a SQL db (either Express or CE) on my 'server' (my desktop)
> - have the same (or relevant parts thereof) replicated on my device; I
> create the tables programmatically
> - use RDA to 'push' and 'pull' the data when needed
>
> I'm fairly confident that once I get something going, it will snowball
> from there.
>
> Am I right so far? Also, I have been looking (but as yet cannot find) a
> SQL manager for the pocket device. I have seen such a thing for SQL 2000;
> it would be really useful as it would let me quickly browse, on the
> device, whether my db creation routines had worked, and examine my offline
> data before I tried to push it back to the server.
>
> Does such a tool exist?
>
> Thanks for your help
>
>
> <r_z_aret@pen_fact.com> wrote in message
> news:esea13163n4occjp8d1uvluirvf3th72n9@4ax.com...
>> On Wed, 4 Apr 2007 20:58:01 +0100, "DMG" <noemailplease@nowhere.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>Thanks, I'm still looking through Google, haven't found any concrete
>>>resources just yet but I'm sure I'll come across something.
>>>
>>
>> When starting with a broad search such as yours, I am more effective
>> if I work at it a bit, and then pause (maybe for a day) to digest and
>> recover my sanity. I often have insights that help me search
>> effectively.
>>
>> -----------------------------------------
>> To reply to me, remove the underscores (_) from my email address (and
>> please indicate which newsgroup and message).
>>
>> Robert E. Zaret, eMVP
>> PenFact, Inc.
>> 20 Park Plaza, Suite 478
>> Boston, MA 02116
>> www.penfact.com
>
>

DMG
Fri Apr 06 13:57:47 CDT 2007

Excellent, that contradicts some information I had found earlier, but I
checked it out further and you're definitely right.

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-gb/vstudio/aa700921.aspx


"<ctacke/>" <ctacke[@]opennetcf[dot]com> wrote in message
news:%23VTZBMFeHHA.4136@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> If it helps, you only need VS 2005 Standard not Pro.
>
>
> --
> Chris Tacke - Embedded MVP
> OpenNETCF Consulting
> Managed Code in the Embedded World
> www.opennetcf.com
> --
>
>
>
> "DMG" <noemailplease@nowhere.com> wrote in message
> news:OpQdAD9dHHA.588@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>> OK, I'm beginning to see the bigger picture now.
>>
>> I have managed to deploy a 'Hello World' app to my device, by manually
>> deploying the .NET CF 2.0 and building the CAB files. I'm using #Develop
>> to do this, as I can't afford VS 2005 Pro yet, and as you are probably
>> aware you have to do it the hard way!
>>
>> As far as I can tell, for my db development I want to:
>>
>> - have a SQL db (either Express or CE) on my 'server' (my desktop)
>> - have the same (or relevant parts thereof) replicated on my device; I
>> create the tables programmatically
>> - use RDA to 'push' and 'pull' the data when needed
>>
>> I'm fairly confident that once I get something going, it will snowball
>> from there.
>>
>> Am I right so far? Also, I have been looking (but as yet cannot find) a
>> SQL manager for the pocket device. I have seen such a thing for SQL
>> 2000; it would be really useful as it would let me quickly browse, on the
>> device, whether my db creation routines had worked, and examine my
>> offline data before I tried to push it back to the server.
>>
>> Does such a tool exist?
>>
>> Thanks for your help
>>
>>
>> <r_z_aret@pen_fact.com> wrote in message
>> news:esea13163n4occjp8d1uvluirvf3th72n9@4ax.com...
>>> On Wed, 4 Apr 2007 20:58:01 +0100, "DMG" <noemailplease@nowhere.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>>Thanks, I'm still looking through Google, haven't found any concrete
>>>>resources just yet but I'm sure I'll come across something.
>>>>
>>>
>>> When starting with a broad search such as yours, I am more effective
>>> if I work at it a bit, and then pause (maybe for a day) to digest and
>>> recover my sanity. I often have insights that help me search
>>> effectively.
>>>
>>> -----------------------------------------
>>> To reply to me, remove the underscores (_) from my email address (and
>>> please indicate which newsgroup and message).
>>>
>>> Robert E. Zaret, eMVP
>>> PenFact, Inc.
>>> 20 Park Plaza, Suite 478
>>> Boston, MA 02116
>>> www.penfact.com
>>
>>
>
>

David
Sat Apr 07 08:05:37 CDT 2007

"DMG" <> wrote in message news:OHb2ukhdHHA.4340@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> Hi,
>
> I'm looking for resources to get me started developing a database app for
> the Pocket PC (Windows Mobile 5.0)
>
> I would be developing using the CF 2.0, probably utilising a SQL Server DB
> as the backend.
>
> But that's about as far as I've got! Before being hit with a myriad of
> options, for example:
> ...

Greetings,

If you are committed to those Microsoft technologies you listed for your
mobile app development project, that is fine. It sounds like you have
started down the correct path.


However, if you want to quickly create a full featured mobile database
application for your PocketPC (and also for PalmOS devices), including the
tools to sync the data between the handheld and desktop, consider using our
rapid application development (RAD) tool Satellite Forms.

http://www.satelliteforms.net/

Satellite Forms is deisgned creating for data-driven mobile applications,
and there are numerous sample projects included to help you get started.
You can download a 30-day trial version from our website.

Satellite Forms is designed to be easy enough to be used by non-programmers,
yet is both extensible and comprehensive enough to satisfy seasoned pros as
well.

Regards,

--
David Thacker
http://www.SatelliteForms.net
The Premier RAD Tool for PalmOS & PocketPC