.net - hard to deploy on pocket pc

Hi, i am going to create app for pocket pc. I'd like to use .Net,
but it am afraid of deployment. I mean, there is no .net libraries on
most default windows ce installations (am i correct?).
So, i have to ask user to install one before she install by app.

But compact framework is quite big (pocket pc users often use gprs),
and installing it requite few additional user activities. May be that is
why there
are not many .net applications for pocket pc.

So,
1) Do you think that .net is good solution for pocket pc, or i should
rather use c++ ?
2) what is the best way to deploy .net app on pocket pc? (i mean, small
download file and
minimal number of additional user activities)
3) could you provide links to additional informations?

thank you!

ctacke/>
Sat Apr 29 06:16:02 CDT 2006

All current Pocket PCs come with some version of CF 1.0, and there *are* a
lot of .NET aps out there.

> 1) Do you think that .net is good solution for pocket pc, or i should
> rather use c++ ?

.NET is a good solution for many things. C++ is also good. Depends on what
you need to achieve and what you know how to do.

> 2) what is the best way to deploy .net app on pocket pc? (i mean, small
> download file and
> minimal number of additional user activities)

Depends on your users. A single MSI is the easiest if the users will
install through ActiveSync on their PC, whether you're using .NET or not

> 3) could you provide links to additional informations?

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dnnetcomp/html/deploy_cf2_apps_cab_msi.asp?frame=true

-Chris

mikeg
Thu May 04 11:19:02 CDT 2006


Hi Chris,

Couldn't agree more.
Trying to provide an easy way to deploy .Net CF libraries (and possibly then
some SQL & SQLCE libraries) plus your Visual Studio project cab is a pain.

But hopefully not for much longer.

In the next week, I'm going to start rolling out Beta-copies of a brand new
program which lets you drag your .cab files into our app, and it'll compress
them (remember - most .cab files AREN'T compressed) and package
them all into one single PocketPC/Windows Mobile self-executable file.

Read that again...
On your PC, you'll drag your (multiple) .cab files into our app, and it'll
produce one single PocketPC executable for you, which you can copy to
your device, and you're ready to go.

Copy this executable file onto an SD-card, named
\Storage Card\2577\autorun.exe
(or equivalent), and when the card is inserted into your device, whichever
libraries aren't currently installed on your device will get installed.

There is a couple of sample screenshots here:
http://www.pocketpcinstaller.com
..but basically, it's a drag, drop, deploy solution. And it's simple
as hell.

Drop me an email if you fancy getting your hands on a Beta copy.

Best regards,


Mike
support <at> pocketpctoolkit.com
PocketPCToolkit.com support


"<ctacke/>" wrote:

> All current Pocket PCs come with some version of CF 1.0, and there *are* a
> lot of .NET aps out there.
>
> > 1) Do you think that .net is good solution for pocket pc, or i should
> > rather use c++ ?
>
> ..NET is a good solution for many things. C++ is also good. Depends on what
> you need to achieve and what you know how to do.
>
> > 2) what is the best way to deploy .net app on pocket pc? (i mean, small
> > download file and
> > minimal number of additional user activities)
>
> Depends on your users. A single MSI is the easiest if the users will
> install through ActiveSync on their PC, whether you're using .NET or not
>
> > 3) could you provide links to additional informations?
>
> http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/en-us/dnnetcomp/html/deploy_cf2_apps_cab_msi.asp?frame=true
>
> -Chris
>
>
>

Neil
Thu May 04 15:23:30 CDT 2006

Michael Gledhill wrote:
> Hi Chris,
>
> Couldn't agree more.
> Trying to provide an easy way to deploy .Net CF libraries (and
> possibly then some SQL & SQLCE libraries) plus your Visual Studio
> project cab is a pain.
>
> But hopefully not for much longer.
>
> In the next week, I'm going to start rolling out Beta-copies of a
> brand new program which lets you drag your .cab files into our app,
> and it'll compress them (remember - most .cab files AREN'T
> compressed) and package
> them all into one single PocketPC/Windows Mobile self-executable file.
>
> Read that again...
> On your PC, you'll drag your (multiple) .cab files into our app, and
> it'll produce one single PocketPC executable for you, which you can
> copy to
> your device, and you're ready to go.
>
> Copy this executable file onto an SD-card, named
> \Storage Card\2577\autorun.exe
> (or equivalent), and when the card is inserted into your device,
> whichever libraries aren't currently installed on your device will
> get installed.
>
> There is a couple of sample screenshots here:
> http://www.pocketpcinstaller.com
> ..but basically, it's a drag, drop, deploy solution. And it's simple
> as hell.
>

Sounds cool.