Windows CE Application Development

Published in

· 16 Feb 2020

Application Development
Microsoft provides several toolkits to assist you in developing Windows CE based applications. These toolkits include the Microsoft® Windows® CE Toolkit for Visual C++® 6.0 and the Microsoft® Windows® CE Toolkit for Visual Basic® 6.0. The toolkits are add-ins to the Microsoft® Visual C++® and Microsoft® Visual Basic® development systems, which means that they use the IDE used to develop desktop applications. Microsoft packages the toolkits along with emulators to enable you to develop applications on a desktop computer.

Windows CE based devices run different versions of the Windows CE OS and therefore support different toolkits. For example, if you want to use Visual Basic to create an application for an H/PC running Handheld PC Pro Edition software, you need the following products:

Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 development system
Microsoft Windows CE Toolkit for Visual Basic 6.0
Microsoft Windows CE Platform SDK, Handheld PC Edition, version 2.0

Both the development system and the toolkit are available through standard retail channels; the SDK is distributed on the Windows CE Web site.

Windows CEbased devices span the home entertainment, vertical device, and PC companion markets. In the home entertainment market, products that run Windows CE include the Sega Dreamcast system, Internet set-top boxes, and Web telephones. In the vertical device market, embedded systems developers provide custom-built computers designed for special tasks, such as package and mail tracking devices, point-of-sale terminals, and navigation devices. In the PC companion market, products that run Windows CE include the H/PC, the Palm-size PC, and the Auto PC.

Each device category supports a different set of APIs. Within each device category, what is supported depends on the version of the OS that the device is built on and what modules and components are included. In addition, each device category contains a unique shell with its supporting APIs. Therefore, a Windows CE based platform can contain APIs that are not included in the core Windows CE OS.

Additionally, Windows CE differs based on how it is ported to a device. While all H/PCs of a particular version may have the same set of functions, the functions available on a Palm-size PC differ from those on an H/PC. In addition, OEMs have the option of removing optional sections of the OS, so configuration of the OS running on a specific device can vary significantly.