Windows CE question

[xxarmoxx]

Hello, I have visual studio 2005 .net. Can I use VB to create an app that will work with devices with windows ce? If so, how can I do this? What other operating systems can it work on?

[brad jones]

Here is a good video to start with:

http://www.twominutetips.com/archives/03-20-06.html

Brad!

[xxarmoxx]

cool thanx.

Is it difficult to put a mysql database on the device? and is it hard to connect to it with the app?

[brad jones]

cool thanx.

Is it difficult to put a mysql database on the device? and is it hard to connect to it with the app?

I can't answer for MySQL; however, I can say that you'd need to find a version of the database targeting mobile devices. Microsoft provides SQL Server Compact Edition.

Brad!

[xxarmoxx]

Ok, once I start development, would you say this forum will be helpful to answer my technical questions?

[Shaggy Hiker]

The mobile dev forum is less well traveled than the general .NET forum. Therefore, I would say that if you have a question that could really be considered .NET, rather than just the CF, the general forum will get you more views and faster answers. If it is really CF related, then this place does have a few regulars.

As for the database, SQL Server CE, which Brad suggested, is really the way to go. MS decided to really push the database concept with the new CE a couple editions back. They felt that a mobile device would be an ideal data gathering/viewing device, so they tried to make it very easy to integrate a portable database to their flagship SQL Server. It is a bit unfortunate that they didn't do the same thing for Access, which is probably the more common "poor mans" database, but such is life.

What this means is that the ODBC and OleDB namespaces that exist in the full .NET are not in the CF, but the SQLServerCE namespace is not only there, but you can barely avoid installing it. Whenever you use your device to debug anything using .NET, you will get SQLServerCE installed on the device. Fortunately, the SQLServerCE is a pretty nice, full-featured DBMS, so you can make and manage some real databases, and talk to any desktop database via a variety of techniques, if needed. I suppose one good system, well implemented, tops a few half-assed systems.