mobile application development

[cycleinmars]

hello everyone,

i am using vb6 and i want to develop the application for mobile platforms

can anyone suggest from where should i begin with,

i have motorola l7 , can i develop some application for it in vb

please let me know any downloadable free ebooks for me to start

[dilettante]

Windows CE/Windows Mobile cannot run VB6 programs. The OS is entirely different and it is a rare handheld device that uses an x86 compatible processor anyway.

Your options are somewhat limited in practical terms.


The old VB6-like eVB and VBCE development tools are long gone and very difficult to obtain (heh, though I got a copy of eVB in the mail today on the CD accompanying an old book I bought - sorry, I got the last copy!). These also don't support "modern" Pocket PC and WinPhone platforms.

NS Basic/CE uses the "engine" that eVB did as well as a number of the eVB controls to allow a very VB6-like development environment for current Windows Mobile PDAs and SmartPhones though.

Many recent machines also have the .Net Compact Framework in ROM now too.

This means you can use Visual Studio 2005/2008 Professional Edition to write VB.Net programs for Windows Mobile devices.

Basic4ppc can also be used to develop against the .Net Compact Framework. It seems to use its own proprietary Basic language, different from VB6, eVB, or VB.Net.

Another option might be Java development for PPC/WinMo platforms. I have no idea what the best toolkit for doing this might be though.


VS Pro will also provide the ability to develop in C# and C/C++.

An extreme alternative might be to use the bare .Net SDK plus WinMo SDK along with a free IDE such as SharpDevelop. This is described in Windows Mobile Development Without Visual Studio.

[dilettante]

Some really general resources can be found here:

http://www.microsoft.com/events/seri...nmobility.aspx

Webcasts, podcasts, etc. All very VS Pro and .Net CF specific though I'm afraid.

[cycleinmars]

thank you for Your kind Information
I Hope i need to learn java now

[gep13]

Hey,

Why the need to learn Java?

Gary

[dilettante]

Java might look like a "free" option. For a VB6 programmer it might have the steepest learning curve though.

[cycleinmars]

gary
are there any tools so that i can develop one without knowing java

regards

[petevick]

Hi
dilettante outlined your options in his first reply?

Are you looking for a free development environment?

[cycleinmars]

yes

i am looking for a free application

i just want first to enter in the field and then learn

i want to build custom applications for NOKIA, Sony erricson

[cycleinmars]

yes

i am looking for a free application

i just want first to enter in the field and then learn

i want to build custom applications for NOKIA, Sony erricson

[dilettante]

The only free alternative I'm aware of is the approach outlined in Windows Mobile Development Without Visual Studio.

As I mentioned there may be a set of tools for Java development as well, but I'm unfamiliar with any details. This might be free though.


If anyone else knows of other toolsets and languages please mention them. The only ones I am aware of are those I listed in post #2 above.

[gep13]

Hey,

Depending on what exactly you are trying to do, which still isn't clear to me, you might be able to do something with Eclispe:

http://www.eclipse.org/dsdp/mtj/

Gary

[flyhigh]

hey all
if i want to start writing apps for windows mobile 6.1 and up should i through away vb6 and get what to start from scratch?

[petevick]

Read through the post - it gives you all the answers and options.

There is no ideal free option - VS is the best way, but is not particularly cheap.

[flyhigh]

so i should get visual studio 2010 then
thanks

[gep13]

Hey,

Given that it isn't officially out yet no.

Also, it is not clear yet how Mobile Development is going to be handled yet within Visual Studio 2010, given the new release of Windows Phone 7 Series. Your best bet just now, would be Visual Studio 2008.

Gary

[dilettante]

We will not be told any details about Phone 7 Series development until after Mix10 (March 15-17 2010).

At release (April 2010) there will be no support for any mobile development in VS 2010 unless a miracle occurs. Windows Mobile SDKs are not part of Visual Studio and release on entirely separate schedules. This means that Microsoft might well release VS 2010 project templates and tools as part of an "SDK refresh" or Phone 7 Series SDK further in the future.

The odds are that VS 2008 will never support Phone 7 Series development. They are also pretty good that VS 2010 will gain support for Windows Mobile 6.x development as well as Phone 7 Series somewhere in the future.

We'll have to wait at least a few weeks to know anything more certain though.


VB6 never supported Windows Mobile devices or earlier CE-based devices. The OS is different and pretty much every current phone/PDA running the OS uses an ARM processor (not anything using the x86 instruction set). There is no way VB6 code can run on these machines.