Question appropriate project type?

[Ednut]

Hello my fellow gurus,

This is my very first post after joining in today 4th Sept. I didn't see the discussion header that best fits my issue so I decided to post this here so I could either be redirected or answered.

I'm developing a software using WinForm, but it's actually going to be installed on a mobile device. The "SmartDevice" project type of Visual Studio has a default form view that looks like a phone, but where I'd like to deploy #install# my software is NOT a phone. I want to install it in a custom #with screen and buttons arranged the way I want them# device.

I know WinForm is not the appropriate project type to use for this development. How do I finish this software so that it's able to be installed in my own specific device type, which will be built by another company?

Thank you very much for your time.

 

[jmcilhinney]

What OS will this device be running?

 

[Ednut]

Hello jmc,
I just did a little bit of survey and feel it'd have to be a WinCE.

Actually, this will be my first software to be developed, with the intention of being installed in a device (specific to the way I want it). I started simulating it in WinForm, believing that when I know more about the appropriate target, the modifications would not be much.

I'm nearing the completion and would like to know how to make it ready for installation in a device. The smart phone project type in Visual studio has form types that look like handsets, which are not what I'd like my intended device to look like.
.
I'd be grateful jnc..., or any other Csharp guru out there, if you could point me to the right direction.

Thank you very much.

 

[jmcilhinney]

I haven't had a lot to do with handheld device development so I don't know all the details but I can tell you that WinCE does NOT run the full .NET Framework. It will only run the .NET Compact Framework (CF) so you will have to create a project type that targets the CF, which does NOT include a Windows Forms Application project. In VS 2008 or earlier you will have to create a new Smart Device Project and then select Windows CE as the Target Platform. You're not going to get all the bells and whistles that you would with a project targeting the full .NET Framework because, as the name suggests, the CF lacks many features not considered core functionality. The controls available will also not be as visually pleasing in many cases because they are designed to be run on devices with limited resources. If you want the UI to look fancier then you will have to either draw them yourself or look for third-party controls.

 

[Ednut]

Thanks jmc...,

Actually, I'm venturing into the world of handheld device programming for the first time too. Just like how everything created now, was first imagined, I have an idea of how I want the device to run my software should look like. I'm almost through with the simulation (using WinForm), but I know that cannot be the final execution environment before installation into the intended device.

I'm really concerned about what the appropriate development environment should be before it's ready for installation into the intended device. The device is supposed to be a mobile device that would have network card and ATM card reader components, hence, I know that WinForm is NOT appropriate for it. I have gone far in the software development and I know the modifications required to complete it in the appropriate environment cannot be challenging as what I've been able to overcome.

To make this clearer, imagine someone trying to develop a software for an ATM machine. He'd need to first simulate it using any software means, bur once he's through with the simulation, he'd need to make it ready to be installed in an ATM machine that looks the way he want's it to look and run his software the way he expects it to be run.

I really appreciate your responses jmc. I hope fellow gurus, who have been involved in projects related to this, can enlighten me more on what to do.

 

[annaharris]

Are you preparing the application for Windows mobile or any other mobile operating system ?