Moving a VB.NET application to Windows CE and/or Palm’s
Moving a VB.NET application to Windows CE and/or Palm’s
I need to write an application to be used on Palm’s and Compaq iPads.
This application is already written in VB.NET 2003.
About 75% of the application is basically reading and loading data from a serial Machine Device into an Access (.mdb) database via an RS232 Serial port.
QUESTIONS:
Would it be easier developing for Windows CE like the Compaq iPads versus Palm’s operating system?
Do I have to start from Scratch?
Can anyone give me a suggestion on where to start?
Thanks everyone!!!
Andy
Andy,
You are going to encounter several issues in moving your application, and while there may be seveal solution paths, I will offer one of many possible solutions to you.
If you have already written the a vb.net aplication for the pc it can be installed and run on a windows CE device with the .net comact framework installed.
You will, however, face several issues.
First: The .net compact framework (CF) is a slimmed down version of the .net framework for PCs and does not include the full spectrum of support for all the .net class libraries, so some of your code may not be recognizable to the .net CF.
Second: You will have to be careful to select a handheld device that actually has a serial port. Some manufactuars make ce devices which have usb support, but no actual serial port.
Third: You will not likely be able to modify an access database file directly on the PDA. (whether due to lack of native support for .mdb files, or lack of system resources) A good alternative may be to run SQL CE on the PDA as your data storage engine, and then to simply replicate the information to a desktop. Once you have replicated to a desktop, you can simply convert the information to Access. If budget is not a constraint simply replicate from the PDA to MS SQL Server and use data transformation services to export the information to Access.
Keep in mind that CE devices do not have anywhere near the resources that PCs have. The genneral rule here is keep the the processes on the CE device simple and efficient. With the use of a cellular modem or a wifi card, the pda can sychronize with your SQL server from practically anywhere in the world.
I hope this helps