Development tools

acp · 02-23-06, 06:04 PM

Hello,

I just got an x51v and was starting to play with it. Having some programming knowledge, I couldn't wait to write some code for this new "toy".

I've done some quick search, but didn't find anything convincing yet. I was wondering what kind of development tools where available out there.
I know that there is the .net CF (and being a student, I have access to a [legal] copy of Visual Studio, so that shouldn't be a problem). However, I want to know other possibilities. Furthermore, in case I write something interesting, I intend to release the code (in my opinion freeware is nice, but not enough), so I don't know if by using windows development tools I don't limit myself (might be a license issue).

And not all apps are written on C# right ? What do these companies we always here about use ?

Thanks for your help,
acp

stevenator65 · 02-23-06, 07:43 PM

look up basic4ppc, visual basic.net and that's all I have. Then there's also embedded visual basic, but you don't need that if you have vb.net.

CodeBubba · 02-23-06, 09:13 PM

You can get NSBasic for PPC (www.nsbasic.com) which is pretty slick. It's not free, but it will develop native PPC applications either from your Windows desktop or on a device-hosted IDE. Very cool.

-CB

acp · 02-24-06, 04:56 AM

Hello,

thanks for your comments. I took a look on the proposed solutions... basic4ppc seems nice, however it also seems limited in it capabilities... I'm not a guru programmer, but I would like to make something more than a windowed application (let's say for instance, a start menu replacement would be nice...).

Nsbasic looks nice too, but a bit pricey for me. The fact is that, I have Visual Studio for free, so I'm starting to believe that it'll be difficult to find better. And a very important factor too, I don't like much the idea of Basic. It's been a while I didn't develop in Basic, and C# seems more natural and structured to me now. However being able to develop directly on pocketpc sure is a nice feature...

My only problem is the license issue. Can I develop a software using Visual Studio and release it with open-source license (say GPL or BSD) ? Since it's just code, I don't think there is a problem, but I don't know if I can also distribute a compiled version of it...

SundialSoft · 02-24-06, 05:22 AM

If you have access to VS2005 then you don't have a problem. You can also get complete free tools from Microsoft which will build for WM2003 and run on the X51.
You really need to be on one of the dev forums like pocketmatrix (www.pocketmatrix.com) to get full info.
C++ is the language of choice for games developers with C# getting a look in for applications. VB is of course used by lots of application developers.

acp · 02-24-06, 05:41 AM

Seems a very nice forum, thanks for the info. Btw, if you people have other references like that, don't hesitate to pass them over ;).

MrTAToad · 02-24-06, 10:02 AM

For the Axim 51V, you might as well use VS2005 and compile to Windows Mobile 5.0, unless you want to make it availiable for previous OS's.

Pocketbrain · 02-24-06, 11:09 AM

It's a good idea to make your programs available for WM2003, as it has quite a large installed base.

(X)

acp · 02-24-06, 11:51 AM

Well it depends on the implications that might have to the code. I mean, my first goal will be to make something that works well for my needs. If I don't do any tricky stuff, it will normally work right away on WM2003.
Now if I need to make special cases every now and then to assure compatibility, I won't (a simple reason too is that I don't have a WM2003 device, and emulators aren't the best way to fully test an application in my opinion).
However, since I'll release the source, another interested programmer could add the necessary support, that's the whole point of open-source ;), and that's what missing now in PocketPC development world (I know there are some open-source solutions out there, but the percentage is tiny compared to share/freeware, and these projects are often abandonned).