Managed DirectX For Windows Mobile - Windows Mobile Software Development

Hi,
Unfortunanately there isn't yet a lot of information available out on the net regarding development using Microsoft.WindowsMobile.DirectX namespace.
I am hoping we can start a new forum section dedicated to just this? What do you guys think?
I've only been working with it for about a week now, and I am struggling to find helpful information, and am figuring out a lot of things through trial and error (note the SDK documentation is quite thin too!).
Is there anyone else on this site that is keen to collaborate and share DirectX experiences?

i'm very interested in but i failed in basics (look here) and nobody here seems something to know about that.
one year before i gained few expieriences in direct3d. its similar but not the same to develop for mobile...
did you get running the examples of d3d from the ms mobile sdk?

heggenhugo said:
did you get running the examples of d3d from the ms mobile sdk?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea, all the examples (not) in the SDK worked. I put "not" in parentheses because it took me a long time to locate them as the are no longer included as part of the .Net compact framework SDKs or the DirectX compact framework.
I am working on a simple app now that will determine the hardwares capabilities, allowing developers to quickly discover which devices their apps/games will run on. But I am still only just getting used to the environment also.

could you send me please (or link) a working example? it would be enough to see how to create a d3d window. i want to develop an application that uses the g-sensor to navigate in a little 3d environment (for instance turn around a cube or sth like this).
ty

VB.Net D3DM Samples - DirectX Capabilities App
Here are all the MS provided examples. I have not tried them all, but most of them work (on my device). The emulators run them, but very very slowly.
I have also attached the ActiveX Capabilites Test.exe application I created which will show you exactly what DirectX features are available on a particular device.
It requires .Net 3.5 to be installed.
View attachment VB.zip - Vb.Net samples
View attachment 250790 - DirectX Capability Test (install to device)

A good start
Anyone looking to get started on Mobile DirectX Development, should start with the fundimentals of the Managed DirectX Runtimes.
I recommend "Managed DirectX 9 Kick Start - Graphics and Game Programming" by Tom Miller. It's a good start into the world of Managed DirectX.

Related

Programming ... Whats Best???

Hi!
I'm a Programmer for Visial Basic and Delphi...
I'm not sure whitch system is the best 4 programming the XDA?
AppForge or what?
Thanx
Stevie
Each have their advantages. I would go with Embedded C++ every time, but then, I'm that kind of guy. I like lean code.
On the other hand... If you don't want to learn C++, give Embedded VB a try.
Programming
Hi!
Thanx, but U mean Visual C++ 6.0 ??? Is there anything other what I need with C++ like Appforge 4 VB? Or do I need nothing more?
Stevie
No.. I mean Embedded C++. It is available for free from microsoft
http://msdn.microsoft.com/downloads...=/msdn-files/027/001/963/msdncompositedoc.xml
>I'm not sure whitch system is the best 4 programming the XDA?
>AppForge or what?
I guess it depends on your definition of "best".
I do C++, but actually prefer Visual Basic for most
applications due to the development speed for GUI-based
stuff.
I've downloaded eMbedded Visual Basic and eMbedded C++ from
Microsoft. One problem: EVB apparently does *not* yet
support the XDA architecture (StrongARM).
The SmartPhone SDK from MS *does* support StrongARM (not
*specifically the XDA* that I can tell) but only provides the SDK
for eMbedded C++ (not EVB).
I EMAILed the MobileVB folk and they said:
1) They don't support SmartPhones.
2) They don't have any support for SMS handling.
At this point I guess I'll go to EVC++ unless I can find other
tool(sets) to use.
What *I* would like to see is script support ALA PERL or PYTHON.
Is there anyone out there that knows of a beastie like this?
Or, even better (for me) would be LINUX on the XDA (I've
been using Familiar distro on the iPAQ, and it is great .. can
do GPRS/GPS from a LINUX-based platform (C/C++/JAVA/PERL/PYTHON/whatever).
Charlie
You keep mentioning Smartphone here, and the Smartphone SDK. The XDA does not support the Smartphone SDK, as it is not a Smartphone - it runs Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition - something completely different.
So please, don't spend several hours downloading the Smartphone SDK to find it's not the right one. Download the Pocket PC 2002 SDK. I have developed several apps for the XDA using this already.
What *I* would like to see is script support ALA PERL or PYTHON.
Is there anyone out there that knows of a beastie like this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is a PocketPC Python, you have to use the win32api to GUI work, and installation can be a little painful depending on what you need. It does run and is stable though. Check out http://www.murkworks.com/Research/Python/PythonCE/PythonCEWiki/FrontPage[/quote]
Hi guys
I downloaded eMbedded Visual Tools 3.0 from Microsoft, but during installation, I was asked for the Product ID #
Any help ? :?:
I'd like to throw in another suggestion: the .Net Compact Framework. If you're a Delphi programmer (as are we - I used to be on TeamB for Delphi), you'll take to it straight away. After all, .Net and C# was designed by the same Anders Hejlsberg that designed Delphi. C# is very like Object Pascal with a C/Java syntax, but with even more goodies.
We've been using the Compact Framework beta for several months and it is quite simply superb. It was just launched officially on April 26th as part of Visual Studio.Net 2003. However, you don't need to buy Visual Studio - just download the .Net 1.1 SDK from Microsoft - it's free.
It's just a subset of the full .Net Framework, but if you need to do something that's not supported directly in the Framework classes, you can easily call API functions - or even write some code in embedded VC++ and call that. The managed environment is just great.
MikeS.
When prompted for the CD Key, please enter TRT7H-KD36T-FRH8D-6QH8P-VFJHQ
Khang Le
[email protected]
Khang Le, thanks

No DirectX on .Net CF 3.7

I've seen that .Net CF 3.7 doesnt have the directx ( Direct 3d) libraries and i was wondering if microsoft decided to delete them and not continue using directx with .net cf or if it's only because the 3.7 version is a beta and lacks many things.
Apart of that, i don't know what new things has 3.7 version, is there any changelog? because if there aren't important changes, i consider it may be better to continue using .net cf 3.5.
No follow up?
I'm curious if anybody has any more information on this matter. I'm currently using a slightly older version of NRGZ's EnergyROM with a Touch Pro and am unable to use Diamond Hologram because of a TypeLoadException stating that Microsoft.WindowsMobile.DirectX can not be found.
There's a chance that the rip of the unreleased .NET CF 3.7 was incomplete (though the GAC is pretty straightforward) or the pre-release state of it could also be used to rationalize missing assemblies, but if I were to take a random crack at it, I would guess that they're working on XNA for Windows CE/Mobile since it's based on CF and runs on Windows, XBox 360 and Zune it would be a logical step for Microsoft (just as they stopped supporting Managed DirectX on desktop editions), though it does seem a bit unfair to developers of existing applications since the desktop edition was not shipped with the framework, but rather with the DirectX SDK whereas this was deployed in the framework.
Is there a chance that someone could test using the 3.5 version on a 3.7 runtime? If the CLRs are compatible (and they seem to be) then it should still be able to load the assembly, and if binding works at all similar to the desktop framework we could probably just copy it into the directory of the application path, rather than GACing it.
After some searching around this is better discussed in the original CF 3.7 thread since it has been brought up. I'll repost my thoughts there and see if someone can help with experimenting.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=4060348
Not sure if this should be posted in the aforementioned thread, but it has long been rumoured that MS would phase out Direct3D by Windows Mobile 7, in favour of OpenGL and OpenGLES. Hope this helps at all.
GL
Well, I'm not so sure MS will ever officially support GL since it's a "competing" product to DirectX. In fact, to me it seems very unlikely. While they have been supporting community solutions and open source work more lately, generally Microsoft makes an effort to have developers use Microsoft technologies which in turn makes applications dependent on Microsoft and therefore users dependent on Microsoft. They have (arguably) the most powerful, useful and time-saving development tools which keeps many developers (like myself) developing applications that are inherently designed for their operating systems.
XNA, on the other hand is a Microsoft technology that is gaining a lot of traction and is directly related to the .NET Compact Framework, which is what leads me to believe they'll choose that route. With the right love and care a single XNA game can be played on PC, XBOX 360 and Zune and it seems likely that supporting the platform that .NET CF was first implemented on is only a matter of time. It's been rather surprising to many in the XNA community that MS hasn't already supported it, since their original press releases strongly indicated support for it. One thing's for sure: while there is an XNA Game Studio built on top of Visual Studio, there will probably not be any MS initiative to build a GL game studio.
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2004/mar04/03-24xnalaunchpr.mspx
To be fair though, that doesn't necessarily mean they won't implement the Windows Mobile version of XNA using OpenGL ES, though it seems likely that the architecture is designed more toward DirectX. Still hardware manufacturers could play a huge role in this decision.

App idea, need help starting. :)

Since there isn't a SAPI that's accessible for windows mobile developers, I was disappointed. I just got a Samsung Omnia and I'm quite enthralled by it. I want to write an application that does speech recognition and text to speech.
eSpeak is a program easily ported. It's been done and comes with a how-to guide for compiling for windows mobile 6.x. As far as text to speech goes, then, I'm not too worried (it will be fun developing a voice.)
I got pocketsphinx to compile. The project settings says it was compiled for an x86 machine. Do I have to compile it for the ARM architecture, or do I just need to compile the final application for the ARM architecture, with the pocketsphinx dll somehow baked into the end result?
Also, I was wondering if anyone could point me to a beginner level tutorial for developing applications on windows mobile. I'm brand spanking new to developing on mobile devices, and while the language specific stuff is old hat, there's lots of transitional stuff I need to learn. Any links are appreciated. I'd like to not brick my Omnia by doing something silly, so I'll be developing strictly on my desktop until I'm satisfied with the safety of whatever it is I'm developing.
Thanks, awesome community here!
Hey there JR. As far as WinMo development, here's a list of the basic tools you need:
1. Visual Studio 2008 Professional SP1 + patches (or VS 2010 which is in beta now)
2. Windows Mobile 6 Professional and Standard Software Development Kits Refresh (device and cellular emulators, some samples, download from msdn.microsoft.com)
3. Windows Mobile 6.5 Developer Tool Kit (6.5 emulator images, gestures API etc - also at msdn.microsoft.com)
Assuming you will be writing managed code, the most widely used language is C#.
As far as books, unfortunately WInMo is not getting much love these days (hopefully this will change with WinMo 7) so there's little new but the best book out there IMO is "Microsoft Mobile Development Handbook" by Andy Wigley (2007).
The good news is that there's a plethora of on-line material, easily accessible from the aggregate Search screen in Visual Studio. Sites like codeguru.com, social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/windowsmobiledev, www.c-sharpcorner.com, www.codeproject.com, 4guysfromrolla.com etc are your best friends!
I hope this gets you started! Best of luck with the project.
JRowe47 said:
Since there isn't a SAPI that's accessible for windows mobile developers, I was disappointed. I just got a Samsung Omnia and I'm quite enthralled by it. I want to write an application that does speech recognition and text to speech.
eSpeak is a program easily ported. It's been done and comes with a how-to guide for compiling for windows mobile 6.x. As far as text to speech goes, then, I'm not too worried (it will be fun developing a voice.)
I got pocketsphinx to compile. The project settings says it was compiled for an x86 machine. Do I have to compile it for the ARM architecture, or do I just need to compile the final application for the ARM architecture, with the pocketsphinx dll somehow baked into the end result?
Also, I was wondering if anyone could point me to a beginner level tutorial for developing applications on windows mobile. I'm brand spanking new to developing on mobile devices, and while the language specific stuff is old hat, there's lots of transitional stuff I need to learn. Any links are appreciated. I'd like to not brick my Omnia by doing something silly, so I'll be developing strictly on my desktop until I'm satisfied with the safety of whatever it is I'm developing.
Thanks, awesome community here!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Writing in C#.NET Compact -- you have no worries for 'safety', unless you literally do a File.Delete("/Windows/blah");, you should be okay ;P
But yes, It is based off of the big .NET Framework. So if you can do .NET, you can do .NETCF.
acidhax said:
if you can do .NET, you can do .NETCF.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't agree. In .NET you usually do not need to worry about performance, you usually get away just fine by using a simple approach at the cost of a small bit of performance. On .NET CF you certainly need all the performance you can get. Also, the .NET Compact Framework is heavily stripped down and for a lot of tasks you need to find an alternative, innovative solution.

SharpDevelop: a VERY simple question from a beginner

Hi everyone.
I'm a beginner in Pocket PC / Smartphone development, though i have some (amateur) experience in creating PC apps (Delphi, C++)
So i just need a "kick start" to begin working on PPC apps. Like, a code to make an app that draws a window with "Hello world" and an OK button in it, you know
I've downloaded the SharpDevelop environment, because it looked like the best freeware alternative to Visual Studio. However, i have to admit i've downloaded the 1.x version, as i have a very old computer. But if it's critical, i can try and install 2.x or 3.x.
Anyway, the question is: how do i create a project for Pocket PC / Smartphone? All i see are options to create PC projects... But i saw SharpDevelop in the D&H wiki, so there must be a way to use it for it, right?
Big thanks in advance for answering my very silly question
upd: also, do i need any special device emulators to run the project, or... w/e
kiruch said:
Hi everyone.
I'm a beginner in Pocket PC / Smartphone development, though i have some (amateur) experience in creating PC apps (Delphi, C++)
So i just need a "kick start" to begin working on PPC apps. Like, a code to make an app that draws a window with "Hello world" and an OK button in it, you know
I've downloaded the SharpDevelop environment, because it looked like the best freeware alternative to Visual Studio. However, i have to admit i've downloaded the 1.x version, as i have a very old computer. But if it's critical, i can try and install 2.x or 3.x.
Anyway, the question is: how do i create a project for Pocket PC / Smartphone? All i see are options to create PC projects... But i saw SharpDevelop in the D&H wiki, so there must be a way to use it for it, right?
Big thanks in advance for answering my very silly question
upd: also, do i need any special device emulators to run the project, or... w/e
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not a silly question mate - it's a perfectly good one. Unfortunately, I don't think that you can use SharpDevelop to create .Net CF applications easily. The Windows Mobile SDKs come with plenty emulators (to answer your latter question), but they're Microsoft, and therefore they're for Visual Studio. It's really easy with Visual Studio - you just install the SDK and select a smart device as your target when you create a new project. It just works.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=20686a1d-97a8-4f80-bc6a-ae010e085a6e
However, as far as I'm aware, you can't use VS Express (the free version), as the SDKs only work with full versions of VS. If you can get hold of that, I'd recommend it.
I do remember seeing a website talking about using SharpDevelop with the .Net CF, but it was sketchy and didn't promise it would work. Maybe google a little more to make sure about that, but I'd strongly recommend a copy of VS Professional, if that's an option.
If you are a student, you can get VS2008 for free (www.dreamspark.com)
If you are not a student, you can get VS2010 RC for free (works for another 100 days from today).
I use Sharp Develop to program in C# for my phone, and it works fine.
However, it's possible that smartphones are only supported in version 2 and 3 (I never tried version 1).
In the newer versions, when you start a new solution, there will be an option to start a Compact Framework Project.
Some code that is automatically added when adding controls to your form, will throw errors and will have to be deleted. There is more information on that in the forums at Sharpdevelop.
Good luck!
It depends on what u want to program in. .net c# c++ ect. Tho if i were u i would try and get VS. If your going to do c++ i can provide some examples, but not for anything else xD. GL.

[Q] Develop Apps for Windows Mobile

I want to develop simple apps for Windows Mobile. I read that I can use:
---Compact Framemork. (I downloaded Sharp Develop, it is free. It also exist a program from Resco that speedup the development with C.F.)
--- C or C++ or C# (I don't know if WinMo understand these...)
---Visual Basic (is difficult and Visual Studio isn't free, but I found another program that allows to develop more simple)
---Mortscript (I think is the most simple)
---Which is the best and the most simple language?
---Where can I read or download tutorials?
---I can not develop simple apps with images and sounds yet.
Please Help!
I want to develop
-a lock screen
-an app that turn on and turn off the leds of my device
-an app that change registry values (without softreset the device)
-an app that can copy, cut and delete files
-a Soft Imput Panel (a virtual keyboard)
I haven't done windows mobile development in quite some time, so things may have changed a bit. But to help you out better, it would be good to know what version of windows you intend to develop for (I assume Windows Phone 7?) as well as any specific devices you may want to concentrate on, and what experience you already have with coding.
MortScript is probably a good starting point, though if you want to get some real functionality going, you should look at C#.net CF. Take a look at this MSDN resource: LINK. It should be good for getting started.
I think that for modifying the registry, working with LEDs, and for the software keyboard you may need to use C++ ... though I can be mistaken. I'm not sure how Microsoft has worked out libraries and privileges in WP7.
Cyclonezephyrxz7 said:
I haven't done windows mobile development in quite some time, so things may have changed a bit. But to help you out better, it would be good to know what version of windows you intend to develop for (I assume Windows Phone 7?) as well as any specific devices you may want to concentrate on, and what experience you already have with coding.
MortScript is probably a good starting point, though if you want to get some real functionality going, you should look at C#.net CF. Take a look at this MSDN resource: LINK. It should be good for getting started.
I think that for modifying the registry, working with LEDs, and for the software keyboard you may need to use C++ ... though I can be mistaken. I'm not sure how Microsoft has worked out libraries and privileges in WP7.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks CycloneZephyrxz7.
I want to develop for Windows Mobile 6.X for devices with WVGA resolution.
But with Mortscript I can do less things? Because I can only write scripts.
Do you know how is written a simple app like "ClearTemp"?
I wait other replies from Devolpers and people that used these languages...

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