Handheld development in VB.net

mountainyman

Anyone know where to look to find out about developing for handhelds in vb.net?

Hobbes

mountainyman wrote: »

Anyone know where to look to find out about developing for handhelds in vb.net?

You have to get the mobile SDK kit from microsoft site. After that you just create the VB apps as you would a normal one. It will run in windows and on the windows CE devices.

NeverSayDie

The .NET Compact Framework (version of the Framework for PDAs/mobile) is what you'll be targeting. Far as I know, it's mostly a subset of the main Framework, plus some extra bits for those platforms. See here for lots of info; http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/netframework/aa497273.aspx

pauldiv

If you are using Visual Studio you will find all kinds of mobile related artices and howto's in the help. If you have VS installed you are good to go as the Compact Framework will be instaled also.

Many handheld manufacturers provide device emulators that you can download and plug into VS. You just need to tell VS to run the Emulator when debugging.

matrim

Just remember you will only be able to target Windows Mobile handsets. If you want to target a wider range of handsets you'll need something like Java

Ginger

C# is the default for Mobile Dev. The new SDK and emulators for Mobile 6 or out as well

yop

matrim wrote: »

Just remember you will only be able to target Windows Mobile handsets. If you want to target a wider range of handsets you'll need something like Java

Sorry for routing up an old thread but is that definate that any .NET work done on the mobile SDK can only run on mobiles which have Windows??

So if I want to be able to target the large market of mobiles I am as well to do it with a JAVA application for the mobile??

Thanks

Cantab.

yop wrote: »

Sorry for routing up an old thread but is that definate that any .NET work done on the mobile SDK can only run on mobiles which have Windows??

So if I want to be able to target the large market of mobiles I am as well to do it with a JAVA application for the mobile??

Thanks

Java is not ideal for handhelds. If the manufacturer allows some JVM machine to run, chances are it's unelegant and not-very-well integrated with the OS.

IMO, you need to develop for Windows, iPhone & Android. Symbian and PalmOS if you really want to extent your capture. You need to pay for the Windoze Visual Studio license, Apple and Google release their SDKs' code for free (subject to an agreement).

I wouldn't bother wasting time with 2/2.5G development via "Java supported" handsets. That tinkery business should be out-dated soon.

Ginger

Symbian and other mobile OS platforms other than windows mobile dont run any .NET based applications.

There is no port as a far as I know of .NET to any other mobile platform yet.

kayos

Cantab. wrote: »

You need to pay for the Windoze Visual Studio license, Apple and Google release their SDKs' code for free (subject to an agreement).

You only have to pay for the VS IDE, you can get the Windows Mobile SDK off the site. If you have notepad and a compiler you can still write the code

As for apple, I dont know how many articles I've read bitchin about the development for the iPhone. The agreement is ment to be way OTT.

Android, fair enough its google it will be free.

yop

thanks for the posts lads, to be honest I still have to target JAVA enabled mobile phones. So for this wee app I think I will have to go down the (unkown) route of JAVA

Just want a mobile phone based app that will access an online db and allow them to update details. nothing special.

Ginger

Use a service interface type, design all your interaction with the database using webservices that any app can use and then you can have only to consume them using the java client

yop

Ginger wrote: »

Use a service interface type, design all your interaction with the database using webservices that any app can use and then you can have only to consume them using the java client

Thats the plan Ginger, I have the webservice thought out and "on paper" so to speak. I am just no familiar with using JAVA so that is the big learning curve for me Will keep me quite over the Xmas

Ginger

Might help

http://www.codeproject.com/KB/java/edujini_webservice_java.aspx?display=Print

Also from Nokia

http://www.projectliberty.org/liberty/content/download/400/2759/file/Web_Services_Nokia.pdf

yop

Cheers for that. I will look at them links. Thanks

stevenmu

If it's going to be that basic, and you're already relying on web connections for the web services, could you go down the road of a web app with simple mobile targeted forms?

That would save you the hassle of having to deploy a client at all, or worse multiple clients. If you run into any phones that don't have a browser deploy opera mobile.

yop

stevenmu wrote: »

If it's going to be that basic, and you're already relying on web connections for the web services, could you go down the road of a web app with simple mobile targeted forms?

That would save you the hassle of having to deploy a client at all, or worse multiple clients. If you run into any phones that don't have a browser deploy opera mobile.

Steve, I am a bit raw with mobile phone dev so all the solutions I am coming up with are in the whole down to guys on forums like yourself, so I appreciate all input.
I am also very new to JAVA, 11 years with Microsoft dev means I am a little tunnel visioned but thats changing with the project.


In a nutshell the main parts of the project.

a) Client running app/web app with a DB in house as the mobile phone module will be optional so I want the base app to be in house with the DB in house.

This is the part which is VERY open to suggestion -
IF customer wishes to avail of the service from the client then the client will using a SMS Push send the customer a link to a JAVA app which they will install on their mobile phone, it has to be manufacturer/model independent, I think they will have to be JAVA enabled but thats is open to debate.

The customer can then with the app connect to a web app which replicates (using a polling service on the client side) the data that the customer (mobile phone owner) wises to use. The customer then updates the data using the JAVA app and the customer DB is updated using the same polling service.

What I intend the JAVA app to do is to connect to an website hosted by an ISP, the ISP will also contain a DB which contains data which is updated via the client polling service.

The JAVA app will contain about 5 textboxes, a drop down, a date field and an update/save button. Its a pretty simple app in VB.net terms, which I am used to, as its JAVA and new to then I will be learning that, not an issue.

Now mobile targeted forms are new to me, with the details above does it make it clearer of where I am going?

I dont want anyone to do it for me, I would just appreciate advice on the best approach if possible.

Thanks guys.

NeverSayDie

I'd definitely go with stevenmu's suggestion - just have the end user log into a web page on their mobile device (text them the login details if you want to keep that aspect of it). That way (especially if the UI requirement is as simple as you describe) pretty much any device, mobile or otherwise, with any kind of browser should be in a position to access your service. Probably some tweaking involved to ensure the page renders OK on most mobile browsers, but a lot less hassle than writing a custom Java app, and vastly less hassle than making that app run well on a variety of devices.

That also means that all the processing and functionality is on the back end - if you add some new features for instance, you won't have to come up with some way of updating all those Java apps out in the field. Likewise you can write the backend in VB.NET if you want; it's just another web page to the device. About the only situation I can think of where you'd particularly need a Java app is for offline access.

yop

NeverSayDie wrote: »

I'd definitely go with stevenmu's suggestion - just have the end user log into a web page on their mobile device (text them the login details if you want to keep that aspect of it). That way (especially if the UI requirement is as simple as you describe) pretty much any device, mobile or otherwise, with any kind of browser should be in a position to access your service. Probably some tweaking involved to ensure the page renders OK on most mobile browsers, but a lot less hassle than writing a custom Java app, and vastly less hassle than making that app run well on a variety of devices.

That also means that all the processing and functionality is on the back end - if you add some new features for instance, you won't have to come up with some way of updating all those Java apps out in the field. Likewise you can write the backend in VB.NET if you want; it's just another web page to the device. About the only situation I can think of where you'd particularly need a Java app is for offline access.

Sound ok, I understand what you are saying for sure.

The last statement there about been offline? DO u mean with regards he website?

NeverSayDie

yop wrote: »

Sound ok, I understand what you are saying for sure.

The last statement there about been offline? DO u mean with regards he website?

Yeah, for instance, if you want the user to be able to use the thing on a PDA that won't always have internet access. There are potential ways around that for websites (Google's Gears for instance, or saved local copies of data) but that'd probably limit your client device options in any case.

As long as it's a phone or something similar that can be assumed to have online access when it needs it, that's not a concern. Depends on your deployment requirements really.

Cantab.

Cantab. wrote:

You need to pay for the Windoze Visual Studio license, Apple and Google release their SDKs' code for free (subject to an agreement).

kayos wrote: »

You only have to pay for the VS IDE, you can get the Windows Mobile SDK off the site. If you have notepad and a compiler you can still write the code

That's what I said. How do you expect to sell your software if you haven't paid for a Visual Studio licence?

kayos wrote: »

As for apple, I dont know how many articles I've read bitchin about the development for the iPhone. The agreement is ment to be way OTT.

Android, fair enough its google it will be free.

Android and I-Phone are not 'free' (as in air). You've to agree to a licence.