The Moth

For those that write Compact Framework applications for custom CE devices, the VS emulators are not as useful as they are for PPC development.

We always advise people to get an SDK from the device manufacturer – or even better an actual device to test against. I have been lucky to be playing with a real device from day 1, never having to use the emulator for real development. If you are trying to generate an SDK from Platform Builder, you may find that it is not easy to get it right first time, and more often than not you end up with a black-screen emulator that VS.NET 2003 cannot connect to. The fun bit is where the emulator works OK in eVC, and then when you try to use it in VS, not only it doesn't work but it actually hoses the emulator in such a way that it stops working in eVC, but I digress.

So I thought it useful to include here the *exact* steps that work for us when building (and exporting) an SDK for use in both VS and eVC. Enjoy :-)

1. Make a new platform based on Emulator BSP
2. Configure the image as you require (make sure the image includes .NET Compact Framework, toolhelp.dll and Smart Device Authentication Utility)
3. Make sure that KITL support is disabled in the image (i.e. when you select Platform -> Settings -> Build Options, the only thing that should be checked is "Enable EBOOT Space in Memory")
4. Build the Emulator image
5. Configure the SDK
On the emulation tab - this is up to you e.g. memory size = 64MB and screen size = 320x240, 8 bit
On the transports tab - Make sure Microsoft KITL Transport is *not* checked, set ActiveSync as the default
On the Development Languages Tab - Select everything (so the same SDK will work in eVC++ and VS.NET)
On the Startup Servers tab - Make sure they're all selected and that ActiveSync is the default.
6. Build the SDK