The Moth

One of the FAQs on the CF newsgroup is about running assemblies on both desktop and CE device. The answer is that on a CE device you cannot run assemblies built against the desktop/full framework. The reverse is possible, due to the System.Reflection.AssemblyNameFlags enumeration and specifically its Retargetable value. Basically, almost all of the CF assemblies are retargetable to the desktop v1.1 assemblies, which means that your CF app will run on the desktop against the full framework. There is a caveat, which is obvious once you understand the previous sentence:

* You must only use functionality that is common on both platforms *

At first this may sound superfluous, given that the CF is a subset of the full framework, but a closer look reveals functionality specific to the CF in the Microsoft.WindowsCE namespace (such as MessageWindow and InputPanel), the infrared classes and of course the SQL stuff is different. In addition, no real CF 1.0 application survives without pinvoking, so you'll have to detect what platform you are on (System.Environment.OSVersion.Platform) in order to call the right dllimport (i.e. not pointing to coredll.dll). So, break these rules and look forward to TypeLoadExceptions and the like; follow them and you are good to go...for class libraries projects (dlls).

Do expect to encounter differences in functionality. On the desktop your app is running against a different implementation of the .NET library. Although interface-compatible and in most cases functionality compatible, there are differences due to bugs or design decisions based on platform applicability.

For GUI apps (exes), I don't think there is much point in attempting the above. Technically it will work (just run your exe from the build folder) and it also makes a nice demo for your boss, but how will a WinForms app look good on two platforms that are so different to each other? The difference in screen size should put the argument to rest but, in addition, the user input is typically very different too (keyboard vs soft input panel, mouse vs stylus), not to mention non-resizable windows etc.

It is worth mentioning that VS2005 with CF 2.0 makes this approach even easier. All the same issues apply, but there is help for debugging this scenario. When you choose Debug->Run, you are presented with a Deploy window that includes a bunch of emulators (so far the same as VS2003) but also includes the 'My Computer' option! Choosing this actually runs your app on the desktop, providing you with the same experience you'd have if it were a normal Windows app.

To sum it up, my attitude towards the "retargetable" approach is not to use it. I prefer the alternative of sharing the same code base between desktop and CF apps and I use that successfully everyday. More on that approach next time.