Mobile/PocketPC Development Jump Start

Objective

The objective of this short hands-on tutorial (lab) is to show you how simple it is to start developing for the PocketPC and other mobile devices using Visual Studio .NET 2003. No mobile development experience or mobile devices are needed!

Getting Started

Start up Visual Studio .NET 2003. Create a new project by selecting File | New | Project.... Select the Visual C# Projects node and then, on the right, select Smart Device Application as shown in Figure 1.

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Figure 1: Creating a new mobile application

I've named my sample MyMobileApp and have saved it in the default location. You can name your mobile applications anything you like. For this lab, however, you should use MyMobileApp.

Selecting OK on the dialog will actually start a Wizard. You will be greeted with a dialog as shown in Figure 2.

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Figure 2: The Smart Device Application Wizard

This dialog allows you to select whether you are creating an application for the PocketPC or for Windows CE. You also can select the type of application. For this lab, you will target a Pocket PC and build a Windows Application.

You also will see that this dialog lists the devices that you have installed on you machine. As you can see, I have a Pocket PC device as well as the emulator. If you don't have a device, you will still be able to build an application with the emulator—which is what you will do for this lab.

Select Pocket PC and Windows Application. Click the OK button. Visual Studio .NET 2003 will chug and churn and create the standard project for you as shown in Figure 3.

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Figure 3: The default Smart Windows Form application

As you can see in Figure 3, the basic PocketPC form looks like a normal Windows Form application. From a development perspective, it is pretty much the same. The only difference is that there are some controls and commands that you cannot use. Additionally, you'll see that a menu item is already provided on your workspace.

Bradley Jones, in addition to managing CodeGuru, Brad! oversees the Developer.com Newtwork of sites including Codeguru, Developer.com, DevX, VBForums, and over a dozen more with a focus on software development and database technologies. His experience includes development in C, C++, VB, some Java, C#, ASP, COBOL, and more as well as having been a developer, consultant, analyst, lead, and much more. His recent books include Teach Yourself the C# Language in 21 Days, Web 2.0 Heroes, and Windows Live Essentials and Services.
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