Building Applications for Mobile Devices with .NET

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Building Applications for Mobile Devices with .NET

• Sam S. Gill
• February 4, 2004
• Slides are available online at
  online.sfsu.edu/sgill

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Architecture of the .NET Platform

• Common Language Runtime (CLR)
• Manages running code
• Verifies type safety
• Provides garbage collection, error handling
• Security
• Provides common type system
• Provides access to system resources
• Native API, COM interop, etc.
• A collection of unified classes
• ASP.NET
• ADO.NET
• Enterprise Services
• System, System.Drawing, System.Web, System.XML,
  etc.

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Win32 and the .NET Framework
C
Visual J...
Visual Basic .NET
ASP.NET
ADO.NET
Enterprise Services
CLR
Active Directory
MSMQ
COM
IIS
WMI
Win32
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The .NET Framework
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Inside the .NET Framework

• Common Language Runtime
• The .NET Framework Class Library
• ADO.NET Namespaces
• ASP.NET Namespaces

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Common Language Runtime
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The .NET Framework Class Library
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ADO.NET Namespaces

• ADO.NET implements the following namespaces
• System.Data namespace
• System.Xml namespace

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ASP.NET Namespaces
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Demonstration Building a Window Application and
a Web Application

• In this demonstration, you will see how to Build
  a Windows Application
• You will then see how to use the same code in
  Building a Web Application

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Demonstration Using Multiple Languages and MSIL

• In this demonstration, you will see how to use
  multiple languages to develop a Visual Studio
  .NET solution
• You will then see how to use the Microsoft
  Intermediate Language (MSIL) Disassembler to
  display a portable executable (PE) file

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Mobile DevelopmentApproaches

• Application on device
• Device specific
• Fewer devices

• Offline options
• Richest UI

Smart Device Applications

• Application on server
• Runs in browser
• Many devices

• Online only
• Less UI choice
• Easy to deploy

ASP.NET Mobile Web Applications
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Introduction to the .NET Compact Framework

• What Is the .NET Compact Framework?
• What Is the Architecture of the .NET Compact
  Framework?
• Comparison of the .NET Compact Framework and the
  .NET Framework
• Guidelines for Programming .NET Compact Framework
  Applications

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What is the .NET Compact Framework?

• The .NET Compact Framework is a program execution
  environment for mobile devices
• Core functionality
• Uses Visual Studio .NET tools
• Provides hardware and platform independence
• Consistency with desktop programming model
• Rich enterprise-class data access features with
  ADO.NET
• Offers secure installation and clean
  uninstallation
• Debugs remote applications
• Integrates with XML Web services

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.NET Compact Framework Architecture

• Windows UI
• Standard Windows look and feel
• Forms-based UI
• All the standard controls
• Significant subset for small size
• XML Web Services
• Windows NT network integration
• Data Access
• Local data (offline)
• Remote data (online)
• Simple structured files (text)

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Comparison of the .NET Compact Framework and the
.NET Framework

• The .NET Compact Framework supports only a subset
  of the System namespace
• You can add platform-specific class libraries to
  the .NET Compact Framework
• The .NET Compact Framework imposes restrictions
  on I/O
• The .NET Compact Framework uses only socket-level
  APIs for networking
• The .NET Compact Framework avoids heavy use of
  RAM and CPU cycles

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Guidelines for Programming .NET Compact Framework
Applications

• When to Use ASP.NET Mobile Web Applications
• Code runs on server
• Supports more devices
• Requires constant connection
• When to Use Smart Device Applications
• Code runs on client
• Graphically rich environment
• Requires .NET Compact Framework to be installed
  on the device
• Can run in a disconnected environment

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What Are Smart Device Projects?

• Smart Device Projects are used to develop
  applications that target the .NET Compact
  Framework
• Supported devices include
• Pocket PC 2000
• Pocket PC 2002
• Pocket PC 2002 Phone Edition
• Custom-designed embedded devices built with the
  Windows CE .NET 4.1 operating system
• Supported languages are Visual Basic and C

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How to Design a Smart Device Application

• Usability is a key consideration
• Avoid requiring intensive data entry
• Provide access to the Software Input Panel (SIP)
• Enable device hardware buttons
• Avoid presenting too many options
• Use large buttons

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How to Create a Smart Device Application

• Create a New Smart Device Application Project
• Choose the platform and type of project
• Add additional forms, controls, and code

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How to Test a Smart Device Application

• Visual Studio .NET 2003 includes device emulators
  that let you test your application
• Pocket PC 2002
• Windows CE .NET 4.1
• You should also test with an actual device
• Debugging
• Set breakpoints
• Step through executing code in emulators or on
  device

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How to Deploy a Smart Device Application

• You can use Microsoft ActiveSync from a desktop
  computer to manually deploy applications
• You can also use automated distribution
  mechanisms such as
• Downloading CAB files from a Web site
• Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS)

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Demonstration Creating a Smart Device Application

• In this demonstration, you will see how to create
  a Smart Device application that uses the Soft
  Input Panel (SIP) and SQL Server CE.

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ASP.NET Mobile Web Applications

• Components
• Mobile controls
• Mobile designer
• Rich device identification
• Rapidly develop Mobile Web Applications
• Powerful and flexible
• Easy to customize and extend
• For future devices

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Mobile Controls

• Render based on device capabilities
• Automatically output multiple markup languages
• Built upon ASP.NET control base classes
• Common controls
• Label
• TextView
• Link
• Calendar

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Extensible Control Model
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ASP .NET Mobile Web Form Designer

• Integrated into Visual Studio
• Code development
• Debugging
• Code management
• Uses familiar (Visual Basic-like) authoring
• Drag and drop creation of mobile applications
• Properties and events
• Allows Web applications to be authored in
  numerous languages

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Mobile Web Form Designer
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Device Identification

• Schema for tracking device capabilities
• Browser version
• Markup language
• Display parameters
• Resolution
• Pagination lines
• Image capabilities
• Input methods (e.g., number of soft keys)
• Etc

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ASP.NET Mobile Web Applications Demo
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Questions