Building Solutions with the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework Architecture and Best Practices for Mobile Development

by Fox, Dan; Box, Jon

• ISBN13: 9780321197887
• ISBN10: 0321197887
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-10-28
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional

Summary

- The .NET Compact Framework (CF) brings the power of .NET to mobile devices, yet there is very little information on how to use it effectively - The number of developers using the .NET CF over the next few years is anticipated to increase greatly - Covers related important topics such as SQL Server 2000 Windows CE edition

Author Biography

Dan Fox is a technical director for Quilogy.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xv
Acknowledgments	xxiii
About the Authors	xxv
PART I-THE PDA DEVELOPMENT LANDSCAPE WITH THE COMPACT FRAMEWORK	1	(72)
Chapter 1 The Rise of Mobile Devices	3	(26)
Executive Summary	3	(1)
The Need for Mobility	3	(3)
Information Anywhere, Anytime, and on Any Device	6	(7)
Using Information	6	(2)
Anywhere and Anytime	8	(1)
On Any Device	9	(4)
Microsoft and Mobility	13	(9)
Operating Systems	14	(4)
Platforms	18	(2)
Development Tools	20	(2)
The Compact Framework and SDP in Context	22	(4)
The Role of the ASP.NET Mobile Controls	24	(2)
What's Ahead	26	(1)
Related Reading	27	(2)
Chapter 2 Components of Mobile Development	29	(44)
Executive Summary	29	(1)
.NET and Smart Devices	30	(6)
XML Web Services	31	(1)
Windows NET Framework	32	(4)
Goals of the Compact Framework and SDP	36	(1)
The .NET Compact Framework	37	(14)
Architecture	38	(11)
Portability	49	(2)
SDP	51	(20)
Project System	51	(2)
NET Language Support	53	(2)
UISupport	55	(11)
Emulators	66	(4)
Debugging	70	(1)
Additional Tools	71	(1)
What's Ahead	71	(1)
Related Reading	72	(1)
PART II-ESSENTIAL ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPTS	73	(186)
Chapter 3 Accessing Local Data	75	(36)
Executive Summary	75	(1)
The Need for Local Data Handling	76	(1)
Using File I/O	77	(15)
Reading and Writing Text Files	79	(4)
Asynchronous File Access	83	(4)
Manipulating Files and Directories	87	(5)
Handling XML	92	(7)
Using the DOM	92	(2)
Using XML Readers and Writers	94	(3)
Using XML Writers	97	(2)
Working with Relational Data	99	(5)
ADO.NET in the Compact Framework	99	(1)
Reading and Writing Data	100	(4)
Displaying Data	104	(6)
Data Binding	104	(4)
Manual Binding	108	(2)
What's Ahead	110	(1)
Related Reading	110	(1)
Chapter 4 Accessing Remote Data	111	(42)
Executive Summary	111	(1)
Have PDA, Will Travel	112	(1)
Wireless Application Factors around Accessing Remote Data	113	(8)
Application Factors	114	(1)
Connection Type and Distance	114	(4)
Throughput	118	(1)
Battery Power	118	(1)
Communication Hardware for the Mobile Device	119	(1)
Cost	120	(1)
How the Compact Framework Addresses Accessing Remote Data	121	(30)
XML Web Services	121	(7)
Accessing SQL Server Remotely	128	(8)
Using Pluggable Protocols	136	(1)
Direct Communication with Sockets	137	(4)
Communicating with TCP and UDP	141	(1)
Communicating Using Infrared	142	(4)
Other Issues in Network Communications	146	(1)
Compact Framework Asynchronous Capabilities in Networking	147	(4)
What's Ahead	151	(1)
Related Reading	151	(2)
Chapter 5 Caching Data with SQL Server CE	153	(40)
Executive Summary	153	(1)
The Role of SQLCE	154	(4)
History of SQLCE	154	(2)
Robust Data Caching	156	(2)
SQLCE Architecture	158	(3)
SQL Server CE Engine	159	(1)
Query Analyzer	160	(1)
Accessing SQLCE	161	(24)
SglServerCe Provider Architecture	162	(1)
Manipulating Data with SglServerCe	163	(22)
Administering SQLCE	185	(6)
Security	185	(2)
Database Maintenance	187	(2)
Installation and Deployment	189	(2)
What's Ahead	191	(1)
Related Reading	191	(2)
Chapter 6 Primitive Synchronization	193	(24)
Executive Summary	193	(1)
The Importance of Synchronization	194	(1)
What ActiveSync Is	195	(5)
Backup and Restore	196	(1)
Software Install	197	(1)
Mobile Explorer	198	(1)
File Conversion	199	(1)
Remote Communication	199	(1)
Connection Notification	199	(1)
The ActiveSync Architecture	200	(1)
ActiveSync Service Manager	200	(1)
ActiveSync Providers	201	(1)
Creating a Partnership	201	(2)
Developing ActiveSync Applications	203	(12)
A Managed Application Using File Synchronization	204	(8)
Utilizing RAPI in a Managed Application	212	(2)
Considerations for a Pass-Through Application	214	(1)
What's Ahead	215	(1)
Related Reading	215	(2)
Chapter 7 Data Synchronization	217	(42)
Executive Summary	217	(1)
SQLCE Synchronization	218	(4)
Connectivity Architecture	219	(2)
Connectivity Features	221	(1)
RDA	222	(20)
Features and Scenarios	222	(4)
Configuration	226	(7)
Using RDA	233	(9)
Merge Replication	242	(15)
Features and Scenarios	244	(2)
Configuration	246	(10)
Using Replication	256	(1)
What's Ahead	257	(1)
Related Reading	258	(1)
PART III-ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING CONSIDERATIONS	259	(96)
Chapter 8 Localization	261	(24)
Executive Summary	261	(1)
The Need for Globalization and Localization	262	(2)
Guidelines for Globalization and Localization	263	(1)
Globalization and Localization Support	264	(18)
Understanding Cultures	264	(5)
Localizing Data	269	(8)
Using Resources and Satellite Assemblies	277	(5)
Other Localization Issues	282	(1)
Localized Exception Strings	282	(1)
Testing World Ready Applications	282	(1)
What's Ahead	283	(1)
Related Reading	283	(2)
Chapter 9 Securing Compact Framework Solutions	285	(26)
Executive Summary	285	(1)
Security Issues and Principles	286	(2)
Securing the Device	288	(3)
Authentication	288	(2)
Antivirus Protection	290	(1)
Lockdown	290	(1)
Securing the Application	291	(12)
Authentication	291	(7)
Data Protection	298	(2)
Securing User Input	300	(3)
Securing Communications	303	(5)
Secure Sockets Layer	303	(1)
Virtual Private Networks	304	(1)
Wired Equivalent Privacy	305	(1)
Custom SOAP Extensions	306	(2)
What's Ahead	308	(1)
Related Reading	309	(2)
Chapter 10 Packaging and Deployment	311	(20)
Executive Summary	311	(1)
Packaging and Deploying in the Compact Framework	312	(1)
Versioning in the Compact Framework	312	(6)
Private Assemblies	313	(1)
Shared Assemblies	314	(4)
Packaging Compact Framework Applications	318	(4)
Setting Project and File Options	319	(1)
Creating a CAB File	320	(2)
Deployment and Installation	322	(8)
Using ActiveSync	322	(3)
Using a Web Site	325	(1)
Using a Storage Card	326	(1)
Using a File Share	327	(1)
Setting Up Autodeployment	327	(3)
What's Ahead	330	(1)
Related Reading	330	(1)
Chapter 11 Developer Challenges	331	(24)
Executive Summary	331	(1)
Issues and Challenges	332	(1)
Augmenting the Compact Framework	332	(15)
Using Plnvoke	333	(11)
Additional Tools	344	(3)
Measuring and Improving Performance	347	(6)
Measuring Performance	347	(2)
Enabling Performance Statistics	349	(1)
Performance Issues	350	(2)
Improving Performance	352	(1)
A Final Word	353	(1)
Related Reading	353	(2)
Index	355

Excerpts

A Brave New World The last three years have been exciting times for architects and developers. Microsoft, in the spring of 2000, first announced a vision for computing termed Next Generation Windows Services (NGWS), which in February of 2002 materialized as Visual Studio .NET (VS .NET) and the Microsoft Windows .NET Framework. These products brought object-oriented programming to the world of Web development and helped mainstream the paradigm of connected applications using XML Web Services. However, it could be argued that the biggest boon for developers working with Microsoft development tools such as Visual Basic 6.0 (VB), Visual Interdev, Active Server Pages (ASP), and Visual C++ was that the introduction of the .NET Framework unified the programming model. Now, developers could use a common Integrated Development Environment (IDE), core languages, and tools and reap the benefits of rapid application development (RAD) programming inherent in VB, Web server applications with ASP, and powerful object-oriented development with Visual C++. This unification created opportunities for developers to extend their skills into new application areas by leveraging a core set of class libraries tied to a runtime engine and development environment. Fast-forward a little more than a year. Microsoft has now built on the foundation laid by v1.0 of the Windows .NET Framework by releasing v1.1 and Visual Studio .NET 2003. In this release not only has Microsoft consolidated features released after the initial release to manufacturing (RTM), including ADO.NET Data Providers for ODBC and Oracle, Visual J#, and ASP.NET Mobile Controls--formerly the Microsoft Mobile Internet Toolkit (MMIT)--it has further expanded the reach of developers by including the Compact Framework and Smart Device Projects (SDP). These two together allow developers familiar with the desktop Framework to use the same core languages (VB and C#), runtime engine, and IDE to create applications targeted to smart devices, such as the Pocket PC 2002. But with this increased opportunity come additional challenges for architects and developers. The key is to understand not only the nuts and bolts of the technology, but how and in what scenarios to apply it when building solutions. This is the reason we wrote this book, and we hope the reason you've decided to read it. That is also why we strive in each section to provide the big picture in order to give you enough technical information to understand the challenges and techniques that can be used, while not getting bogged down in every last detail of implementation. For this reason, you'll notice that we rely heavily on short code snippets, listings, and pointers to other resources. A Note about Audience As mentioned in the previous section, we've written this book with architects, technical managers, and developers working in the corporate world in mind. Because these three roles often have a large diversity of skill sets, there may be parts of the discussion that are too detailed for some readers. If you find this to be the case, we urge you to rely on the executive summaries at the beginning of each chapter, which summarize key chapter points. We also recommend looking for the key point icons in the margins. These icons indicate special considerations or, as the name implies, key points that we don't want you to miss. For other readers the code snippets and listings may leave you wanting more. This is good and done by design; for this reason at the end of each chapter we've included a "Related Reading" section that discusses chapter topics in greater depth. Because some of the entries in the "Related Reading" sections necessarily refer to Web sites, keep in mind that links may change, and you may need to search for the article title, rather than using the address provided. For your convenience, we've plac