Developing SQL Server CE based Pocket PC Applications using Visual Studio.NET
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This article focuses on installing, working with and developing SQL Server CE based applications using a Pocket PC emulator with Visual Studio.NET 2003.
A downloadable file for this article is available
here.
It is suggested that you download and install the Pocket PC 2003 SDK (available free) and the additional most recent Pocket PC emulators from the Microsoft website (as I use them in this article).
I already contributed an introductory article on developing Pocket PC applications using Visual Studio.NET 2003 right here. If you are new to mobile application development (or confused by Windows mobile, smart phone, Windows CE, Pocket PC and so on), I strongly suggest you go through the previous article before proceeding further.
What is Microsoft SQL Server CE and how is it installed?
In my previous article, I introduced you to developing simple applications using a Pocket PC emulator with Visual Studio.NET 2003. In this article, I would like to introduce Microsoft SQL Server CE using a Pocket PC emulator.
In general, to work with Microsoft SQL Server 2000, we need to buy it (unless it is MSDE), install it and configure it. It is not a complex task for a development environment. But if we are going to deploy our applications on Microsoft SQL Server 2000 for a production environment, we need to consider several issues (like high availability, security, performance, load balancing, and so on). Depending on the complexity, we need to hire suitable SQL Server experts (or simply DBAs).
Coming to Microsoft SQL Server CE, do we really need expert DBAs? Can we do it on our own? To answer the above questions, we need to understand the real scenario. Microsoft SQL Server CE (or Compact Edition) is a scaled down version of Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and is specially designed to fit within almost any Windows Mobile. It is not as complex as the standard Microsoft SQL Server 2000.
Any developer who is familiar with Query Analyzer in Microsoft SQL Server 2000 can easily work with Microsoft SQL Server CE (as it has its own scaled down version of Query Analyzer). Installing Microsoft SQL Server CE onto a Pocket PC (or emulator) is very easy.
Simply develop a Microsoft SQL Server CE based application for Pocket PC using Visual Studio.NET 2003 and execute (which itself deploys) the application. If the Pocket PC is not equipped with the .NET Compact Framework or Microsoft SQL Server CE, the .NET run-time (or setup package of distribution) will automatically install those two (in order) and then only our application.
This is a very simple approach to installing, working with and testing Microsoft SQL Server CE with a Pocket PC emulator. The upcoming sections will introduce you to the step-by-step process of achieving the same.
Next: Installing SQL Server CE onto a Pocket PC emulator: developing the application >>
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