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An Overview Of Microsoft's .NET Mobility Technologies

Presentation By:

Derek Ferguson, Chief Technology Evangelist

derek.ferguson@XB.com

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Presentation Overview

• The .NET Compact Framework

• The Mobile Internet Controls Runtime

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Mobile .NET in a nutshell

.NET Framework.NET Framework

Mobile InternetControls Runtime

Mobile InternetControls Runtime

Mobile Web Browser

Mobile Web Browser

.NET CompactFramework

.NET CompactFramework

CAB FileCAB File

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Development Computer Requirements

• Hardware• Pentium III @ 600 MHz

• 150 MB Hard Disk Space

• 800 x 600 @ 256 colors

• 256 MB RAM

• Software• Windows XP or 2000

• ActiveSync 3.5

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Device Requirements

• Operating System• Pocket PC

• Pocket PC 2002

• Windows CE .NET

• RAM Space• 2 MB

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Architecture

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Application Domains

• Benefits of OS processes without the overhead• Fault isolation

• Security

• Performance

• Partial support under the Compact Framework• Can create multiple application domains

• No domain-neutral code area

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Security

• An open programming environment is assumed…• No role-based security

• No zone-based security

• No AllowPartiallyTrustedCallersAttribute

• No declarative permission requests

• pInvoke can execute whatever native code it likes

• You can, however, verify code identity…• Assemblies can be given strong names before deployment

• Assembly names can be verified at run time

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Tools

• C# is nearly identical

• Visual Basic is different• /netcf switch required to target the Compact Framework syntax

• /sdkpath switch required to point to…‒ mscorlib.dll‒ microsoft.visualbasic.dll

• Debugging is only possible from within the VB device project

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Application Types

• Windows Applications

• Class Libraries

• Windows Control Libraries

• Console Applications (Windows CE only)

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Debugging

• The Emulators• Run real Windows CE bits

• Still x86 processors

• Real Devices• USB or serial connections are OK

• Ethernet or 802.11 are better

• In either case…• No way to debug from managed into unmanaged

• No edit and continue

• No attaching to existing processes

• Need a “Loopback Adapter” before VS.NET 2003

• Map a shared drive to move files

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What you have, and what you don’t have…

SystemSystem

System.DataSystem.Data System.XmlSystem.Xml

System.WebSystem.Web

GlobalizationGlobalization

TextText

SecuritySecurity

CollectionsCollections

ResourcesResources

ReflectionReflection

NetNet

IOIO

ThreadingThreading

DiagnosticsDiagnostics

ServiceProcessServiceProcess

ConfigurationConfiguration

DesignDesign

ADO.NETADO.NET

SqlServerCeSqlServerCe

SqlClientSqlClient

Xslt/XPathXslt/XPath

XmlDocumentXmlDocument

RuntimeRuntimeInteropServicesInteropServices

RemotingRemoting

SerializationSerialization

SerializationSerialization

ConfigurationConfigurationSessionStateSessionStateCachingCaching

ServicesServicesDescriptionDescription

DiscoveryDiscovery

ProtocolsProtocols

UIUIHtmlControlsHtmlControls

WebControlsWebControls

System.DrawingSystem.Drawing

ImagingImaging

Drawing2DDrawing2D PrintingPrinting

System.WinFormsSystem.WinForms

DesignDesign ComponentModelComponentModel

Reader/WritersReader/Writers

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Demo #1

A mobile Web Service client

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Question & Answer

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Windows CE Fundamentals

• One of Microsoft’s three flavors of Windows for devices• Windows CE and CE.NET are for devices

• Windows NT Embedded and XP Embedded for “serious” appliances

• Really a smorgasbord of OS components• OEM’s choose their favorite bits

• Platform Builder is the tool for doing the choosing

• Microsoft sets standards or CE “flavors” – such as Pocket PC OS• Some components must be chosen under Platform Builder

• Some hardware specifications must be met

• OEM’s are free to add whatever else they like

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Windows CE Popularity

• Pocket PC is the Windows CE poster child• Already beaten Palm OS in terms of PDA revenues

• iPaqs are, by far, the leading Pocket PCs

• Twice the cost of a Palm device – but 10 times the functionality!

• CE.NET is the champion of new computing• These devices will be first to ship Compact Framework (Beta 1)

• Handheld PCs and Palm PCs were also Windows CE

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Windows CE Web Development

• Pocket Internet Explorer is the CE browser

• First version was very limited, but you don’t see it much

• Next version of Pocket PC’s had good functionality:• Some DHTML support

• HTML 3.2

• Integrated with some custom Java implementations

• ECMAScript

• Newest version on Pocket PC 2002 is even better:• ActiveX downloading

• Some ability to be hosted in other applications

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i-Mode Fundamentals

• Developed by NTT DoCoMo

• Involved investing in more powerful phones

• Marketed exclusively in Japan

• Only now starting to show up in some US and Europe markets

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i-Mode Popularity

• Over 20 million subscribers in Japan since 1996

• Cultural differences help• Long commutes

• Expensive dedicated Internet connections

• One of the few wireless services to turn a good profit

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i-Mode Web Development

• Compact HTML• Medium-sized subset of HTML 3.2

• Specification is on-line…‒ http://www.w3.org/TR/1998/NOTE-compactHTML-19980209/

• All HTML is well-formed XML in this standard

• Only one font and one color (black)

• Frames and Tables

• Images

• All kinds of INPUT tags (including file uploads)

• Links and clickmaps

• Have to put your content on the right network for access

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WAP Fundamentals

• Direct successor to the very first markup language for mobile devices – HDML

• HDML was developed by Phone.com, which merged with Software.com to become OpenWave (www.openwave.com)

• HDML was a subset of HTML, but introduced the concept of “cards”

• WAP was created as HDML evolved and became an “open standard” (www.wapforum.org)

• WAP consists of many parts:• WDP – Transport Layer

• WTLS – Security Layer

• WTP – Transaction Layer

• WSP – Session Layer

• WAE – Application Layer

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WAP Popularity

• At the end of 2000, WAP looked like the “next big thing”

• Unfortunately:• WAP’s markup language (WML) is very restrictive

• Using software on WAP devices has failed to appeal to US culture

• WAP security is typically insufficient

• By the end of 2001, people were commonly asking: “Is WAP crap?”

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WAP Web Development

• WML is the markup language sent from servers to WAP devices

• 100% XML

• A single WML page can contain multiple screens, known as “cards”• This dramatically reduces number of server hits and latency

• Because XML describes data rather than presentation, WML offers very little in the way of formatting

• Input buttons will be mapped the way that a given device deems appropriate under various circumstances

• WBMP is the only supported image format

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Fundamental controls

• MobilePage

• Form

• Label

• Textbox

• Command

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System Requirements

• Windows NT 4, 2000, or XP

• .NET Framework

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Validators

• CompareValidator

• RangeValidator

• RegularExpressionValidator

• RequiredFieldValidator

• CustomValidator

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Special Controls

• Calendar

• Link

• Phone Call

• Ad Rotator

• TextView

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Lists

• List

• SelectionList

• ObjectList

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Error Handling

• Error messages will be automatically formatted for mobile devices

• Mobile device errors only show:• Exception raised

• Method that raised the exception

• MICR lies about the HTTP response code when it has to.

• To use custom error pages with WAP, you must specify UseFullyQualifiedRedirectURL in web.config

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Debugging

• Same as any other ASP.NET application

• No client-side breakpoints in VS.NET

• In web.config, “debug” attribute of “compilation” node:• True for debugging

• False for performance

• Tracing:• Can be enabled

• Won’t show up on mobile devices

• Will show up when viewed separately with Internet Explorer

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Summary

• .NET provides two main technologies for mobile computing

• The .NET Compact Framework• Provides a platform for code you can take with you

• Has some very steep device resource requirements

• Complete UI flexibility

• The MICR• Adapts Web markup to differing device requirements

• Requires a constant Internet connection

• Limited UI richness

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Demo #2

A Mobile Web Application