Developing and deploying Pocket PC installers

ApplicationMicrosoft® .NET Compact Framework 1.0
Microsoft Visual Studio® .NET 2003

Profile

Learn how to create a stand-alone. msi file that runs from the desktop to install the application on a different Pocket PC device. The development process is automated, so you can easily create and package the required components to an. msi file. The sample code is written in C # and VB.net languages.

Content Summary

Overview

Deployment

Unloading

Development

Development process Automation

Overview

The key points for developing and deploying Pocket PC applications are listed below:

Pocket PC devices have different processor types (e.g., arm,sh3,mips, etc.).

Applications use. CAB file format deployment.

Cab Wizard (Cabwiz. EXE) to generate a. cab file for a specific processor.

The WinCE Application Manager deploys and installs the. cab files from the desktop onto the Pocket PC device.

We first discuss the deployment and uninstall process, followed by automation of the development and development process.

Deployment

The average user can install the Pocket PC application by copying and running the appropriate. cab files to their devices, but a better solution is to run the. msi file from the desktop to install the application to its device. The. msi file detects the device type, copies the correct. cab file to the device, and then runs the. cab file to install the application. All processes are transparent to the user, and the application can be automatically installed on the Pocket PC as long as the user runs the. msi file on its desktop.

The following steps are based on the. msi deployment:

The user runs the. msi file on their desktop.

The MSI file is Setup.ini to a specific processor. cab file, and a custom installer component.

During installation, the installer component is invoked to deploy and install the correct. cab file to the device by running the WinCE Application Manager (WinCE Application Manager).

The Setup.ini file provides application description information to the WinCE application Manager.

The following figure illustrates the parts related to the deployment process, followed by the description of each section.

Figure I contains each module in the deployment process