Release Notes:

.NET Compact Framework Update for Microsoft Windows CE .NET 4.1 Platform Builder

This document contains important information about the .NET Compact Framework Update for Microsoft Windows CE .NET 4.1 Platform Builder.

Description

This update package will replace the .NET Compact Framework Beta that shipped in Platform Builder 4.1 with the .NET Compact Framework 1.0 RTM (Final Version). It will also remove all Beta warnings, expiration restrictions and flags disabling ship builds. Additionally, this update includes the following two additional features which will appear in the Platform Builder catalog:

SQL Server CE 2.0 and the ADO.NET Data Provider

SQL Server ADO.NET Data Provider

System Requirements

To install this update you must have Platform Builder 4.1 installed on your PC with the default installation setup.

Installation Issues

Uninstall Not Supported

This update does not support uninstall. To uninstall this update, you will need to uninstall Platform Builder 4.1, delete any files that are left over from this update manually, then re-install Platform Builder 4.1. Note that some registry keys may be left behind by this update. To remove all registry keys you may use the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility, available from http://support.microsoft.com, in KB Article 238413.

Issues with Building Images

Adding managed applications to device images

Managed applications (*.exe) behave just like standard applications. Applications will look for a DLL first in the directory they are installed in and afterwards in the path and windows directory. The tool that is used to create the applications is Visual Studio .NET 2003. If one has a beta version of the tool, until the tool releases, applications can be shipped under a special "Go Live" program (look at http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/device)

Adding .NET Compact Framework to image will not add OS dependencies

The .NET Compact Framework has the following OS dependencies:

From the catalog in Platform Builder, include:

C++ Exception Handling

Cryptography Services (CryptoAPI)

Windows Internet Services

Pocket Internet Explorer HTMLView (WEBVIEW)

OR If you are building your image from the command line, set the following:

set SYSGEN_CPP_SEH=1

set SYSGEN_CRYPTO=1

set SYSGEN_WININET=1

set SYSGEN_WEBVIEW=1

If you are creating a custom image in Platform Builder (not using one of the platform wizards) and include the .NET Compact Framework in your image, you will have to manually include all of the above OS dependencies. Additionally, if you are using any of the following default Platform Builder wizards to create your image, then you will have to manually include the Pocket Internet Explorer HTMLView (WEBVIEW) component. (set SYSGEN_WEBVIEW=1)

Industrial Automation

Set Top Box

Web Pad

All of the other default Platform Builder wizards that include the .NET Compact Framework already include all necessary OS dependencies.

Microsoft .NET Compact Framework is not supported in configuration without GDI support (Headless)

The current implementation of the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework requires the device to have GDI support. Including the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework in a headless configuration is still possible (although not supported) and will result in exceptions during managed application execution.

Documentation Issues

This update does not update the documentation in Platform Builder. Therefore, the documentation for the .NET Compact Framework in Platform Builder will be out of date after installing this update. There are two help topics for the .NET Compact Framework, listed below with the correct updated documentation:

Microsoft .NET Compact Framework Overview

The Microsoftâ .NET Compact Framework is a hardware-independent program execution environment for secure downloadable applications targeting resource-constrained computing devices. This environment offers a choice of languages, initially Microsoft Visual Basicâ and Microsoft Visual C#Ô, and eliminates problems with language interoperability.

Feature Summary

The following table shows operating system (OS) design information for .NET Compact Framework.

Element

Information

Dependencies

None

Hardware considerations

Only available in display-based configurations

Modules and Components

The following table shows the module that implements the .NET Compact Framework.

Item

Module

Component

.NET Compact Framework

dotnetprof2

None

Microsoft .NET Compact Framework Implementation Considerations

All .NET Compact Framework files are located in the %_WINCEROOT%\Public\NETCF directory.

When adding developer built .NET Compact Framework .exe or .dll files to an OS image, the files should be added to the FILES section of the ROM image. Do not add the files to the MODULES section because Platform Builder adds this section by default. If your .NET Compact Framework .exe or .dll file is added to the MODULES section, it will not run.

The following table shows the sysgen variable that controls the .NET Compact Framework feature.

Sysgen variable

Feature

SYSGEN_DOTNET_PROFILE2

Adds base .NET Compact Framework components