Pocket PC Developer's Guide (Application Development) (Paperback)

by Bruce E. Krell (Conductor) "Windows CE manages every version of the Pocket PC (PPC)..." (more)
Key Phrases: virtual drawing space, message cracker, caret resource, Visual Studio, File Explorer, Attach the Pocket (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Build real-world applications for Windows CE using this comprehensive developer's guide. Combining both theory and practical advice, this book will show you how to develop ActiveX controls, use embedded databases, and learn features of good multi-threaded design. Also included are debugging tips and tricks.

From the Back Cover
Engineer Your Way to Excellence

Develop a full range of applications for Microsoft-powered mobile devices. Tap into the rich array of reusable interface components available through the Windows CE operating system. Pocket PC Developer's Guide leads you through development of effective software designs and introduces a set of libraries and tools that significantly shortens your development time. In addition, this book provides a series of practical applications involving graphical user interfaces that effectively utilize the small screen space of the Pocket PC--including drawing and word processing programs, complex user interfaces, COM components, embedded databases, and multithread architectures.

• Understand Windows CE architecture
• Utilize platform-portable designs
• Develop readable code with classes
• Accommodate the Pocket PC display screen size
• Manage application and data memory
• Work with COM Objects
• Execute sound multithread designs
• Optimize and debug Pocket PC applications
• Effectively design a user interface using a state machine for reliable, deterministic execution behavior
• Implement an image processing program that rapidly performs edge detection

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Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill/OsborneMedia; 1st edition (April 10, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0072131500
• ISBN-13: 978-0072131505
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,365,622 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Perhaps my copy had the wrong cover on it..., March 11, 2003

By	N. Farina "tech entrepreneur" (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought this book last July, because it was one of the only books that billed itself as a "Pocket PC" specific development guide, and not just Windows CE. It even had "PocketPC 2002" on the cover, so I figured it MUST be current. Plus, at the time, the reviews here were overwhelmingly positive (a mystery to me now).

What I found inside turned out to be a pretty dangerous book, to someone like myself who had no previous Win32 API experience. Every single API function and programming practice is as old as the first version of WinCE. Specific (and crucial) PocketPC functionality such as the SIP, new human interface guidelines, hardware buttons, you name it - it's just not there. The screenshots of his example programs look like old WinCE programs resized to fit the PocketPC screen - and they still have the Windows95 3D effects and menubar at the top. It's embarassing.

This is clearly a repackaged and outdated book hiding in a new cover.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The worst programming book I have ever read, June 23, 2003

By	Y. Sageev "a garden-variety dude" (Western NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am a professional software engineer who was looking for specifics on CE development. In the course of my career I have read Stroustrup, Design Patterns, Algorithm books, you name it. I have never, ever, seen a book this awful. Dr. (!) Krell preaches about the "subtleties" of pocket pc interface design. Patronizes about the importance of being a user in order to understand UI's. He constantly refers back to his little, custom developed GUI framework whenever he discusses building UI's for CE, but doesn't make it clear when the function is in the Windows API or his little framework. He generalizes in a chapter about just what good software architecture means. His steps are laborious and often humourous ("Step 1. Launch embedded Visual C++").

If you wish to waste money buy this book. I would give it a 0, but that's sadly not an option.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Great Disappointment, December 4, 2002

By A Customer

Wanting to enter the world of Pocket PC development, I have been searching for books on the topic. I am already an accomplished programmer and was simply looking for specifics on the topic. With a title like Pocket PC Developer's Guide, I thought I had found that resource. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed.

The book deals mainly with Windows CE programming in general and very little with Pocket PC specifically. When it does approach the topic, it still skips over many of the required and/or recommded practices for this platform. For example, nowhere in the book is there mention of handling of the SIP or other Pocket PC-specific details. Nowhere is there any mention of Pocket PC-specific messages in the WndProc. How is one supposed to learn anything about Pocket PC programming from this book when the author clearly doesn't discuss the bulk of what makes the platform unique.

What the author does do, however, and in excess, is preach. He goes on and on about his programming techniques and, in fact, spends chapters on the topic of his styles. Again, this is supposed to be a book on PocketPC development, not a general programming book.

I ended up getting the Windows CE book from Microsoft by Boling. True, it deals mainly with Windows CE in general, but it has two large chapters on Pocket PC which provide more information on the specifics that in all of Krell's book!

Stay away from this book if you're looking to develop on the Pocket PC. You're not going to learn much here.