The Definitive Guide to the .NET Compact Framework [Paperback]

Larry Roof (Author), Dan Fergus (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

<p> The .NET Compact Framework brings the world of managed code and XML Web services to smart devices, and it enables the execution of secure, downloadable applications on devices such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, and set-top boxes. </p> <p> <i>The Definitive Guide to the .NET Compact Framework</i> targets both first-time and experienced mobile developers, and is a comprehensive guide to building mobile applications using the .NET Compact Framework (CF) and Smart Device Extensions (SDE) for Visual Studio .NET. Expert authors Larry Roof and Dan Fergus provide developers with everything they need to produce robust applications, including how to create effective user interfaces, work with device-based data sources, access enterprise data, leverage Web services, incorporate XML into applications, build help systems, and generate setup routines.

About the Author

Dan Fergus currently works as a consultant and trainer teaching a Compact Framework course along with Visual Basic .NET and ASP.NET courses. Dan has been working with .NET and the Compact Framework since the beginning, and currently has several applications on the PocketPC on the market. Before becoming an independent contractor, Dan worked at NuMega Technologies as the development lead on Visual Basic 6 debugging tools. Dan also speaks at developer conferences around the world and writes for several magazines.

Larry Roof has been a key individual in the Windows CE market from the beginning. He authored the first book on developing mobile applications with Visual Basic for Windows CE, is a frequent speaker at major technical conferences, writes a monthly column for MSDN Voices, and runs face-to-face training on developing mobile applications.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1032 pages
• Publisher: Apress; 1 edition (September 19, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590590953
• ISBN-13: 978-1590590959
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.8 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,287,672 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Apart from some limitations this is good work, March 15, 2004

By	Daniel Moth (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Definitive Guide to the .NET Compact Framework (Paperback)

It is important to understand that this is a VB book through and through. In fact many concepts are explained assuming an understanding of eVB/VB. If that is indeed your background and you are not a C# person, then the book deserves 4 stars; but obviously if you are not, you should look elsewhere. The other thing to keep in mind, is that it only covers development for the PocketPC; in other words if you are cutting code for a custom WindowsCE, device then you will find no coverage regarding the differences of the 2 platforms.

Beginner to intermediate CF developers will benefit from a well written book, both in style and coverage (even though the book was written before both Service Packs and before the SmartPhone release). The tutorial style is not to my liking and it is annoying to read the same concepts first in theory and then re-read them for each sample at the end of the chapter. Had this been avoided the book would be rather smaller as well (instead of the 1000 pages that it is). However, that is probably individual preference rather than criticism and if you don't mind repetition it shouldn't bug you much.

The two areas that I think should have been covered (and are in books from the competition) are performance (measuring, optimising techniques, pitfalls etc) and threading. In fact, not only threading is completely ignored, but in most samples Windows.Forms.Timers are used combined with Application.DoEvents (whereas threading would have made a much more natural solution).

Apart from the aforementioned limitations, anything else you'd expect to see covered is! There is no point repeating here the table of contents that you can check out for yourselves. Unique areas (compared with the competition) covered are accessing the POOM (but the chapter is entirely based on a 3rd party product), building help systems and producing reports (again based on 3rd party products).

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Bad!, December 21, 2004

By	Leong Hao Zhi - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Definitive Guide to the .NET Compact Framework (Paperback)

This book is great! i have another book on .net CF, but this book really helped me out in my project! Highly recommended for intermediate readers on .Net CF development. Easy to understand examples given too! but its in VB.Net.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book of Compact Framework, November 28, 2006

By	Rosana de Oliveira (São Paulo - Brasil) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Definitive Guide to the .NET Compact Framework (Paperback)

I've bought this book two years ago to develop a project in [...] not for Pocket PC. I am very satisfied with the book, because you can't find a book about only Windows CE .NET and development for industry, then I decided to buy a book about Pocket PC, learn .NET Compact framework and adapt it to my industrial project. I did the right thing. I've learned the basic and advanced features of .NET compact framework and nowadays I still use this book as reference for development. This book is always on my desk.