Develop Bugs

Windows Phone 7: Express Develop Applications

Several weeks ago, April 12th, Microsoft released the new Visual Studio 2010 (VS2010), the most advanced Integrated Development Enviroment (IDE) for all Windows and Windows related platforms. Because the professional version of VS2010 costs over $10,000, Microsoft also released free stripped down versions of the IDE for students and non-commercial use. Where in the previous Express Editions, 2005 and 2008, you couldn’t target Windows Mobile as development platform, Microsoft just released a new Express for Phone edition.
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It's quite an informative article guys, go here to read more http://www.techit.in/windows-phone-7-express-develop-applications/

I've been testing Visual Studio 2010 for over half a year now and I can say it is an amazing product. I don't want to sound like an advertisement, but it does work great. It's true that if you install the professional version (the RC I have, which will expire in a month or so) it will require over 4Gig of space, it is all worth it. Though applications like SharpDevelop or Borland C#Builder are great products, this is just that little better. For most part the Express editions are the same, there just single applications targeting only one platform. In this case the Windows Phone 7 platform.
Extra: I just installed the Express edition, I must say it works great. In the RC I can't target Windows Phone (without hacks that is, editing the registry enables this function) but now I can... Thanks for the heads-up!

WP7 app development - Any advice on getting started?

Hey there, thanks for reading.
I decided that I want to learn how to program apps and possibly games for WP7.
Because my holidays are almost starting, now's the time for me to do so.
I already have Visual Studio for Windows Phone up and running, and I encountered the getting started pages on the official silverlight website.
However, it kinda feels like being thrown into the deep and having to do everything in one big leap, instead of being able to start with basics and then move on in smaller steps.
Does any of you have advice for me on what would be good ways to get started? Any advice is appreciated.
I do have vast experience with PHP, but I believe that the syntax is completely different from SL.
Thanks in advance!

My advice would be to learn the basics of c# first. Any previous online tutorials for c# apply to windows phone 7. There are some minor differences but the basics are the same.
Check out http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/windowsphone7series/threads which is the official forums for Windows Phone 7 and there's a lot of good info there.
The code samples at http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff431744(VS.92).aspx are also worth playing around with.

Ideally you want to know C# for a starters. There's plenty of tutorials on MSDN or the web, but I can also recommend buying the book: Pro C# 2010 and the .NET Platform from Apress.
It's learns you the language, and also goes over XAML related technologies, and even though it's mostly WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) the core principles apply for Silverlight as well.
After you learned C#, it's time to learn Sivlerlight in dept, and by this I mean XAML, and the limitations in the .NET subset used for Silverlight.
For tools you wish to get Visual Studio 2010 Express, and Expression Blend 4. You can get the Release Candidate free for now, to try out development.
Make a note of that your computer need to support hardware-visualization to run the emulator without a incredible amount of lag!
If you're used to programming you might quickly learn Visual Studio, but Expression Blend requires a good amount of time to get used to. I'll recommend setting off a weekend where you use 2x8 hours to learn it.
You'll be using both Visual Studio and Expression Blend at the same time, C# for application-logic (ie. C# code) and Blend for design.
Designing in Blend is really simple, see for example expressionblend.png.
One of the articles I want to recommend you to read once you got into this entire XAML thing, is this article explaining how to do paging, as it's one of the core concepts, but also provides a good exercise in using Expression Blend.

Also, to get a handle of the basics, Microsoft has put together a site to encourage people to get involved with WP7 and Silverlight. The website is: http://www.microsoft.com/design/toolbox/
Its a real beginners course to all the programming one will be involved in on the WP7 platform. This won't get you very far in programming, but will teach you the absolute basics. From there you can always get assistance from the great members of XDA (me excluded)

Pretty cool site. Now we just need them to release a free-WP7 version of Expression Blend.
The current process to get started is way to messy, but I guess they already know that

Allright, thanks for these replies
My holidays are (unofficialy) starting in three days, so I'll have plenty of time available.
Luckily my rig runs the emulator buttersmooth (I ran the unlocked WP7 rom with it, to try the OS in it's current state) so that won't be an issue.
These links should get me going in the right direction (H)

Another must-have link is the unofficial Pivot and Panorama controls: http://phone.codeplex.com/

im ready for this!!!

Wow this looks like an interesting journey. Holidays? If you are a student, you can get a waiver on the $99 startup fee to post 5 applications on the windows marketplace. Check out www.dreamspark.com for more student resources.
Thanks for the information provided! I was stepping into WP7 app programming too.

Yea, thanks for telling me but I already knew about dreamspark
I've checked and I can enter by signing up with the e-mail my school provided.
However, since it's valid just one year im not using the key untill I actually own a WP7-device.

enadiz said:
Wow this looks like an interesting journey. Holidays? If you are a student, you can get a waiver on the $99 startup fee to post 5 applications on the windows marketplace. Check out www.dreamspark.com for more student resources.
Thanks for the information provided! I was stepping into WP7 app programming too.
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Sounds quite awesome. I only had MSDNAA access so far, but I believe I should have Dreamspark access when I start on my bachelor of engineering, after the summer holidays.
Btw. I made a compilation of tools and blogs that'll help developers getting started, http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=711629

Windcape said:
Sounds quite awesome. I only had MSDNAA access so far, but I believe I should have Dreamspark access when I start on my bachelor of engineering, after the summer holidays.
Btw. I made a compilation of tools and blogs that'll help developers getting started, http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=711629
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Yumm. I'll get down to learning.
The key needs to be renewed every year .. as long as you have your student email, you'll be fine

My first post on xda-developers... +_+!
Yes, as you were told C sharp learning is important so try hard to learn it then go on learning VS 2010 express and expression blend 4. I am new to WP7 dev too and like you ... am dreaming of building a good application indeed - Games are so tough and complex to build and needs teamwork I think-. I just strated leaning C# and have found a lot of good websites trough google search (Windcape compiled most of them in a useful thread you may bookmark)
However, there are a lot of ressources and books about C# and WP7 programming there in torrents world. you can search them by yourself.
Here is a small cd from lynda.com I just uploaded to demonoid.me.
Lynda Windows Phone 7 App Development
I can post links but you can search demonoid website for it.
If anyone needs invitation to demonoid he may PM me here
Also, for a good intorduction to WP7DT just search google for this series : Windows Phone 7 Jump Start
NB: I wish if we can found or make a small teams of biginners wm7 programmers;

hexham said:
NB: I wish if we can found or make a small teams of biginners wm7 programmers;
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I'm currently studying Computer Science and i am very interested in developing to WP7. I don't have vast knowledge of C# but in other languages i'm good. Let me know if there is an opening for me . Besti wishes...

Do think about the Trial Version - my version was to short - so people were complaining about it...

I haven't read through the replies yet so apologies if I'm repeating anything, but I've been a .Net Developer for around five years now so I feel like this is something that I can actually comment on.
I didn't train in anything to do with computers I just fell into this programming lark, I actually trained as an Actor believe it or not. Through needing to design a database in order to record my Acting Accounts I eventually got into V.B.A. and after ending up with a part time job using V.B.A. was finally forced to learn .Net through requirement changes at work.
I only mention this, so as you know that I wasn't born to this sort of thing and had to struggle to get my head round it.
I started with vb.net as that was almost the same as using v.b.a. but last year decided to teach myself C#. I've not used PHP so can't comment on any similarities or otherwise but I do know this.
C# was a huge shock to my system, absolutely huge. I almost gave up after a week of trying to translate my existing code, but managed to persevere and I'd say that after about two months of forcing myself to do C# only, I felt comfortable with it. A year later and I'm completely fluent and happy with C#.
It's a bugger to look at, I don't find it elegant at all, but once you get your head round the syntax then it all starts to make sense.
Get a good C# book, I'm not sure of any good ones, I've not used any, and go with the lessons in there, but don't let that stop you trying to develop your own experimental stuff in the meantime.
Syntax basics
Curly Brackets {} tend to indicate a routine block
E.g. A Function/Method/Void called Test would look like this
public void Test()
{
... Your code goes here
}
This is also the case with an If statement
E.g.
if(A==B)
{
... Your code goes here
}
Scoping/Dimming/Creating an object requires the Object type first followed by it's name
E.g. TextBox _textbox
The object being created is a TextBox and it's name is _textbox
A semi colon ; indicates the end of a block of code. If you have a particularly long line of code then you can use multiple lines but will
only need to insert the ; at the end of that particularly block of code
E.g. A=1; (This is the standard way of doing this)
A=
1; (This is not the way that I would actually do this but is just an example of what is permissable.)
I always found it useful to find C# code on the web and try to read and understand it.
The most important thing is though, don't give up. Visual Studio is widely considered one of the best coding tools in the industry and C# itself, once you get past the first impressions is a really easy language to pick up.

Thanks for the detailed explanation - the use of accolades ('{}'), multiple lines and the semicolon and the syntaxt for statements looks pretty similar to PHP.
That might just be enough motivation for me to finally get started.
yes, even though I asked about advice over halve a year ago, I never got quite to it... Maybe these similarities plus the fact that I have a Microsoft Dreamspark developer account plus the fact that in March I might have a device will be of help. If that's not enough motivation, I don't know what will be :#

Go for it!
You can always ask questions here or on somewhere like StackOverflow.com if you get stuck.
Object Orientation takes some getting used to, but atleast the garbage collector should look after your memory for you
Dave

Interesting, I hope you will get something.

Just adding my two cents here...
I thoroughly recommend that anyone getting into WP7 programming takes a very good look at the MVVM pattern (see here - it's WPF based but the difference is really only in the objects available, most silverlight code can be directly ported to WPF and vice versa). Using this pattern not only enables you to easily swp the UI for your app, it also makes debugging a whole lot easier due to the lack of UI code in the classes that actually do the work (the view models).
Another thing to try and get your head around is asynchronous programming with services, but that is not really something you want to start out with Sorry, forgot we were dealing with silverlight for a minute this is something you're going to have to learn right from the start, along with using background threads for processing data.
For anyone that needs any specific advice feel free to PM me. I'm new to the WP7 thing, but looking at the classes available which aren't available in silverlight it shouldn't be too hard to get into. And the design patterns will be the same.

[Q] WM7 or iPhone dilema - small business owner

Hi, sorry if this has already been asked before.
I'm a small business owner and software developer and have been a keen Windows Mobile Developer and have several products which users currently run on WM6 iPaq PDAs.
The cost of WM6 iPAQ PDAs is currently about £240 and as they are probably no longer being manufactured they will soon become like hens teeth(very scarce).
Currently WM7 only supports Managed code with silverlight. All my apps are written using Visual MFC.
Question 1
I need to know if there is even a hint that WM7 may support unmanaged code in the near future? Can anyone tell me this.
If not then I will have to invest in porting all my apps to the iPhone platform. Why? Because then they can run on the iPOD Touch which will cost the user about £160 (My apps don't need to run on a phone)
Question 2
Does anyone know of a device that runs WM7 that is not a phone? (Like iPAQ 114).
Question 3
Does anyone else out there find themselves in my situation?
I look forward to your replies.

What's WM7?

There is no Windows Mobile 7, there's nothing after Windows Mobile 6.
Windows Phone 7 is an entirely new platform that does not support unmanaged code, hence your MFC/c++ programs will not run on it. It only supports c# and silverlight and xda for now, Microsoft hasn't been forth coming on development plans but it's highly unlikely it will support unmanaged code.
You have to rethink your business, maybe look into other platforms if you're in the mobile device software writing business, as you said windows mobile 6 is going the way of the dodo.

Jim Coleman said:
What's WM7?
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This actually made me laugh at work, now everyone knows i'm not working lol.

Get the iPhone, and don't forget MobileMe.
Spare us the trouble...
Who uses PDAs? Those iPaqs ate terrible. Better off getting an iTouch or (gasps!) Palm Pre Plus (ATT or Verizon) if your gonna stoop that low.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

don't knock him for using PDAs, they're still very commonly used in business circles as a lot of programs were written years back.
you have your answers already... at present, they don't support managed code.

PDA Apps will work on Windows Mobile smartphones.
They have close to no use, IMO.
I had an iPAQ (still have it, in the closet). They're obsolete for all practical purposes. Smartphones have replaced them.
Don't waste money on a PDA. A PMP, maybe (though that dubious with WP7 and iPhones out there usurping iTouches and ZuneHDs). A PDA, no.
If you want a great business device, then you can always consider a Blackberry Torch or HTC HD2, or perhaps a Nokia N8. They aren't the latest and/or greatest, but those systems [still] work great for business. If you want to work and play, then I guess you have to look to iOS or WP7.
Android phone capabilities vary by device and manufacturer. I cannot give a great hypothesis on them even though I've owned multiple Android phones.
WP7 will grow into a great business OS, but Microsoft has made consumers the focus for the launch - because smartphones aren't just for business (the way PDAs chiefly were used).

in terms of business use where you have a POS, you do not need to pay the additional $150 to $250 per device for the phone functionality. especially when you have to get a lot of them. businesses use PDAs where need be, and phones where need be.

Windows Phone 7 as far a official Microsoft information goes is not going to support unmanaged code. Deployment-wise you will face the same problem on WP7 as on iOS: everything has to go through the marketplace.
Even though you can program iOS using C++ I guess your porting will still very much result in a rewrite of most of the code. Especially if you made heavy use of MFC classes.
Taking all this into consideration I'd actually suggest you go the Android route as there are several cheap phones available that run Android. Additionally Android supports native code as an option.

i believe iOS is actually objective-C, not C++. So it's a different dinosaur all together... (but still prehistoric at that)

[Q] can some point me to how can I create my own app

Can some some one point me to the right way and what do I need to know in term of computer language.?
Sent from my HTC-HD2 using Board Express

Check out http://create.msdn.com - it has everything you'll need to get started.
As for knowledge, it really depends on the app you're wanting to develop. If you can get away with using data already available on the net, with little to no processing needed, you can really build the UI in Blend without any programming experience what so ever. Sure, you'll need to wire up some events for buttons and what not, but even this is almost automatic.
If you do need to process the data before using it you should have at least a minimum knowledge of programming though. It really doesn't matter what language, but C# is what's used for WP7 (you can also use VB, but I don't think many do).

Just to point out that C# is almost identical to Java.

You can download WP7 SDK and free Visual Studio editions from Microsoft to start making WP7 apps. Normal apps are written using .NET (you can pick C#, VB.NET or Managed C++) as SilverLight app. Games are also written in .NET but on XNA framework. There maybe additional charges for XNA framework.
The SDK should come with a WP7 emulator software. That's where you spend your time debug and play with your app. In order to load the app to your phone, you will need to pay Microsoft $99/year to open a dev account so that you can pushlish the app to market or setup your phone as a dev phone so that you can load your own apps directly to the phone.
Or you can go jailbreak route and sideload apps that way.

Thanks, m a rookie when it comes to this. i just started to take c++. anyways everyone start with no knowledge right.

brummiesteven said:
Just to point out that C# is almost identical to Java.
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I maybe should have elaborated on this, at least I intended to
Anyways, Java is generally a learners language, you'll find it quite easy to learn as there are lots of tutorials etc on the internet. If you were to ever study computer science you'd also do java
So yeah, Java might be a good thing to start learning then when you get good enough C# will be a breese.

brummiesteven said:
So yeah, Java might be a good thing to start learning then when you get good enough C# will be a breese.
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Not sure I agree, as a complete novice you're better off going directly for C# (if that's the end goal) rather than using java as a stepping stone. It may end up confusing the hell out of you if you've done things in java a certain way only to find that C# does them completely different.
That said, I still think the choice of language is secondary - first and foremost you have to get into the right mindset, i.e. you have to learn programming, not a programming language. Of course, for WP7 development (at least for now) it very much depends on the type of app you're doing as a lot (too much?) can be done without ever touching code.

programming has a lot of similarities once you've done enough (same as learning languages in general), however, the beginning learn curve is HUGE. Understanding things from variables to classes to object orientation... and that's just the starters. I wouldn't worry about what language is better/easier, both java and C# are some of the easiest and most powerful around, but it's wrapping your head around the basics in general that is a real challenge.

i asked what language because i started my c++ programming this semester and i wanted to know if this the right path on making apps for the phones. as a right now im doing allot of read and watching allot of videos before i try of making a app, since i never have made one.

to be honest, focus on uni first. learn the principles of programming which you'll definitely cover in C++. get them down pat. once your semester is up and you ace the course, then move to another platform. early on it's not good to jump between many languages. it stuffs up your understanding pretty quickly. if you focus on 1, get it solid, it makes it easier to move to the next, and following.
eventually they'll just feel like 1 language... but focus on 1 to begin with, and that should be your studies, not a phone app.

@emigrating great post. That site has started my journey on App Development for WP7. For any other absolute n00b such as me, check out this series of short videos. It explains everything as clear as day and seems to go at a reasonable pace for a beginner like me. THere are 64 vid's in total, i'm currently on the 5th and am loving it

Thanks , I'm going to check them out right now.
Audio said:
@emigrating great post. That site has started my journey on App Development for WP7. For any other absolute n00b such as me, check out this series of short videos. It explains everything as clear as day and seems to go at a reasonable pace for a beginner like me. THere are 64 vid's in total, i'm currently on the 5th and am loving it
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For anyone that can help.
I made I calculator app like many have started with, but I have a problem, it only calculate 2 terms. How can i fix this?. Plus I'm trying to to a tip calculator now, I have don't a simple one in c++ can I use the same code?
Sent from my HTC-HD2 using Board Express

How To Port iPhone Apps To Windows Mobile? Microsoft Will Show You How

Microsoft has decided to reach out a helping hand and publish a case study that details how to port an iPhone app to its Windows Mobile platform. Now Windows Mobile users may finally have access to the countless fart apps we so thoroughly enjoy.
The post on Microsoft’s Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) site is a case study that documents the experience of one iPhone app developer in porting the app Amplitutude to a device running Windows Mobile 6.5. The report itself was actually created by a third-party consulting group.
Amplitude is an iPhone app that is able to detect and amplify basically any sound directly around a user. The app was chosen for the porting project because it is difficult to port, so it should provide a good learning experience for Windows Mobile developers.
“It combines a rich user interface with features such as alpha blending and transparency with specific audio and sound requirements, which makes it challenging to port the app but, at the same time, provides a number of helpful learning experiences,” he wrote.
Microsoft intends to launch their Windows Marketplace sometime during the fall. As an incentive, they will be offering prizes for the most popular apps.
This is a logical move by Microsoft. What better way is there to lure developers over to your side than by simply having them port their already made apps with an step-by-step walkthrough? The incentives for the most popular apps obviously won’t hurt either.
Are any of you fed up iPhone developers intrigued by the idea of moving your apps over to Windows Mobile?​

In all actuality, this probably won't happen..
As a person who makes software, I wouldn't want anyone to reverse engineer my work.
I am sure that is the same for bigger corporations and little guys like me who make these apps.

I wouldn't mind if a person ported a game I made as long as the following are included in the port:
1) The port is of the completed game as specified by me
2) The project is finished to an acceptable state where no expected upgrades will be made
3) The game gives credit to the original source
A game being released by another person with different upgrades from the original and the port-dev isn't sharing knowledge of the upgrades before release, that's shameful on the port developer. Way to kick the original to the curb.
In the Amplitude port to WM, it includes where it's from, so I see it as acceptable. M$ taking the site off their servers in favor of more WP7 stuff, NOT ACCEPTABLE!

it is posibble? i need some of the iphone games..such as angry bird..help

esad (SE Xperia X2) said:
it is posibble? i need some of the iphone games..such as angry bird..help
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Lol if this isn't a joke I suggest a iPhone is more suited for you.
Sent from my Xperia X10 using XDA App

Tasteslikeawesome said:
Lol if this isn't a joke I suggest a iPhone is more suited for you.
Sent from my Xperia X10 using XDA App
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And than he will have a very expensive brick with antena issues to play fun games.

By the way, Microsoft no longer has the site on how to port the iphone games to the WM platform. It's sad to say, but I'm losing faith in M$ knowing what to do in the smart phone department.