All Topics  
.NET Compact Framework

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

.NET Compact Framework
 
 
  Topics .NET Compact Framework Topic Home

The Microsoft .NET Compact Framework (.NET CF) is a version of the .NET Framework
.NET Framework

The Microsoft .NET Framework is a software framework that is available with several Microsoft Windows operating systems. It includes a large Library of coded solutions to prevent common programming problems and a virtual machine that manages the execution of programs written specifically for the Software framework....
 that is designed to run on Windows CE
Windows CE

Windows CE is Microsoft's operating system for minimalistic computers and embedded systems. Windows CE is a distinctly different operating system and Kernel , rather than a trimmed-down version of desktop Windows....
 based mobile/embedded devices such as PDAs
Personal digital assistant

A personal digital assistant is a handheld computer, also known as a palmtop computer. Newer PDAs also have both color screens and audio capabilities, enabling them to be used as mobile phones, , web browsers, or portable media players....
, mobile phones, factory controllers, set-top box
Set-top box

A set-top box or set-top unit is a information appliance that connects to a television and an external source of signal , turning the signal into content which is then displayed on the television screen....
es, etc. The .NET Compact Framework uses some of the same class libraries as the full .NET Framework and also a few libraries designed specifically for mobile devices such as Windows CE
Windows CE

Windows CE is Microsoft's operating system for minimalistic computers and embedded systems. Windows CE is a distinctly different operating system and Kernel , rather than a trimmed-down version of desktop Windows....
 InputPanel. However, the libraries are not exact copies of the .NET Framework.






Discussion
Ask a question about '.NET Compact Framework'
Start a new discussion about '.NET Compact Framework'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


The Microsoft .NET Compact Framework (.NET CF) is a version of the .NET Framework
.NET Framework

The Microsoft .NET Framework is a software framework that is available with several Microsoft Windows operating systems. It includes a large Library of coded solutions to prevent common programming problems and a virtual machine that manages the execution of programs written specifically for the Software framework....
 that is designed to run on Windows CE
Windows CE

Windows CE is Microsoft's operating system for minimalistic computers and embedded systems. Windows CE is a distinctly different operating system and Kernel , rather than a trimmed-down version of desktop Windows....
 based mobile/embedded devices such as PDAs
Personal digital assistant

A personal digital assistant is a handheld computer, also known as a palmtop computer. Newer PDAs also have both color screens and audio capabilities, enabling them to be used as mobile phones, , web browsers, or portable media players....
, mobile phones, factory controllers, set-top box
Set-top box

A set-top box or set-top unit is a information appliance that connects to a television and an external source of signal , turning the signal into content which is then displayed on the television screen....
es, etc. The .NET Compact Framework uses some of the same class libraries as the full .NET Framework and also a few libraries designed specifically for mobile devices such as Windows CE
Windows CE

Windows CE is Microsoft's operating system for minimalistic computers and embedded systems. Windows CE is a distinctly different operating system and Kernel , rather than a trimmed-down version of desktop Windows....
 InputPanel. However, the libraries are not exact copies of the .NET Framework. The ones in the .NET Compact Framework are scaled down to take up less space.

It is possible to develop applications
Application software

Application software is any tool that functions and is operated by means of a computer, with the purpose of supporting or improving the software user 's work....
 which use the .NET Compact Framework in Visual Studio.NET 2003, in Visual Studio 2005 and in Visual Studio 2008, in C# or Visual Basic.NET. The resulting applications are designed to run on a special, mobile-device, high performance JIT compiler
Just-in-time compilation

In computing, just-in-time compilation , also known as dynamic translation, is a technique for improving the runtime performance of a computer program....
.

To be able to run applications powered by the .NET Compact Framework, the platform must support the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework runtime. Some operating systems which do include .NET CF are Windows CE 4.1, Microsoft Pocket PC
Pocket PC

A Pocket PC, abbreviated P/PC or PPC, is a hardware specification for a handheld-sized computer that runs the Microsoft Windows Mobile operating system....
, Microsoft Pocket PC 2002 and Smartphone 2003. .NET Compact Framework applications can be run on desktop computers with the full .NET Framework as long as they only access the shared parts of both frameworks, though their user interface can not be upgraded to look like that of an application developed for desktop PCs.

The Microsoft .NET Compact Framework 3.5 Redistributable contains the common language runtime and class libraries built for the .NET Compact Framework. In addition to version 3.5 support, it also supports applications developed for version 1.0 and 2.0. The .NET Compact Framework 3.5 provides new features such as Windows Communication Foundation, LINQ, SoundPlayer, new runtime tool support, and many other features.

A version of the .NET Compact Framework is also available for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft, and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the History of video game consoles of video game consoles....
 console. While it features the same runtime as the regular .NET CF, only a subset of the class library is available. This version is used by XNA Framework
Microsoft XNA

Microsoft XNA is a set of tools with a managed runtime environment provided by Microsoft that facilitates Video game game development and management....
 to run managed games
Managed code

Managed code is Source code that executes under the management of a virtual machine, unlike unmanaged code, which is executed directly by the computer's Central processing unit....
 on the console. There are other limitations as well, such as the number of threads being limited to 256. Unlike other versions of .NET CF, the Xbox 360 version allows setting processor affinity
Processor affinity

Processor affinity is a modification of the native central queue scheduling algorithm.Each task in the queue has a tag indicating its preferred / kin central processing unit....
 to threads created. The threads are scheduled among four concurrent threads running on the multiple processor cores of the system.

Release history

Version NameVersion NumberRelease Date
1.0 RTM1.0.2268.0Late 2002
1.0 SP11.0.3111.0Unknown
1.0 SP21.0.3316.0Unknown
1.0 SP31.0.4292.0January 2005
2.0 RTM2.0.5238.0October 2005
2.0 SP12.0.6129.0June 2006
2.0 SP22.0.7045.0March 2007
3.5 Beta 13.5.7066.0May 2007
3.5 Beta 23.5.7121.0Unknown
3.5 RTM3.5.7283.02007-11-19
3.53.52008-01-25
The versions of the .NET Compact Framework installed on a Windows Mobile device can be determined by launching \Windows\cgacutil.exe and comparing the displayed list of version numbers to the table above. More than one version can be installed on a device simutaneously.

See also

  • Windows Mobile
    Windows Mobile

    Windows Mobile is a compact operating system combined with a suite of basic applications for mobile devices based on the Microsoft Windows API application programming interface....
  • Windows CE
    Windows CE

    Windows CE is Microsoft's operating system for minimalistic computers and embedded systems. Windows CE is a distinctly different operating system and Kernel , rather than a trimmed-down version of desktop Windows....


External links