Lab 1: Creating, Configuring, and Building an OS Design
In this lab, you create an OS design, and then customize that design by adding components from the catalog. It is important to complete all the procedures in this lab, because it provides the foundation for subsequent exercises in other chapters of this Microsoft Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R2 Exam Preparation Kit.
To help you successfully master the procedures presented in this lab, see the document "Detailed Step-by-Step Instructions for Lab 1" in the companion material for this book.
►Create an OS Design
1. In Visual Studio 2005 with Platform Builder for Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R2, select the File menu, New submenu, and Project menu option, and then create a new OS design project.
2. Use the default OS design name (OSDesign1).
3. Visual Studio will launch the Windows Embedded CE 6.0 OS Design Wizard.
4. Select the check box for Device Emulator: ARMV4I in the BSP list and click Next.
5. From the list of available design templates, select PDA Device. From the list of available design variants select Mobile Handheld.
6. Deselect .NET Compact Framework 2.0 and ActiveSync on the next wizard page, as illustrated in Figure 1-8. The Internet Browser and Quarter VGA Resources- Portrait Mode check boxes should remain checked.
7. On the Networking Communications wizard page, deselect TCP/IPv6 Support and Personal Area Network (PAN) to exclude Bluetooth and Infrared Data Association (IrDA) support. Leave Local Area Network (LAN) selected.
8. Click Finish to complete the Windows Embedded CE 6.0 OS Design Wizard. On completion, Visual Studio opens your OS design project. The Solution Explorer tab should be active and show your new OS design project under the Solution container.
Figure 1-8 Creating an OS design for a PDA device
The OS Design Wizard creates the initial configuration for your OS design. You can make further changes to the OS design after completing the wizard.
►Inspect the OS Catalog
1. In Visual Studio, locate Solution Explorer and click the Catalog Items View tab.
2. Expand the individual container nodes to analyze the selected check boxes and icons in the catalog. Check boxes with a green check mark indicate items specifically added as a part of the OS design. Check boxes with a green square indicate items that are part of the OS design due to dependencies. Selection boxes that are not marked indicate items that are not included in the OS design but are available to be added.
3. Locate a catalog item with a green square in its check box.
4. Right-click this catalog item and choose Reasons For Inclusion Of Item. The Remove Dependent Catalog Item dialog box displays the catalog items that caused Platform Builder to include the selected catalog item in the OS design, as illustrated in Figure 1-9.
5. Expand the Core OS | CEBASE | Applications -End User | ActiveSync node in the catalog.
6. Right-click either of the ActiveSync system cpl items and select Display In Solution View. The view changes to the Solution Explorer tab to display the subproject containing the ActiveSync component. This is a great way to navigate through the source code that comes with Windows Embedded CE 6.0.
Figure 1-9 Reason for including a catalog item as a dependency
►Add Support for the Internet Explorer 6.0 Sample Browser Catalog Item
1. Select the Catalog Items View tab to display the OS design catalog. Verify that the filtering option is set to All Catalog Items In Catalog.
2. In the Search text box to the right of the Catalog Items View Filter button, type Internet Explorer 6.0 Sample and press Enter or click the green arrow.
3. Verify that the search locates the Internet Explorer 6.0 Sample Browser catalog item. Select the corresponding check box to include this catalog item in the OS design, as illustrated in Figure 1-10.
Figure 1-10 Including the Internet Explorer 6.0 Sample Browser catalog item in an OS design
►Add Support for Managed Code Development to Your OS Design
1. In the Search text box, type ipconfig and press Enter.
2. Verify that the search locates the Network Utilities (IpConfig, Ping, Route) catalog item.
3. Add the Network Utilities (IpConfig, Ping, Route) catalog item to your OS design by selecting the corresponding check box.
4. In the Search text box, type wceload and press Enter.
5. Verify that the search locates the CAB File Installer/Uninstaller catalog item. The search can find this catalog item because the value of its SYSGEN variable is wceload.
6. Add the Cab File Installer/Uninstaller catalog item to your OS design.
7. Use the search feature in a similar way to locate the OS Dependencies for .NET Compact Framework 2.0 container. Verify that the OS Dependencies for .NET Compact Framework 2.0 catalog item is included in your OS design, as illustrated in Figure 1-11.
Figure 1-11 Adding the OS Dependencies for .NET Compact Framework 2.0 catalog item to an OS design
There are two separate components in this category. Be sure you select the one that does not have the -Headless modifier in its description, because the headless version is intended for devices with no display.
Chapter Review
In order to deploy Microsoft Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R2 on a target device, you must create an OS design that includes the necessary operating system (OS) components, features, drivers, and configuration settings. You can then use Platform Builder to build the corresponding run-time image for deployment. The most important tasks you must accomplish to create a customized OS design that suits your requirements include:
■ Creating an OS design project in Visual Studio by using the OS Design Wizard.
■ Adding and removing components from the OS manually and through dependencies.
■ Setting environment and SYSGEN variables through the Catalog Editor.
■ Configuring regional settings for localization of the OS design.
■ Cloning components from the catalog either automatically by clicking Clone Catalog Item or manually by using the Sysgen Capture tool.
■ Exporting a custom SDK for your OS design to facilitate application development for your target device.
Key Terms
Do you know what these key terms mean? You can check your answers by looking up the terms in the glossary at the end of the book.
■ OS design