How to develop applications for the Windows Mobile device?

On Windows Mobile devices, the following development options are available:

• Native code - C/C++ and all available APIs
• .Net Compact Framework - C# to develop managed code applications
• Web applications

What tools are needed to start?

For non-web applications, you will need the following:

• Windows Mobile device
• Visual Studio 2005 Standard Edition or above
• At least one of the Windows Mobile SDKs

What programming framework is available for native code development?

• C++ and WTL - efficient but requires knowledge of template programming and ATL
• C++ and MFC - similar to desktop MFC development
• C/C++ and Win32 - good old method but tedious

Can the program be tested only on the emulator?

The emulator allows for faster and more efficient development. However, the program should always be tested on an actual device because some hardware cannot be emulated and sometimes the interaction with the SIP is different on the device.