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Platform Development

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A platform is a specific implementation of an operating system (OS). A Microsoft® Windows® CE .NET-based platform is a customized embedded platform based on the Windows CE .NET OS. At a minimum, a Windows CE .NET platform contains an OS image, an OEM adaptation layer (OAL), device drivers, and configuration files. Once you have created your basic platform, you can add more functionality to it in stages, such as adding more device drivers, developing OS features, and creating applications.

Windows CE .NET 4.2 offers standard configurations and implementations for many operating system (OS) elements. These elements have been designed to accommodate a wide variety of scenarios. In some cases, however, you may need to completely create your own platform from the beginning or your platform's specific design requirements may require additional capabilities. The topics in this section explain how you can modify, extend, or completely replace various elements of Windows CE.

In This Section

  • How to Create a Windows CE .NET-based Platform
    Describes the major steps in the process of creating a Windows CE .NET-based platform either by developing your hardware first or by developing your hardware simultaneously with the software.
  • Migration Issues
    Contains information about how you can update or migrate your existing platform to be fully compatible with the features in Windows CE .NET 4.2. This section provides guidance on how to adapt an OS written for Windows CE 2.12 or Windows CE 3.0 to Windows CE .NET 4.2, as well as guidance on how to migrate an open source platform to Windows CE.
  • Board Support Package Development
    Contains an overview about board support packages (BSPs), the elements that make up a BSP, and the process of developing BSPs.
  • Developing Platform Elements
    Provides a list of topics you can use to help you add and customize elements of your platform.
  • Driver Development
    Offers an overview of Windows CE–based device drivers and describes the typical processes used for developing drivers for a Windows CE-based platform.
  • Application Development
    Provides an explanation of application development features, with a list of the major categories of features as they appear in the Microsoft Platform Builder Catalog.
  • About Windows CE .NET
    Provides an overview about Windows CE .NET OS and its architecture, and includes information about the major technology areas in Windows CE.
  • About Platform Builder
    Provides information about the Platform Builder integrated development environment (IDE), which enables you to build customized embedded platforms based on the Windows CE .NET OS.

Last updated on Wednesday, April 13, 2005

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