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RL: One of the
more controversial announcements regarding the .NET Compact
Framework is that CEDB (commonly called "Pocket Access")
will not be natively supported. What effect do you predict
this will have on developer adoption of the .NET Compact
Framework? What is the recommended migration path for developers
who have existing applications based on the CEDB infrastructure?
KS: Good question. We struggled hard
with that decision. However, I think we made the right decision.
Supporting both Pocket Access and SQL CE would have meant
us dividing the resources of an already small group in half,
preventing us from doing a good job with either. Instead,
we focused on SQL CE, which I view as the logical, and superior
migration path for CEDB developers. Now, rather than a relatively
primitive database format, they have access to a powerful,
multi-table database, with SQL support. Also, the replication
capabilities of SQL CE are amazing (IMO). I hope that all
CF developers spend some time with SQL CE and see just how
much more flexible and powerful it is.
RL: Currently,
the .NET Compact Framework is in the "Beta 1"
stage. Comments from developers who have experimented with
it have so far been very positive and enthusiastic aside
from gripes about certain features of the full .NET Framework
being left out of the Compact Framework's subset. Of these
requests (such as additional controls and support for COM-interop),
what can we expect to find in the final release?
KS: Developing for devices is always
difficult, however the most difficult process is deciding
what goes in and what doesn't. The .NET Compact Framework
team really struggled with a lot of those features. Both
with expending the effort to develop them, but even more
importantly, to test them and guarantee they work. Also,
the amount of code required to support some features would
make the runtime even larger than it is. The CF team is
relatively small at Microsoft, with very limited resources.
So, items like COM interop, Remoting, etc. have been left
out of v1. If enough people feel the need to have one feature
or another, we will definitely re-investigate them, however.
RL: The .NET Compact
Framework Beta 1 has a footprint of approximately 2MB. This
is relatively large considering the limited amount of memory
built in to mobile devices. Is this an issue that Microsoft
is working on? What can we expect the footprint to be in
the final release?
KS: The footprint is about as small
as we're going to get it. It is an area of active effort,
but I can't see it going below the 1.5MB barrier. If you
compare the size of the Compact Framework vs. other platforms,
you will see that we are not only comparable, but actually
present more features for the same size. On the good news,
we are working with a number of OEMs to get the Compact
Framework included in the standard ROM image. This would
mean that the runtime itself would not take away from the
program memory on the device.
RL: What online
resources do you recommend for developers interested in
learning more about the .NET Compact Framework?
KS: We're already beginning to see a
vibrant community forming around .NET Compact Framework.
There are discussion lists, mailing lists and websites appearing
everywhere. Some of the best I've seen have been DevelopMentor's
CF list (DOTNET_CF@develop.com), the product team's own
site on GotDotNet
(http://www.gotdotnet.com/team/netcf), and of course DEVBUZZ
(http://www.devbuzz.com).
RL: The .NET Compact
Framework represents a large step forwards for the developers
of mobile applications. How do you predict that this (and
other mobile technologies) will evolve over the next 5 years?
KS: Wow. First time someone has asked
me to be a fortune teller... I can certainly tell you, from
a geek perspective, I want to see more connectivity. 802.11g,
Bluetooth, GPRS have all got to become more prevalent. Fortunately,
this is happening, but too slow right now. I would also
expect Moore's Law to continue, leaving us with Gigahertz
palmtops within 5 years.
Now, from a development perspective.
With .NET Compact Framework being integrated into devices
(a boy can hope, can't he?), developing for devices is as
easy as creating a desktop application. That has to continue,
and become even more the case. More features of the device
need to be exposed in code.
So, what does that mean for the device
I'll be craving in 2007? 1+GHz, with about 512MB of ROM
and RAM. Survives for about a week on battery, and I can
take applications directly from the desktop. The apps will
be smart about their connectivity -- automatically caching
data when disconnected, and reconnecting and synchronizing
when in some network.
RL: Thank you
once again for taking the time to talk with us. Closing
remarks?
KS: Thanks for this opportunity!
I hope that people give .NET Compact Framework a try, and
I hope to see lots of great applications in the next few
years.
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