Tools needed to make Kiosk Browser 1

[joelflorendo]

Hello~
I need to build a kiosk style internet browser for Windows CE6 on a xscale processor bar code scanner. Can someone tell me what development tools are required to do so? I'm getting the idea I need Visual Studio with platform builder but what version(s) will I need? Thanks!

 

[dilettante]

I assume you mean Web browser.

I'm not sure why a barcode scanner would have a browser. They aren't trivial to build from dirt though.

It sounds like you need a custom CE build from your OEM that includes the IE module.

 

[joelflorendo]

The bar code scanner will connect to our web app in which the scanning capabilities allow our users to enter data through our web interface to the backend. The bar code scanner came with IESample which is a sample Internet Explorer web browser. We were able to connect to our web app with it but we need it customized so that it runs in kiosk mode in order to maximize our screen real estate. From what I've read, IESample does not do this and we need to build our own web browser.

I've read from quite a few different sources that say there are pre-built templates you can start from which I would think removing toolbars would be somewhat trivial.

What I'm not clear on is which tools do you need in order to do this. I've read that Visual Studio 2010 does not support any mobile platforms except Windows Phone 7. So which version of Visual Studio do I need?

 

[dilettante]

Create a Windows CE Image That Boots to Kiosk Mode is for CE5 but may apply in CE6 as well. However this requires that you create a custom CE build, and I'm not sure you can do that for this device.

If you are looking at creating an application hosting the WebBrowser control you can probably do this in C++ using VS 2005, 2008, or even 2010. My guess is that VB.Net and C# are also supported on CE5 to do this, but perhaps only for ARM family processors. XScale is ARMv5 if I recall correctly. I just don't know much about CE6 support, most of my own work has been WinMo (CE5-based even in WinMo 6.x).

CE6 would be the real question. Most people I see developing for CE6 still seem to be using VS 2005 and are using C++. Using VS 2008 can be a problem debugging, unless you install some extra stuff:

Windows CE 6 and Visual Studio 2008 Debugging Gotchas

 

[joelflorendo]

Thanks...I downloaded the trial version of vs2005, vs2005 service pack 1 and Windows CE Platform Builder trial plugin. That gave me the IESample and IESimple files as well as the ability to build an app that runs in Windows CE. Thanks again!