(Click here for a larger view of the Windows Mobile Line of Business Solution Accelerator 2008)

Nicknamed the "hardware store" application for short, the showcase Windows Mobile is a .NET Compact Framework 3.5 application, written in Visual C# using Visual Studio 2008. It performs different tasks based on specific user roles, according to the company.

For example:

• In a "customer service" role, a user can place new orders, check on delivery status, and cancel orders
  
• In a "warehouse" role, a user can "pick" items from bins and load them on the truck with a forklift
  
• In a "delivery driver" role, a user can retrieve route maps from the MapPoint web service, deliver items to customers, and capture signatures for proof of delivery purposes

The Windows Mobile Line of Business Solution Accelerator 2008 comes with documentation, online help, and source code
(Click to enlarge)
The application, plus the included documentation and online help (seen above), will help developers learn to accomplish the following, according to Microsoft:

• Create a single binary that runs unchanged on Windows Mobile Standard or Professional, portrait or landscape, rectangle or square
  
• Keep the multiple devices used by the various roles in sync with each other through the use of Sync Services for ADO.NET
  
• Use Windows Communication Foundations store and forward capabilities and Exchange Server 2007 to push messages to devices and servers reliably
  
• Use LINQ (language integrated query) to filter results from Generic Object Collections
  
• Capture signatures and "dazzle your end-users" with 3D and alpha-blended controls that alter their behavior depending on the platform theyre running on
  
• Use online help on every screen, and employ HTML-based popup messages that disappear after a pre-determined amount of time
  
• Integrate MapPoint mapping

Further, re-use of parts of the hardware store application in a developer's own projects apparently requires no license from Microsoft. "Use this accelerator as the foundation for your next Windows Mobile development effort. If you dont want to use the whole thing, pick and choose the components that are the best fit for your project," the company said in a web posting. A previously available accelerator was downloaded tens of thousands of times, and "served as a foundation for some of the largest and most important Windows Mobile projects in the world," the company added.

The application can be demonstrated in its disconnected state on any Windows 5 or 6 device, simply by installing its .CAB (cabinet) files. To demonstrate the app in its connected state, however, an IIS (internet information services) web server and SQL Server 2008 database need to be set up. To demonstrate store and forward, Exchange Server 2007 also needs to be set up, according to Microsoft.

Setup instructions for the above are included with the Windows Mobile Line of Business Solution Accelerator 2008, as is complete source code. In order to read the latter, users must have Visual Studio 2008 installed along with the Windows Mobile 6.0 standard SDK, Microsoft notes.

Further information

For further information on hardware and software requirements, and to download the 12.8MB Windows Mobile Line of Business Solution Accelerator 2008, visit the Microsoft website, here. To read a Windows Mobile team blog posting introducing the application, go here.

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