| WinMo hacker .NETS an app a day |
Jun. 11, 2008
 On Jun. 1, software developer Chris Craft pledged to write 30 Windows Mobile applications in 30 days, publishing both executables and source code. Now a third of the way through his "30 Days of .NET" marathon, Craft has celebrated by posting two applications in one day.
(Click here for a larger view of Chris Craft's very latest application, Prize Picker)
"I've given many presentations on developing Windows Mobile applications, and heard time and again that people have a hard time writing their first," Craft blogged on Jun. 1. "It's easy to think that it will take too much time, but that's not the case."
To prove it, Craft -- a frequent speaker and Microsoft Windows Mobile device application development MVP, and a founder of South Carolina's Pee Dee River area .NET User Group -- pledged to write one Windows Mobile application per day for the next 30 days. "My goal is for each to be useful, interesting, and straight-forward. Someone considering writing their first Windows Mobile application should be able to look at these applications and 'get it'," he said.
Added Craft on Jun. 2, "One goal is that I write each application on the day I publish it. That really doesn't leave me any room to spare. I'm not sure I can do it, but that's part of the fun and challenge."
Appropriately enough, he began on that day by posting an application called Minutes to Midnight (below left). When run, the app shows how many minutes, hours, and seconds are left to midnight, using a series of progress bars.
  
Minutes to Midnight (left), Bluetooth Manager (middle), and GPS Compass (right)
(Click images for further information and to download)
The second application was Bluetooth Manager (above middle). Featuring an icon that displays in color when Bluetooth is enabled or grayscale when it is off, the app is designed to toggle Bluetooth on or off each time it is run. Users can also turn the Bluetooth radio on and off using buttons, and a multiline textbox shows the history of radio state changes.
On Jun. 4, Craft posted GPS Compass (above right), an application that uses a device's GPS hardware to calculate a bearing, in degrees, and then display it on a compass graphic. Rather than accessing a phone's GPS hardware serially, GPS Compass uses Microsoft's GPS Intermediate Driver, a hardware abstraction layer, notes Craft.
Next to come -- on schedule -- was Jun. 5's Mileage Tracker (below left). Noting that he had to drop some features from the app due to unexpected visits from family and friends, Craft nonetheless was able to knock out a utility that computes a vehicle's miles per gallon, fuel cost per 100 miles, and projected range.
  
Mileage Tracker (left), Mobile Capture (middle), and Pocket PasswordGen (right)
(Click images for further information and to download)
On day five of the marathon -- i.e. Jun. 6 -- Craft unveiled Mobile Capture (above, middle), a screen capturing utility that features full-screen or area capturing modes, hardware key support, a timer, and the ability to take multiple pictures in a row. "That's a lot of application to take on in one day, and really only a couple of hours, but that's how we do it around here," he quipped.
Jun. 7's posting was "a simple project, since girlfriends like to go out on Friday evenings." Pocket PasswordGen (above right) accepts inputs for how long a password ought to be, whether it should include numbers, and how it should be punctuated. It then generates a random password, offers to copy it into the clipboard, and presents it phonetically to avoid confusion.
On Jun 8, Craft posted Mobile FX (below left), an application that offers a series of icons that play sound effects when they are pressed. The author explains that the app looks for an XML file that tells it where each of its possible icons are and where the corresponding sound files can be found. Thus, the icons can easily be re-ordered and custom sounds can be added.
  
Mobile FX (left), Rotate Me (middle), and Mobile Tipper (right)
(Click images for further information and to download)
Yesterday brought an eighth application, Rotate Me. This app can be assigned to a hardware button on a device (above middle) or assigned to a today screen plug-in designed to launch other applications. When run, it changes a device's screen orientation from portrait to landscape modes.
Just after midnight yesterday morning, Craft posted Mobile Tipper (above right), an application that could well find a home on the phone of everyone who learns about it. The app accepts inputs for the amount of a restaurant bill, tax and tip percentages, and the number of people in a party, then calculates each individual's share of the tip.
 
What Is My IP (left) and Prize Picker (right)
(Click images for further information and to download)
And finally, early today -- does the man ever sleep? -- Craft rounded out the first third of his challenge by posting two separate applications. What Is My IP (above left) is a minimalist application that reports one or more IP addresses assigned to a device. Prize Picker (above right) is designed to pick one or more prize winners in a random drawing.
Writes Craft on his blog, "I gave a mobile programming presentation today at the Pee Dee Area .NET User Group. Instead of doing the presentation I was planning on doing, we wrote this Windows Mobile application together." As well as providing bonus material for 30 Days of .NET, Prize Picker was used immediately to pick winners in a prize giveaway, he added.
Further information
To find out what Windows Mobile applications can possibly appear next, and track the author's progress through the end of the month, visit his blog, here.
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