Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R3: Using Silverlight for Windows Embedded

Hi all,

in my previous post I promised to talk a little bit more about how to use Microsoft Silverlight 2 and the C++ based application development framework, which is called “Silverlight for Windows Embedded” on your Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R3 device.

First of all, you need to add support for Silverlight for Windows Embedded to your OSDesign. To do this you have to include the SYSGEN_XAML_RUNTIME variable to your OSDesign and rebuild your system.


If you also add the Silverlight for Windows Embedded sample application called “XamlPerf” (SYSGEN_SAMPLEXAMLPERF which is not available as a catalog item but needs to be set nevertheless in order to build the XamlPerf sample application) or the new “Internet Explorer 6.0 XAML UI Sample Browser” (SYSGEN_IESAMPLE_EXR) catalog item to your OSDesign, you already have sample programs that you can run on your device and examine.


The source code for the XamlPerf sample application and the XAML UI sample browser is located under _PUBLICROOT\COMMON\OAK\DEMOS\XAMLPERF and _PUBLICROOT\IE\OAK\IESAMPLE_EXR respectively.

Note: I will talk about XamlPerf and the new IE in separate posts, so stay tuned!

Now you have successfully included support for Silverlight for Windows Embedded to your platform and you are now ready to develop your Silverlight for Windows Embedded application as a subproject in your OSDesign.

The next step would be to think about whether or not you want to define the visual scene using a source XAML file. If so, you can either create that file by using Microsoft Silverlight 2 XAML, Microsoft Expression Blend 2 (Evaluation Version: http://download.microsoft.com/download/2/7/9/2798d28c-72b3-4231-a996-d9a7f1d56166/Blend_Trial_en.exe), or by programming XAML directly.

You should also think about which type of application based on Silverlight for Windows Embedded you want to build. Therefore it is necessary to identify (and of course add to your OSDesign) any additional SYSGEN variables and header files needed to build that particular application.

Once you have successfully created and built your OSDesign as well as established a connection from PlatformBuilder to your target device, you are ready to implement your actual Silverlight for Windows Embedded Application!

Valter Minute wrote a good tutorial on his blog about how to design a basic UI in Expression Blend 2, load it inside an application and interact with it.

For further information, have a look at the Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R3 help: “Create a Silverlight for Windows Embedded Application”.

Have fun!