Is the .NET Compact Framework still alive? And what about Windows Embedded CE?

Hi Folks,

lately I’ve been hearing questions along that line more often. Probably mainly due to the fact that VS2010 does not support “Smart Device” application development (at least as of now, let’s hope that this will change) and also due to the announcement of the Windows Phone 7 Series Programming Model at the MIX 2010 conference. Just to recite the major aspects of that programming model: “The application model supported on Windows Phone 7 series will be managed only and will leverage Silverlight, XNA and the .NET Framework”.

From Abhinaba’s Blog you will see that there is a lot of work being done on the .NET Compact Framework, not only for Windows Phone 7 Series but also for Windows Embedded CE. By the way, Abhinaba also goes into details of the Windows Phone 7 Series Programming model as well as comparing it to the .NET Compact Framework 3.5. Thanks Abhinaba!

So to answer my question from the title: YES the .NET Compact Framework is still alive, so don’t worry!

Let’s have a look at Windows Embedded CE now. Again, due to the same reasons some people are worried that Windows Embedded CE will be discontinued, but don’t worry, the release for Windows Embedded Compact 7 is planned for later this year. But don’t take my word for it, just read Olivier Bloch’s post “Windows CE is NOT dead!”.

Have fun!