Datetime Picker in .NET Compact Framework

[Andy Sjostrom]

http://www.devbuzz.com/content/zinc_dotnet_cf_datetimepicker_pg1.asp

Carole Mitchell has written an excellent article explaining how to implement a datetime picker in .NET Compact Framework. Most Pocket PC applications will need one, so check this out!

"This tutorial is written in the hopes that it might help someone needing the datetime picker functionality. I needed to use datetime picker functionality in an application I was writing, and I was very happy to find some code on the innovativedss.com forums adapted by various programmers in C# and then posted in VB.NET format by Chani Diakidis. This is great code, but I found I ran into complications using the code..."

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/datetime_01.gif

[Chris Forsberg]

I think it's an interesting topic, and that you are right, Andy - most enterprise applications will sooner or later need a datepicker (order date, delivery date, etc).

However, the suggested implementation is not exactly what I would wish for in a .NET application. Keeping handles (hWnd) of windows and controls in the form code looks more like eVB. And using the FindWindow API to get the window handle would create a problem in a real-world application consisting of multiple forms (according to PPC dev standards, all forms should have the same title). Setting the focus to the form and getting the handle through the GetFocus API might be a better suggestion.

What I would like in a .NET CF project is a custom control that wrapped the native DTP (DateTimePicker) control, and Tim Wilson have come very close with his upcoming DTP control that you can see some info about at http://www.intelprog.com/netcf/index.html. It is currently in beta, and if you want to be a beta tester, send a mail to [email protected] (put "Beta testing request" in the subject).

[FredMurphy]

I would expect that by the time SDE goes gold that Microsoft will have included one of these in the .NET CF..... wouldn't they?

[kdross]

The .NET Compact Framework is already gold. I was a beta for Everett (VS.Net 2003), and the final beta of Everett contains the final release version of the .NET Compact Framework. There won't be any changes between now and the release of VS.Net 2003.

[FredMurphy]

Kyle,

Cheers for that. Useful to know. I may try to get the latest .NET CF running with my current VS.NET.

How stable is the VS.NET 2003 beta that gone to MSDN subscribers? I'm developing in VS.NET now and I shouldn't really mess around with 2003 beta, but I remember the original VS.NET 2002 beta being stable enough to release with. Then again, I really should wait for at least RC1 anyway......

Fred

[Tim Allen]

The .NET Compact Framework is already gold. I was a beta for Everett (VS.Net 2003), and the final beta of Everett contains the final release version of the .NET Compact Framework. There won't be any changes between now and the release of VS.Net 2003.

So does it contain a datetimepicker? What other new controls are there since the 2002 SDE beta?

[Peter Foot]

So does it contain a datetimepicker? What other new controls are there since the 2002 SDE beta?

No there is no datetimepicker built in - hence the article. The only new control to slip in later in the Beta was the DataGrid. Other controls had been promised such as a HTML viewer etc and these didn't make version 1 at least. I should imagine that third party developers will plug this and other gaps.