Scott R
06-30-2007, 02:01 PM
Hello, I'm thinking about switching over from my Palm OS Treo 700p to a Sprint Mogul and would like to develop some apps using .NET. I'm a long-time VB developer (VB3 thru VB6) but a more recent newbie with .NET (focusing on C#). I've also had experience with several Pocket PC / WM devices and dabbled with eVB long ago (hated it). Anyways, I've got some ideas for apps/applets/hacks that I'd like to create for WM devices (and the Mogul specifically), but I'm not sure what's possible with WM6 and .NET, so some questions:
1) Let's say I wanted to create an app that "runs in the background" all the time. I'm fairly certain that I can create an app that gets started after a soft reset but doesn't show any visual signs of being started. I want this app to essentially "listen" for other events. So, if for example, I'm using IE and the user presses a specific hard button, I want my app to trap that before IE notices it. My app might then fire up a window which displays on the screen.
a) Can I do this?
b) Can I trap *any* button (including the Today/Home button, the OK button, and the two "soft menu" buttons?
c) Can I distinguish between a regular button press and a "press and hold"?
2) Can I effectively "replace" some/all of the built-in phone functionality? For example, when a call comes in, instead of the built in phone functionality taking over and showing on-screen an answer/ignore window, could I create an alternative app that had answer/ignore buttons?
3) What are my options for displaying windows on top of other apps?
a) Can I have a small window display on top of other running apps?
b) Can I do something fancy like have my app display a translucent full-screen window on top of a running app?
I'm pretty sure I had some other questions which escape me at the moment, so I'll post back later with those. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer. :)
1) Let's say I wanted to create an app that "runs in the background" all the time. I'm fairly certain that I can create an app that gets started after a soft reset but doesn't show any visual signs of being started. I want this app to essentially "listen" for other events. So, if for example, I'm using IE and the user presses a specific hard button, I want my app to trap that before IE notices it. My app might then fire up a window which displays on the screen.
a) Can I do this?
b) Can I trap *any* button (including the Today/Home button, the OK button, and the two "soft menu" buttons?
c) Can I distinguish between a regular button press and a "press and hold"?
2) Can I effectively "replace" some/all of the built-in phone functionality? For example, when a call comes in, instead of the built in phone functionality taking over and showing on-screen an answer/ignore window, could I create an alternative app that had answer/ignore buttons?
3) What are my options for displaying windows on top of other apps?
a) Can I have a small window display on top of other running apps?
b) Can I do something fancy like have my app display a translucent full-screen window on top of a running app?
I'm pretty sure I had some other questions which escape me at the moment, so I'll post back later with those. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer. :)