Understanding Visual Basic on Windows CE

Applies To

• Windows CE 2.0
• Windows CE 2.10, 2.11, Handheld PC Pro 3.0
• Windows CE 3.0, HPC2000
• Windows CE .net 4.0, 4.1, 4.2
• Windows CE 5.0
• Windows CE 6.0, R2, R3
• Windows Embedded CE 7.0
• Windows Embedded CE 2013

Overview

This article outlines the different types of Visual Basic support on Windows CE devices.

More Info

CE Visual Basic 1.0 (Pocket Visual Basic)

File Identification

The first 5 bytes of a CEVB 1.0 file will be:
0x43 0x45 0x56 0x42 0x01
CEVB<Start Of Heading>

Usage

The runtime is officially only operable on H/PC 2.0 devices, however some apps can be made to work on later devices using the HPC:Factor VBCE 2.0 runtime redistributable. Users should not attempt to install both the VBCE 1.0 and VBCE 2.0 runtimes at the same time on one device. Doing so may render neither runtime operable and may require a hard reset to fix in some cases as VBCE 2.0 uses the same COM CLSID's as the older VBCE 1.0 runtime. This effectively means that both runtimes look for the same DLL filenames and same registry paths to load VB code.

If VBCE 2.0 is not installed, then the 1.0 runtime will work on CE 2.10+ SH3/MIPS 4000 devices.

It is recommended that all users use the HPC:Factor VBCE 1.0 redistributable package.

Downloads

TBC.

CE Visual Basic 2.0 (eMbedded Visual Basic)

File Identification

The first 5 bytes of a CEVB 2.0 file will be:
0x43 0x45 0x56 0x42 0xC8
CEVBÈ

Usage

This runtime does not work on CE 2.00 devices.

Many .vb applications ship in a CAB installer file that includes all or part of the VBCE 2.0 runtime. It is recommended that where possible you avoid CAB installers that contain the runtime files and instead use the HPC:Factor VBCE 2.0 runtime redistributable. If the installer CAB cannot be avoided, the user should reinstall the HPC:Factor VBCE 2.0 runtime after uninstalling any VBCE 2.0 runtime bundled application as the bundled uninstall script will de-register the entire runtime on your device. A full reinstall of the standalone runtime will fix this issue.

The HPC:Factor VBCE 2.0 runtime will attempt to make your device compatible with .PVB, VBCE 1.0 applications. You should not attempt to install the VBCE 1.0 runtime on a compatible SH3/MIPS CE 2.10+ Handheld PC as doing so will break the VBCE 2.0 runtime and may require a hard reset to fix.

It is recommended that all users use the HPC:Factor VBCE 2.0 redistributable package. Please note that some applications may also require the HPC:Factor ADOCE 3.1 package in order to function.

Downloads

TBC.

.net Compact Framework 1.0

File Identification

The first 5 bytes of a .net CF file will be:
0x4D 0x5A 0x90 0x00 0x03
MZ<Blank><NUL><End Of Text>

.net Compact Framework 2.0

File Identification

The first 5 bytes of a .net CF file will be:
0x4D 0x5A 0x90 0x00 0x03
MZ<Blank><NUL><End Of Text>

.net Compact Framework 3.5

File Identification

The first 5 bytes of a .net CF file will be:
0x4D 0x5A 0x90 0x00 0x03
MZ<Blank><NUL><End Of Text>

Downloads

• .net Compact Framework 1.0 SP3
• .net Compact Framework 2.0 SP2
• .net Compact Framework 3.5
• .net Compact Framework SDK
• eMbedded Visual Tools 3.0 (Original) 3.0.087
• Getting Started: Microsoft Windows CE Toolkit for Visual Basic 6.0 1.00
• HPC:Factor Microsoft Visual Basic Runtime Redistributable (DE)
• HPC:Factor Microsoft Visual Basic Runtime Redistributable (JP)
• Microsoft .NET Compact Framework 1.0 SP3 for Windows CE 2.00/2.01
• Microsoft .NET Compact Framework 1.0 SP3 for Windows CE 2.11
• Visual Basic SDK for CE 3