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I have inherited a Windows CE 6.0 application that runs on a Samsung S3C6410 ARM11 single-board computer (specifically: KaneBeBe IV) and finding myself faced with a number of challenges.

  1. Though I know C++ I have not developed a WinCE application before
  2. The source code I received does not include any build tools or instructions
  3. Windows CE 6.0 appears to be effectively dead and gone from Microsoft's website. (Mainstream support ended in 2013 and extended support will end in 2018.)

After reading a number of online articles it sounds like I need to use VS2005 or VS2008 along with either the board's SDK or the WinCE Platform Builder + the board support package. I dug up my old Visual Studio 2005 license and obtained the SDK package for the board as well as an evaluation key for Windows CE 6.0 in case I need to use the Platform Builder. I even got the custom application to build (created an exe file along with some other artifacts). However, now I seem to be stuck in a tough situation: no one seems to be selling licenses for Windows CE 6.0 any more and the evaluation license doesn't allow for commercial use.

What I would really like to do is get away from Windows CE without having to completely redevelop this application. I can run Linux on this board instead, which also would make it easier to upgrade/replace. Is there some way that I might be able to make this app run in Linux instead? For example, could I use wine? Could I change the build configuration in VS2005 so that it targets some other platform that can be emulated / run in Linux?

jacobq
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    An MSDN subscription would give you access to commercial-use licenses for Platform Builder, and you should be able to buy runtime licenses (for each device you are going to sell) from a local distributor. Anyway - interesting idea about using Wine! You'd probably need to consider the cost/time required to port Wine itself to CE 6.0 (I'd be surprised to learn if anyone has already done this) – Carsten Hansen Oct 26 '16 at 22:27
  • I am not a lawyer, so don't consider this as legal advice, but it seems that VS pro license comes with "downgrade rights", allowing you to run also older releases. https://www.microsoft.com/en-hk/download/details.aspx?id=13350 If you have an MSDN subscription you can just download VS2008 setup from it. Otherwise you can download a 90 days trial: https://www.microsoft.com/windowsembedded/en-us/downloads.aspx?windows-embedded-compact-7 – Valter Minute Oct 27 '16 at 12:20
  • @ValterMinute, I have a license for VS2005 standard; my licensing question is regarding Windows CE 6.0, but I think you and Carsten Hansen are right about the MSDN subscription as probably being the way to go for this. – jacobq Oct 27 '16 at 19:36
  • @carsten why would he port wine to CE? He wants to get away from CE. – Frank Meerkötter Oct 27 '16 at 21:02
  • https://wiki.winehq.org/ARM counts a few interesting bits and pieces about ARM/CE and wine. My reading: currently not practical. – Frank Meerkötter Oct 27 '16 at 21:03
  • @Frank - sorry, forget about the porting bit, no idea what I was thinking :-) – Carsten Hansen Oct 28 '16 at 01:48
  • Did you evaluate a code porting from WCE to Linux? Probably you would have to rewrite some/a lot of code but you can reuse the C++ design and some code... – salvolds Dec 09 '16 at 09:51
  • @salvolds, I looked at the source code for the WinCE app and it is so poorly written that I am planning to rewrite from scratch and just keep the old stuff working as best I can with minimal effort until that's ready. :S – jacobq Dec 09 '16 at 15:23
  • Microsoft are pushing Windows 10 Embedded IoT heavily and have broken tonnes of their own links! The removal of information on CE 5.0, 6.0 and XP is so aggressive it is surely deliberate. For example from https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=14226 try click the `Windows Embedded CE` link at the bottom (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsembedded/en-us/products/windowsce/default.mspx). Windows CE 6.0 licenses are good till 2023 so not quite dead. Several OEMs sell Windows CE 6.0 licenses, such as F&S (Germany). FYI, we use VS 2005 with .NET 2.0 CF. – AlainD Dec 14 '16 at 16:31

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