Is it possible to run a program developed for Windows Embedded Compact 7 on Windows Mobile 6.5?

Question

I have tried searching for this answer and have had no luck. Any information would be useful.

Answer 1

Windows Mobile 6.5 was released in 2008 based on CE 5.2. Windows Embedded Compact 7 was released in 2011 and is CE 7.

If the application is developed targeting .Net Compact Framework 3.5 on Compact 7 then I think it will still run on 6.5.

If it was developed as native on Compact 7 then it may not run on Mobile 6.5 depending on APIs it uses. This answer says it can work. Applications going the other way are more likely to work.

Answer 2

Since you added C# I suppose that you are talking about a managed app. To run it you need the right version of the compact framework or a newer one on your device. Latest version supported on WM6.5 should be 3.5, I don't remember if it was part of the OS or if you needed to install it separately, here's the download link: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=65 If your app uses also native code things may be a little more complicated. CE 7 is binary compatible with older versions (WM6.5 is based on CE5), so those binary components may run on CE5 too. On the other side, new APIs have been added in CE6 and CE7 and this (or just the fact that they have been rebuilt using new SDKs) may prevent those things from running on that device. It may also happen that a managed app invokes some APIs that are not supported on that specific device (this may depend from OS version but also from the component the manufacturer decided to include in the OS image for that specific device). If you have source code you may be able to fix those issue. The only thing you can do is try and see what errors you get (if any). It's not granted that it will run, it's not granted that it won't run.