To help you understand how PPL 2.1 connects to your device and what technologies are being used, we have prepared a little diagram that explains the connection flows.

When you run a program on your computer instead of the device, the connection flow is almost the same. PPL IDE creates a local TCP/IP server, launches PPL 2 interpreter which in turn connects to the local server.

This will be the last update on the Windows Mobile SDK progress. That means, 1 thing. It is about to be ready for release. It will need some beta testing first to make sure we don’t have a disaster like the initial release

Here is the PGrid and menu bar on Windows Mobile 5:

Now on the PC:

We have optimized the PGrid display engine, it is working well on mobile.

Connection issues are all gone and running a program on Windows Mobile is super easy.

We target a release within the next few days if there are NO problems.

Things are progressing at a steady pace here. The Windows Mobile SDK is on its way to your desktop and device. We have managed to get most of the controls working fine. We have to double-check menu bars and menus and the grid control is not displaying, we also need to fix the fullscreen window mode. We have reworked the TCP connection system which will be more robust on Windows and Windows Mobile. Connecting to the Windows Mobile device is also very easy, no need for Internet connection, as long as you connect to Windows Mobile Device Center (ActiveSync) you will be able to run/debug on your device.

Here is the new Mobile menu that allow you to target your device from now on. No need to change any settings in your project, just use this menu.

Here is a Windows 7 form:

And here is the same form on Windows Mobile 5:

So as you can see, you will be able to use the Windows Mobile SDK in all of its glory very soon. We promised something that is working, we will deliver it to you!

Oh, I almost forgot, the new version will come with the following (more to come until release of course):

- Fixed & operator to work with arrays properly again.
- Fixed namespace in forward func/proc definitions.
- Fixed visual coding extra comma in $properties$.
- Only calls CleverUpdate once at startup.
- Data menu in Popupmenu in Project Manager not visible anymore if Orion is not installed.
- Fixed form constant re-creation when activating PIDE main window.
- New Collect() function to collect unused garbage in memory, often useful in loops.
- Fixed keyfile creation.
- Fixed refresh of properties when Preferences are being edited.
- Fixed Shell prompt.ppl load.
- Fixed creating a project from template when only a selection type project template when no project is opened.
- Fixed visual code syntax owner display bug.
- Fixed Ctrl+Space in visual code.
- Fixed PMenuItem.ImageIndex property editor was missing.
- Fixed PResource.SaveTempFile.
- Fixed code generation if property is object.
- Fixed PMenuItem imagelist display.
- Fixed PToolButton.ImageIndex.
- Fixed PToolBar click.
- New Installation guide is provided.
- Updated many help files.
- Fixed little memory problem with help editor on closing.
- Rewrote debugger engine so that PIDE is the server and target application is the client.
- Debugger retrieves public IP address from www.whatismyip.com automatically.
- New Mobile menu to allow run/compile/etc… for a Mobile device.
- Restructured the PProject class, no more Target platform selection.
- Fixed Case() expressions when using (expr) syntax.
- Fixed Using statement when loading from .ppc file.
- Fixed custom draw controls to work on Windows Mobile. (PPanel, PShape, PQuickButton).
- Fixed system colors on Windows Mobile.

We are getting there. The Windows Mobile SDK is being rewritten to allow better stability, better speed and most importantly working PCL libraries. We had a working version at some point but I guess in the last rush we’ve made so many modifications to the PCL libraries that it broke the Windows Mobile compatibility. As many of you know, we had decided to put the Windows Mobile compatibility down in our list. However we have realized (based on user’s feedback) that we had a big mobile community, so we are putting the focus on mobile on top of our list for some time.

It will be taking longer than we thought. It will be worth the wait though.

Thank you for your patience…

So I promised a new version of CleverUpdate and PPL 2 yesterday, I know. Sorry but I will delay it for another couple days but it will be for a good cause…

The Windows Mobile SDK is being fully tested and things are being made easier to setup. We have rewritten the debugger TCP/IP engine so that now the PIDE2 is the server and the client is the target application. This will make it a lot easier to setup Windows Mobile devices to connect to a server than act as a server.

Something quite interesting for Windows Mobile developers out there. Of course try to do it in PPL!

http://www.windowsmobilecontest.com/en/?pid=4

By popular demand here is a list of everything included in the separate PPL 2 packages:

PPL 2 Base Edition:

1. Create executable from the IDE.
2. Realtime code profiling and memory leaks detection.
3. Visual Programming, drag & drop.
4. Visual project manager allow simple object creation.
5. Visual Form Builder.
6. Auto-update installed components and packages.
7. Code-completion (Intellisense).
8. Tag search. Type english like phrase to find anything you want.
9. Smart moves (intelligent drag and drop of objects).
10. Integrated programmable Shell.
11. Intelligent help system and tooltips.
12. Open IDE API to create your own plugins.
13. Auto code templates.
14. Build components visually.
15. Advanced Help File Editor.
16. Syntax formatter.
17. Batch processor to create multiple objects at a time.
18. Find Wizard, search for anything, anywhere.
19. Visual Matrix data type editor.
20. Image list editor.

Orion Database Package:

1. Visual Query Editor.
2. Visual Report Builder.
3. Table Editor.
4. Database visual creation.
5. Table visual creation.
6. PDatabase, PTable, PGrid, PDBControl, PDBEdit, PDBCheckBox, PDBNavigator, PReport, PBand, PRText, PRDBText.
7. Database Project Templates.

Swirl Game Package:

1. Visual Map editor.
2. Surface Editor.
3. PGame, PMap, PSprite, PPhysicSprite, PWorldSprite, PLayer, PSoundEngine, PMusic, PSound
4. Game Project Templates.

Windows Mobile SDK:

1. Can create executables for Windows Mobile platforms.
2. Can compile and debug using Windows Mobile platforms.

As many of you, avid readers, know, PPL 2.0’s release was pushed to a later date. That date however is getting closer and this time we mean it.

PPL 2.0 is, by the day, getting new features and other areas are being polished and enhanced. The reason why we are adding new features late in the development is because in order to make PPL 2.0 a super easy programming environment (the way we’ve envisioned it at the beginning of the project), we are inventing new ways to program.

One of such new ways is called “Smart Moves”. This new technic allow you to drag objects over other objects and based on their class types, specific actions are taken. You define the smart moves in a file that looks like this.

<smartmove>
<source>PTable</source>
<target>PQuery</target>
<commands>
set 'Name' "'Name'_Query"
set 'Database' Root
set 'Query' "SELECT * FROM 'TableName'"
select Target
pide {pide_menu "Data:Populate Objects from Query"}
</commands>
</smartmove>

The smar moves definition file is an XML format file that contains commands to perform if an object is dragged over another. In this case, if a PTable object is dragged on a PQuery object, the query object will be assigned with all the necessary properties to execute the query on the source table. Even PField objects will be created with the Data -> Populate Objects From Query menu item. You can then drag the PField objects to, let’s say a PBand object in a report to create a PRText.

I think you get the idea, how powerful this new feature is?

The Orion database components are being worked on right now. We have the ability to easily create databases, tables and fields. If you already have a SQLite database file, just drag it to your project and all the neccessary objects will be created instantly. Importing text files into SQLite databases will be a breaze as well.

We also have a visual query builder included with the Orion library. We are working on a visual report builder which will allow you to preview reports on the Windows Mobile devices. This is something you don’t see in many WM development tools.

We are also adding a table data editor for you to insert and edit your tables data right from within the PPL 2.0 IDE.

Trust us the wait will have been well worth it!

What is wrong with Microsoft?

That is the question I am asking myself these days. Where are they going? Of course Microsoft has never been recognized for innovating. When they see something they can make money with, they simply buy the company and repackage the product and use their unlimited supply of money and marketing experts.

What is happening to their flagship products? Vista was almost a disaster, Zune is a disaster, Office UI is driving people nuts, I could go on…

That brings me to Windows Mobile. Oh yeah, 6.5 has been announced and we’ve all seen some screen shots and videos. OK, fine. We have not expected anything, considering the platform being so old with a UI designed for the 90’s. It is 2009 Microsoft. Oh sorry, they know, yes, they have updated the user interface. Great, they put this honeycomb launcher with an UGLY X has a close button. It still feels like the old Windows Mobile to me. Where is the innovation? Cell phones needs an easy user interface, fast response and great integration between applications.

Apple has almost got it perfect. The Windows Mobile offers something Apple will never let happen… You can develop what you want without any restrictions, this is a huge plus, developers are more interested in an open platform than a closed one. Microsoft should put more energy into the Windows Mobile platform, cell phones are an important part of people’s life these days and the market is huge. Windows Mobile 7 will be nowhere to be seen until 2010 maybe 2011, by then, it will be too late for the platform.

Now, why doesn’t Microsoft look at Mobile Shell 3? That is very close to innovation in my opinion. It is slick, it is fast (from the videos) and seems simple to use. In 2009, we need polished products from the mega-corporations, a nice looking launcher is not enough, we need a newer interface, better list boxes, bigger buttons, great menus, a USEABLE on-screen keyboard. We use our fingers, not a hard to reach stylus that we all lose and that scratches our screens. The basic API can be tweaked easily to allow a finger controlled UI. With their resources, it should have been feasible to release early this year.

Who cares about backward compatibility for old PocketPC and Windows Mobile applications? It is a perfect time, there are pratically no new applications for the platform coming out, it is almost dead. I am positive most developers will be happy to adjust parts of their applications to run on a fresh and viable platform. Sales drives us all.

On the hardware side of things, we don’t need accelerometers, we need OpenGL 3D compatible hardware. We need a consistent hardware requirement list:

• VGA OpenGL 3D video card
• Touchscreen
• Speakers
• Bluetooth
• Wifi
• 3G

That’s it, no cheap phones allowed. This way developers work for one set of hardware and know that their apps will work on all devices. Don’t worry people will buy these devices, they will get them for $99 with a three year contrac no problem.

Then you get the app market place to integrate itself perfectly with the OS and you’ve got a platform that will make you a leader.

Maybe WinMo 7 will surprise us all. I personally doubt it.

What do you guys think? Do I make sense?

As promised earlier in a previous post, I will be creating videos of PPL 2.0. To do this, I had to find the right tool for the job. I went for Camtasia Studio 5 from Techsmith. It is a bit expansive but it does a very good job.

Here is a list of all the videos that we are planning:

• Introduction to PPL 2.0
• Hello World project
• The Find Wizard
• Creating a Windows Mobile application
• Your first game with PPL 2.0

There will be more I am sure. More on this later…