Overwriting an eMbedded Visual Basic Application
I am considering rewriting an eMbedded Visual Basic application that I wrote many years ago. I am not sure about this because of the various issues that clients have consistently run into this from time to time over the years, basically one by one the application does not load anymore because the required dll / activex control is gone! It is so frustrating and naturally difficult to debug when the client is using it far away. In many cases, reinstalling the application will not fix the problem.
My preference would be to rewrite it in C # as I like C # and DotNet, but I'm also open to other platforms like Blackberry or iTouch / iPhone as long as the platform can support maps and GPS. I would start rewriting it in C #, but I can't be sure if I won't have the same problems in .net.
Has anyone else had similar issues with eVB apps that are gone / persisted when switching to CF DotNet? Or will you suggest another platform again?
Edit: Please note that I still want to move away from eVB, but if I go to CF DotNet, I want to make sure I don't have the same dll / control issues.
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I recommend .NET CF strongly, especially if you already know C # and .NET. Mono has been ported to the iPhone, so you can write applications that run on Windows Mobile and iPhone. No Mono for Blackberry (yet, if ever), so that's a definite limitation. I personally hate blackberries (I own a Blackberry, a WM smartphone, and a Blackberry makes me want to hang myself), but they have a really huge user base.
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You should have migrated from eVB years ago, but this water is under the bridge. If you want to continue targeting Windows CE / Windows Mobile, I would recommend switching to CF, it doesn't matter, use whatever you are comfortable with.
There is no guarantee that no matter your "missing DLL" problem this will not happen again as we have no idea the DLL is missing. If it was outside control, then you are at the mercy of the market. If the supplier survives, they will likely be in control.
If you're looking to target iPhone / Blackberry, then Java is likely to be your language of choice - tools I'm not familiar with. Eclipse for Blackberry - The iPhone may have its own tool.
As far as Silverlight is concerned, you can look at it, but it's too slow for now to become a viable platform, at least on any WinMo device I've ever seen. We have removed many, many CF apps for all kinds of verticals and have never experienced usability issues (although we have done this for a long time and know all the limitations and what we should and should not try).
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I suggest you take it one step further and look at Silverlight. One of the prerequisites is that it is more durable, portable, easier to download and install, and it hasn't gotten krufty yet.
I think it could be the next VB for embedded. One of the difficulties with CF is that I found it to be an insufficient subset of the real thing.
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Another option is NS Basic / CE. It is very eVB compatible, so you should be able to keep most if not all of your code. The product is constantly being updated so it works with current devices.
The installer that NS Basic / CE creates includes all the DLL files your program requires, so they will be included in the installation.
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