Windows Phone Thoughts: Upcoming Release of .NET Compact Framework CEDB Driver

It is a well-known and somewhat discussed fact that .NET Compact Framework does not include so-called managed capabilities to use the internal Windows CE object store. The Windows CE object store is sometimes referred to as CEDB, ADOCE or even "Pocket Access", even though Pocket Access has never existed as an application. With the older tools, some developers used and still uses the Windows CE object store to store application data. The lack of managed capabilities in .NET Compact Framework is an issue among this group of developers. Personally, I have stayed clear of the Windows CE object store because of its poor relational capabilities, performance and stability. I have used SQL Server CE and even local XML files instead. Meanwhile and since year 2000, I have tried getting my wish of having the Windows CE object store removed from Pocket PCs and instead get parts of SQL Server CE in place, through to Microsoft. I have a feeling it will eventually happen and if it does, it will be in line with what Microsoft does in other product areas.

Apparantly, not everyone is like me and the company BA Systems recently announced the upcoming release of "the Qarina Pocket Access Driver for the .NET Compact Framework". According to BA Systems, this driver will benefit application developers by allowing them to use interfaces familiar to them from the full .NET Framework with the Pocket Access database format for Pocket PC handheld devices. Drivers and middleware with the purpose of supporting managed access to the Windows object store already exist in the for of, for example ADOCE In The Hand or Odyssey Software CFCOM-ADOCE Component.

It will be interesting to see what BA Systems has done with their Quarina Pocket Access Driver for the .NET Compact Framework! Read on for more details from the press release!

"President and Co-Founder, William Mapp, noted that many Pocket PC application developers require the smallest footprint possible for their handheld solutions, yet want to begin building more robust and reliable applications using Microsoft's .NET Compact Framework. The omission of Pocket Access support was immediately noticed and major developers were left scrambling for a reliable substitute. Handheld developers have a challenging set of requirements to build the highest performance and memory efficient applications for such a restricted platform. "Qarina will allow developers to maintain a small footprint for their applications and still take advantage of the reliability provided by writing software for the .NET Compact Framework. In many situations, requiring the user to install the SQL Server CE database engine is not desirable because of the size and configuration requirements it presents. Qarina is a compact and high-performance alternative to SQLCE," Mapp said. Qarina is a driver component providing a rich API that helps decrease the time-to-market for database intensive Pocket PC applications. BA has presented a flexible and very attractive licensing arrangement that gives application developers the freedom to deploy the driver royalty free. Consumer applications and solutions that require wireless deployment are benefited tremendously by the compact size and automated installation of the driver. For desktop developers migrating to the Pocket PC, Qarina helps teams port their applications quickly to the handheld platform by supporting ADO.NET data access components that are intrinsic to the full .NET Framework. These features are part of BA's smaller, faster, smarter initiative that simplifies and enhances application development by using fundamental design processes. Qarina will be made available for beta testers towards the end of January and will ship in mid-February. The software is available from BA Systems and can be purchased from handango.com."