Platform Customization

Article
06/30/2006

Customizing a Microsoft® Windows® CE .NET–based platform can involve adding or removing features from the Catalog, adding projects, adding a board support package (BSP), adding a device driver, creating an OEM adaptation layer (OAL), creating a boot loader, localizing the platform, and exporting a software development kit (SDK).

In a typical platform development scenario, you first build a basic OS image, download it to a hardware development platform, such as the Emulator or a Windows CE PC-based hardware development platform (CEPC), and then refine and debug the platform.

The basic OS image includes core features that are included in the OS configurations provided with Platform Builder or from a configuration provided by a third-party vendor. The OS configuration and features are selected in the Platform Wizard when you configure a platform. The basic OS image also includes BSPs provided with Platform Builder, by a third-party vendor, or that you created using the BSP Wizard. A BSP contains an OAL, device drivers, and a default feature list for your custom hardware. An OAL is the layer between the Windows CE kernel and the hardware of your target device.

During the process of refining and debugging the platform, you can customize the platform by adding or removing features, and localizing the platform to adapt the OS for a specific international market or locale. You can add a feature provided with Platform Builder, and you can add features that you create, which are referred to as user features. In Platform Builder, you create a project using a project wizard, and the project has an associated Platform Builder project (.pbp) file.

The types of projects you can create include applications, transport layers, static libraries, and dynamic-link libraries, such as device drivers. A device driver links the OS and a device, making it possible for the OS to recognize the device and to expose the device's services to applications. A transport layer is used to communicate between a host computer and a connected device. You need a transport layer to export a custom SDK.

After refining and debugging the platform, you adapt it for your custom target device. If you are not using a standard BSP, you must create a boot loader and an OAL before you can download your OS image to your target device. You use a boot loader to download code such as an OS image to a target device.

Once you have completed your platform, you can provide support for the development of additional applications for the platform by using Platform Builder to create an SDK. Application developers can import your SDK into Microsoft eMbedded Visual C++® 4.0 and Microsoft Visual Studio® .NET to create, debug, and run custom applications.

Platform Customization

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