Windows CE

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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:More citations needed Template:Infobox OS Windows CE, later known as Windows Embedded CE and Windows Embedded Compact, is a discontinued operating system developed by Microsoft for mobile and embedded devices. It was part of the Windows Embedded family<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and served as the software foundation of several products including the Handheld PC, Pocket PC, Auto PC, Windows Mobile, Windows Phone 7 and others.

Unlike Windows Embedded Standard, Windows For Embedded Systems, Windows Embedded Industry and Windows IoT, which are based on Windows NT, Windows CE uses a different kernel.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Microsoft licensed it to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), who could modify and create their own user interfaces and experiences, with Windows Embedded Compact providing the technical foundation to do so.

Windows CE can be configured as monolithic kernel or hybrid kernel, depends on the target device type and the manufacturer. Windows Mobile and Windows Phone 7 are always monolithic kernel.

Earlier versions of Windows CE worked on MIPS and SHx architectures, but in version 7.0 released in 2011—when the product was also renamed to Embedded Compact—support for these were dropped but remained for MIPS II architecture. The final version, Windows Embedded Compact 2013 (version 8.0), released in 2013, only supports x86 and ARM processors with board support package (BSP) directly.<ref name="ec2013_bsp">Template:Cite web</ref> It had mainstream support until October 9, 2018, and extended support ended on October 10, 2023; however, license sales for OEMs will continue until 2028.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=WinCEFAQ/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Features

Pocket CMD v 3.0 (cmd.exe) on Windows CE 3.0

Windows CE is optimized for devices that have minimal memory; a Windows CE kernel may run with one megabyte of memory.<ref name=ce_memreq>Template:Cite web</ref> Devices are often configured without disk storage, and may be configured as a "closed" system that does not allow for end-user extension (for instance, it can be burned into ROM). Windows CE conforms to the definition of a real-time operating system, with a deterministic interrupt latency. From Version 3 and onward, the system supports 256 priority levels<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and uses priority inheritance for dealing with priority inversion. The fundamental unit of execution is the thread. This helps to simplify the interface and improve execution time.

The first versionTemplate:Snd known during development under the code name "Pegasus"Template:Snd featured a Windows-like GUI and a number of Microsoft's popular apps, all trimmed down for smaller storage, memory, and speed of the palmtops of the day. Since then, Windows CE has evolved into a component-based, embedded, real-time operating system. It is no longer targeted solely at hand-held computers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Many platforms have been based on the core Windows CE operating system, including Microsoft's AutoPC, Pocket PC 2000, Pocket PC 2002, Windows Mobile 2003, Windows Mobile 2003 SE, Windows Mobile 5, Windows Mobile 6, Smartphone 2002, Smartphone 2003, Portable Media Center, Zune, Windows Phone 7 and many industrial devices and embedded systems. Windows CE even powered select games for the Sega DreamcastTemplate:Citation needed and was the operating system of the Gizmondo handheld.

A distinctive feature of Windows CE compared to other Microsoft operating systems is that large parts of it are offered in source code form. First, source code was offered to several vendors, so they could adjust it to their hardware. Then products like Platform Builder (an integrated environment for Windows CE OS image creation and integration, or customized operating system designs based on CE) offered several components in source code form to the general public. However, a number of core components that do not need adaptation to specific hardware environments (other than the CPU family) are still distributed in binary only form.

Windows CE uses WCELDR as its second stage boot loader in x86 platforms; or uses EBOOT as its boot loader in ARM platforms. Windows CE uses manufacturer-prebuilt Registry to manage hardware devices.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On the startup process, NK.BIN boot image or NK.EXE kernel is loaded by the WCELDR or EBOOT bootloader.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Windows CE 2.11 was the first embedded Windows release to support a console and a Windows CE version of Template:Mono.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

History

Template:Multiple image

Logo on the Dreamcast: "Compatible with Windows CE"

Windows Embedded Compact was formerly known as Windows CE. According to Microsoft, "CE" is not an explicit acronym for anything, although it implies a number of notions that Windows developers had in mind, such as "compact", "connectable", "compatible", "companion" and "efficient".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The name changed once in 2006, with the release of Windows Embedded CE 6.0, and again in 2011, with the release of Windows Embedded Compact 7.

Windows CE was originally announced by Microsoft at the Computer Dealers' Exhibition (COMDEX) in 1996 and was demonstrated on stage by Bill Gates and John McGill. Microsoft had been testing Pegasus in early 1995 and released a strict reference platform to several hardware partners. The devices had to have the following minimum hardware specifications:

  • SH3, MIPS 3000 or MIPS 4000 CPU
  • Minimum of 4 MB of ROM
  • Minimum of 2 MB of RAM with a backup power source, such as a CR2032 coin cell battery
  • Powered by two AA batteries
  • A physical QWERTY keyboard including Ctrl, Alt, and Shift keys
  • A LCD of 480×240 pixels with four shades of gray and two bits per pixel with touchscreen that could be operated by either stylus or finger
  • An IrDa transceiver
  • Serial port
  • PC Card socket
  • Built-in speaker

Devices of the time mainly had 480×240 pixel displays with the exception of the Hewlett-Packard 'Palmtop PC' which had a 640×240 display. Each window took over the full display. Navigation was done by tapping or double tapping on an item. A contextual menu was also available by the user pressing the ALT key and tapping on the screen. Windows CE 1.0 did not include a cascading Start menu, although Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 did. Microsoft released the Windows CE 1.0 Power Toys that included a cascading menu icon that appeared in the system tray. Also bundled were several other utilities, most notable were a sound applet for the system tray, enabling the user to quickly mute or unmute their device or adjust the volume and a 'pocket' version of Paint.

The release of Windows CE 2.0 was well received. Microsoft learned its lessons from consumer feedback of Windows CE 1.0 and made many improvements to the operating system. The Start menu was a cascading menu, identical to those found on Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0. Color screens were also supported and manufacturers raced to release the first color H/PC. The first to market was Hewlett Packard with the HP 620LX. Windows CE 2.0 also supported a broader range of CPU architectures. Programs could be also installed directly in the OS by double clicking on CAB files. Due to the nature of the ROMs that contained the operating system, users were not able to flash their devices with the newer operating system. Instead manufacturers released upgrade ROMs that users had to physically install in their devices, after removing the previous version. This would usually wipe the data on the device and present the user with the setup wizard upon first boot.

In November 1999, it was reported that Microsoft was planning to rename Windows CE to Windows Powered.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This name only appeared in brand in Handheld PC 2000 and a build of Windows 2000 Advanced Server for network-attached storage devices (which bears no relation to Windows CE). Various Windows CE 3.0 products announced at CES 2001 were also marketed with the "Windows Powered" umbrella name.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Development tools

Visual Studio

Microsoft Visual Studio 2012, 2013, and 2015 support apps and Platform Builder development for Windows Embedded Compact 2013.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 and earlier support projects for older releases of Windows CE/Windows Mobile, producing executable programs and platform images either as an emulator or attached by cable to an actual mobile device. A mobile device is not necessary to develop a CE program. The .NET Compact Framework supports a subset of the .NET Framework with projects in C#, and Visual Basic (.NET), but not Managed C++. "Managed" apps employing the .NET Compact Framework also require devices with significantly larger memories (8 MB or more) while unmanaged apps can still run successfully on smaller devices. In Visual Studio 2010, the Windows Phone Developer Tools are used as an extension, allowing Windows Phone 7 apps to be designed and tested within Visual Studio.

Free Pascal and Lazarus

Free Pascal introduced the Windows CE port in Version 2.2.0, targeting ARM and x86 architectures. Later, the Windows CE header files were translated for use with Lazarus, a rapid application development (RAD) software package based on Free Pascal. Windows CE apps are designed and coded in the Lazarus integrated development environment (IDE) and compiled with an appropriate cross compiler.<ref>WinCE port Template:Webarchive - Lazarus wiki</ref>

Platform Builder

This programming tool is used for building the platform (BSP + Kernel), device drivers (shared source or custom made), and the apps. This is a one stop environment to get the system up and running. One can also use Platform Builder to export a software development kit (SDK) for the target microprocessor (SuperH, x86, MIPS, ARM etc.) to be used with another associated tool set named below.

Others

Relationship to Windows Mobile, Pocket PC, and Smartphone

Template:Wide image Often Windows CE, Windows Mobile, and Pocket PC are used interchangeably, in part due to their common origin. This practice is not entirely accurate. Windows CE is a modular/componentized operating system that serves as the foundation of several classes of devices. Some of these modules provide subsets of other components' features (e.g. varying levels of windowing support; DCOM vs COM), others which are separate (bitmap or TrueType font support), and others which add additional features to another component. One can buy a kit (the Platform Builder) which contains all these components and the tools with which to develop a custom platform. Apps such as Excel Mobile (formerly Pocket Excel) are not part of this kit. The older Handheld PC version of Pocket Word and several other older apps are included as samples, however.

Windows Mobile is best described as a subset of platforms based on a Windows CE underpinning. Currently, Pocket PC (now called Windows Mobile Classic), Smartphone (Windows Mobile Standard), and Pocket PC Phone Edition (Windows Mobile Professional) are the three main platforms under the Windows Mobile umbrella. Each platform uses different components of Windows CE, plus supplemental features and apps suited for their respective devices.

Pocket PC and Windows Mobile are Microsoft-defined custom platforms for general PDA use, consisting of a Microsoft-defined set of minimum profiles (Professional Edition, Premium Edition) of software and hardware that is supported. The rules for manufacturing a Pocket PC device are stricter than those for producing a custom Windows CE-based platform. The defining characteristics of the Pocket PC are the touchscreen as the primary human interface device and its extremely portable size.

CE 3.0 is the basis for Pocket PC 2000 and Pocket PC 2002. A successor to CE 3.0 is CE.net.<ref name="2000grad-dpa_henrich_poehls"/> "PocketPC [is] a separate layer of code on top of the core Windows CE OS... Pocket PC is based on Windows CE, but it's a different offering." And licensees of Pocket PC are forbidden to modify the WinCE part.<ref name="theregister-030416_pocket_not_wince">Template:Cite web</ref>

The Smartphone platform is a feature-rich OS and interface for cellular phone handsets. SmartPhone offers productivity features to business users, such as email, and multimedia abilities for consumers. The SmartPhone interface relies heavily on joystick navigation and PhonePad input. Devices running SmartPhone do not include a touchscreen interface. SmartPhone devices generally resemble other cellular handset form factors, whereas most Phone Edition devices use a PDA form factor with a larger display.

Releases

Version Name Released Support status Changes
1.0 Windows CE 1.0 November 16, 1996<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Unsupported as of December 31, 2001. Codename "Pegasus" and "Alder".<ref name="blogs_msdn-763146">Template:Cite web</ref>

1.01 version (1.0a)Template:Snd added Japanese language support.

2.0 Windows CE 2.0 September 29, 1997<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Unsupported as of September 30, 2002 for Windows CE 2.11. Mainstream Support ended on September 30, 2003, and Extended Support ended on September 30, 2005, for Windows CE 2.12. Codenamed "Birch".<ref name="blogs_msdn-763146" />
  • Devices named "Palm-size PC" (PsPC)<ref name="2000grad-dpa_henrich_poehls" />
  • Real-time deterministic task scheduling
  • Architectures: ARM, MIPS, PowerPC, StrongARM, SuperH and x86
  • 32-bit color screens
  • SSL 2.0 and SSL 3.0

2.11 version (Palm-Size PC 1.1)Template:Snd changed screen resolution to QVGA, added handwriting recognition. 2.11 version (Palm-Size PC 1.2)Template:Snd based on Windows CE H/PC 2.11 kernel, removed Pocket Office. HandeldPC 2.11 version (HandheldPC Professional)Template:Snd added small versions of Microsoft Access, improved Microsoft Office documents formats support.

3.0 Windows CE 3.0 June 15, 2000<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Mainstream Support ended on September 30, 2005, and Extended Support ended on October 9, 2007. Codenamed "Cedar"<ref name="blogs_msdn-763146" /> and "Galileo".
  • Major recode that made CE hard real time down to the microsecond level
  • Base for the Pocket PC 2000, Handheld PC 2000, Pocket PC 2002 and Smartphone 2002<ref name="2000grad-dpa_henrich_poehls" />
  • Priority levels were increased from 8 to 256<ref name="2000grad-dpa_henrich_poehls" />
  • Object store was increased from 65,536 to 4.19 million allowed objects<ref name="2000grad-dpa_henrich_poehls" />
  • Restricted access to critical APIs or restricting write access to parts of the registry<ref name="2000grad-dpa_henrich_poehls" />
4.x Windows CE 4.x January 7, 2002<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Mainstream Support ended on July 10, 2007, and Extended Support ended on July 10, 2012, for Windows CE 4.0, Mainstream Support ended on January 8, 2008, and Extended Support ended on January 8, 2013, for Windows CE 4.1 and Mainstream Support ended on July 8, 2008, and Extended Support ended on July 9, 2013, for Windows CE 4.2. Codenamed "Talisker/Jameson/McKendric".<ref name="blogs_msdn-763146" />
5.0 Windows CE 5.x August 2004.<ref name="blogs_msdn-763146" /> Mainstream Support ended on October 13, 2009 and Extended Support ended on October 14, 2014. Adds many new features. Codenamed "Macallan"<ref name="blogs_msdn-763146" />
  • Added automatic reporting for manufacturers<ref name="theregister-040329_readies_wince">Template:Cite news</ref>
  • Direct3D Mobile, a COM-based version of Windows XP's DirectX multimedia API<ref name="theregister-040329_readies_wince" />
  • DirectDraw for 2D graphics and DirectShow for camera and video digitisation support<ref name="theregister-040329_readies_wince" />
  • Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) support<ref name="seditaville_com-History_MS_Mobile_v2">Template:Cite web</ref>
  • The "Pro" version contains the Internet Explorer browser and Windows Media Player 9
6.0 Windows Embedded CE 6.0 September 2006 Mainstream Support ended on April 9, 2013, and Extended Support ended on April 10, 2018. Codenamed "Yamazaki".<ref name="blogs_msdn-763146" />
7.0 Windows Embedded Compact 7 March 2011 Mainstream Support ended on April 12, 2016, and Extended Support ended on April 13, 2021.
  • Support for x86, SH (automotive only) and ARM.
  • Multi-core CPU support (SMP).
  • Wi-Fi Positioning System.
  • Bluetooth 3.0 + HS support.
  • Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA).
  • DRM technology.
  • Media Transfer Protocol.
  • Windows Phone 7 IE with Flash 10.1 support.
  • NDIS 6.1 support.
  • UX C++ XAML API using technologies like Windows Presentation Foundation and Silverlight for attractive and functional user interfaces.
  • Modernized graphics based on OpenGL ES 2.0.
  • Advanced touch and gesture input.
  • Kernel support for 3 GB physical RAM and supports ARMv7 assembly.
  • the platform builder requires Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 with Service Pack 1 installed.
8.0 Windows Embedded Compact 2013 June 2013 Mainstream Support ended on October 9, 2018, and Extended Support ended on October 10, 2023.
  • DHCPv6 client with stateful/stateless address configuration.<ref name="ce2013wn">Template:Cite web</ref>
  • L2TP/IPsec over IPv6 for VPN connectivity.<ref name="ce2013wn" />
  • Snapshot boot.<ref name="ce2013wn" />
  • Improved XAML data binding and Expression Blend support.<ref name="ce2013wn" />
  • OOM Model improvements from 7.<ref name="ce2013wn" />
  • HTML help viewer added.<ref name="ce2013wn" />
  • The previously default desktop shell has been eliminated.
  • the platform builder requires Microsoft Visual Studio 2012, 2013 or 2015 installed.

See also

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References

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Template:Microsoft Windows family Template:Microsoft operating systems Template:Real-time operating systems

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