GCC C/C++ Compiler Ported to WinCE

An anonymous reader writes "This interview at WindowsForDevices is with a young Russian programmer who earlier this year launched a project to port the open source GCC C/C++ compiler and supporting tools (library, manager, linker, etc.) to Windows CE and the Pocket PC platform. The result, according to Vitaliy Pronkin, the project's founder, is that it is now possible to develop applications directly on a Pocket PC PDA using the standard C/C++ programming language. Specifically, source code written in eVC (MFC isn't supported yet) can be built and then executed directly on the Pocket PC (or other Windows CE device) without conversion or additional runtimes. Find it, fix it, compile it, run it -- right on your Pocket PC!"

Comments

Open source for CE

[chochos]

Hopefully this will open the door for porting and developing many open source applications on CE. It would be interesting to see an open IDE, maybe an eclipse plug-in or something.

The one thing the Zaurus could do WinCE couldn't..

[RevAaron]

When people cheerlead for the Zaurus, and I made a reply pointing out that all of those things can be done on the Zaurus, the one thing that I couldn't come back that WinCE did as well with was a C compiler. All of the other stuff- SSH, VNC, writing code, etc- can be done on WinCE, and in some cases is actually done better on WinCE than it is on the Zaurus. For instance, writing, compiling and viewing LaTeX docs- it's easy to do on WinCE, with a decent app that integrates it all, but on the Zaurus, you're stuck with a lot of configuring and writing code in vi rather than integrating with the Qtopia environment. Eww.

Someone did a port of GCC to MIPS/WinCE a while back, but since everyone is using ARM processors now a days, that was pretty useless. NOt sure of the usefulness of this project, but certainly someone will get something out of it!

I for one do a fair amount of coding all on the WinCE device, never needing to get a desktop to intervene. No, I don't have a Windows desktop. Smalltalk, Python, Java, Perl/tk and a number of other languages are all available on WinCE- meaning you can do development without a Windows desktop or MS SDK.

Seems to me ...

[torpor]

... that there is a huge market here, for a *smart* PalmOS-based development tool.

You may not want to write C code (lord, I would default to (void *) for everything!) but I'm sure there are ways to approach PalmOS application-development in a "PalmOS GUI"-like manner...

It seems to me that a good test of a GUI system is how well that GUI system supports continued development of apps for that system ... well, s/GUI/user interface/ ... I mean, for text-mode user interface style interaction, a text-based programming language and development environment is appropriate.

But for a pen/graffiti/limited text entry capabilities/bitmap style interface ... what 'language' (should language even be used?) or development environment would work best?

For PalmOS, I'd love to see a drag 'n drop-style editor environment (like Delphi...) with a very smart 'scripting language', the basics of which are described in PalmOS-GUI metaphors ... making development *on* PalmOS the priority.

I'd pay for that, if it existed, as a developer, especially if it gave me the ability to do graphics fairly easily ...

Perhaps some of the FLASH-based Flash development environments would work? My Clie can play Flash now ... I should check into that.