Rockwell Automation 2711P Software Development Kit User Manual - Manual (Page 31)

Publication 2711P-UM005A-EN-P - March 2007
Developing CE Applications 31
Persistency Considerations Installation of a new application program on the PanelView Plus CE
device typically adds a new icon to the Windows Desktop and
sometimes a new entry in the Start Menu. Shortcuts in the folder
\Windows\Desktop create the Icons on the desktop. Shortcuts and
subfolders in the folder \Windows\Programs form the Start Menu. A
shortcut in the folder \Windows\Startup will automatically launch a
program at startup. A control panel applet that was added by an
application has a file extension *.CPL and resides in the folder
\Windows.
All this appears very Windows-like and ordinary until one considers
that the \Windows folder is effectively a RAM disk that is recreated at
startup; for example. it is not persistent. When the operating system
boots, it creates a new file system including \Windows and that
effectively removes all traces of the end-user applications that once
existed. With that in mind, special considerations are necessary for
applications on the PanelView Plus CE device and all similar
embedded devices since the Icons, the Start Menu, and
application-provided Control Panel Applets must be recreated at
startup.
The solution is to place user-added content in \Storage
Card\Windows or in a directory under it. In a normal system
initialization sequence, everything in \Storage Card\Windows\ (in the
persistent file system), including subdirectories and their contents, is
copied to \Windows (in the RAM file system).
Set up the Development
System Typically, development will take place on an x86 machine running a
Microsoft Win32 operating system and Microsoft cross development
tools. Ethernet or serial link will connect the development system to
the target PanelView Plus CE device, and x86 binary files generated
on the development system will be downloaded to the target for
testing and debugging.
Follow these steps to set up the development system:
1. Install Microsoft ActiveSync software on the host system.
This utility is needed to download applications to the PanelView
Plus CE device and supports several helpful remote
development tools. ActiveSync 3.7 is available for download
from Microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/.