Several times in the past two weeks I’ve seen users on the MSDN forum ask what software tools are needed to develop for Windows Mobile. It’s possible to develop for Windows Mobile devices using the .Net Compact Framework SDK and the command line compiler. I would never suggest that some one do that; IDEs provide a much better debugging and development experience. The chart collowing this paragraph will let you know what versions of Visual Studio that you can use for each Windows Mobile and .Net version. Note that no Visual Studio express version is lited here.
| Visual Studio Version | Supported Windows Mobile Versions |
|---|---|
| Visual Studio .Net 2003 | Supports .Net Compact Framework 1.0 for Pocket PC 2002 and Windows Mobile 2003 |
| Visual Studio 2005 Standard Edition or Better | .Net 1.0 and .Net 2.0 from Windows Mobile 2003 to Windows Mobile 6 |
| Visual Studio 2008 Professional | .Net 2.0 and 3.5 from Windows Mobile 5 to Windows Mobile 6 |
Programs that you cannot presently use for Windows Mobile development include the express editions of Visual Studio and Visual Studio 2008 Standard.
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