Program Requirements:
Device:
Windows CE 2.0 or later for HPCs, Windows CE 2.11 or later for HPC/Pro or Palm-size PCs
300 K free RAM minimum - 1.5MB Maximum
Desktop:
Windows 95/98 or NT 4.0

Have you ever dreamed of writing programs for your Windows CE device but were afraid of the learning curve and expense for development tools? Well, you'll be happy to know that there is a great package available called NS Basic/CE from NS Basic Corporation.  NS Basic has been around for awhile for the Apple Newton and now it is available for Windows CE.

NS Basic/CE is a complete BASIC toolkit that runs entirely on the Windows CE device. You don't need a PC to write/compile your programs on. It uses Microsoft's standard VBScript engine which is built into the ROM of many Windows CE devices.

Installing NS Basic/CE is basically as easy as installing most Windows CE applications. The basic installation itself requires 300K of free storage space. For WinCE units that do not have VBScript.DLL in ROM, an additional 750K of libraries is required.  And for those units that do not have the MFC library in ROM, the installation takes another 400K.   Most second generation H/PCs contain the VBScript and MFC libraries in ROM. So, an installation can use up to 1.5meg of storage space. To actually run NS Basic/CE, it requires about 350K of free program memory to run, but this figure depends on the program you are writing.

After everything is installed, the fun starts. If you are a beginner, Basic is the best language to start with. It is easy to learn but is still quite powerful. If you've had any exposure to Microsoft Visual Basic, you'll really be comfortable with NS Basic. There is even a Visual Designer program built in that you can use to build your screens. Your screens can have textboxes, buttons, pull down menus, and other objects.

Just like in Visual Basic, once you add an object to a form, you can edit its properties to define the color, height, width, etc. It is very easy to make your forms look just the way you want. And the great thing is that you don't have to write any code when you're designing your program's interface (forms). You just click, drag, drop and edit properties. NS Basic does the rest.

Of course there's more to programming than just creating the interface. NS Basic has extensions that provide support for file I/O, serial I/O, WINSOCK, financial functions, database I/O, standard screen input and output objects,  dialog boxes and support for ActiveX. Applications that you create are freely distributable (royalty free).

The actual code editor is pretty simple. It contains most features that would be expected for a program editor including Copy, Paste, Cut, and Find commands. It can be tedious to enter your program on a Palm size PC using the soft keyboard. But, there are way around this problem. You can use an external keyboard like the Travelboard. Or, you can write the code on your desktop PC using Notepad and then sync those notes to your PSPC.

Debugging support in NS Basic is pretty good. You can set break points, but can not watch variable contents once the program is running. There are TRACE and STEP capabilities also. This can help you follow the flow of your program.

Help support for NS Basic/CE is great.  The on-line help contains a summary of all statements, functions, objects and constants. The package also includes a 200 page spiral bound book and lots of sample code. The NS Basic website has a nice online discussion area for people to ask questions and there is even an Avantgo channel that has weekly lessons for learning how to program from a beginner level.

I found that NS Basic/CE was an excellent product that was easy to learn and fun to use. I would highly recommend it to anyone that wants to get their feet wet programming for Windows CE.

Price: $99.95

Pros:
Easy to learn.
Powerful.
Doesn't require a PC.

Cons:
Installation can take up to 1.5meg for units that don't have VBScript.DLL and MFC libraries built into ROM.