14 DAY TRIAL // Redmond-based software company Microsoft launched in October last year a new flavor of its mobile client, Windows Mobile 6.5, accompanying it with new services for mobile phones, including the Windows Marketplace for Mobile, the place where users will find applications available for download for their devices. Developers willing to create software solutions for the OS need to have their apps included in the Marketplace so that they can reach end-users, and Microsoft provides now a series of tips meant to help them build their solutions faster and easier.
First of all, the company notes that all Windows Mobile applications developers need to make sure that they familiar with the Application Submission Requirements for Windows Marketplace for Mobile. Microsoft has recently made some changes to the Marketplace applications submission process, making it more developer friendly, but there are still certain requirements that one needs to pay attention to, and knowing them well enables developers to pass certification testing faster.
In addition, developers will also have to make sure that their application can “complete two hours of Microsoft’s Hopper test without exhibiting unpredictable behavior, hanging or crashing,” the company notes on its Windows Mobile Developer Blog. The solution comes as a great benchmarking tool for developers and, the longer the application can run Hopper, the higher are chances that it will pass the certification process. In case there are some who do not know, “Hopper is a software test tool that simulates random user input on mobile devices providing a sometimes meaningful mean time to failure (MTTF) number.”
The Microsoft Hopper Test Tool for Windows Mobile 6.0, 6.1, and 6.5 “is designed to find bugs and is not intended to run scenario tests or do 'specific user things' - it is completely random,” the company notes. The software solution is available in two flavors, depending on the Windows Mobile version, namely Standard and Professional. “It will stress your application like no user would in the real-world. It is great for exposing bugs that are not found during normal ad hoc testing. To ensure the device or your application is not hanging, it periodically pulls down the Start screen. It does not know anything about your application, in fact you have to artificially ‘force’ Hopper to tap and type into your application,” the blog post also notes.
One more thing that developers would have to do to make sure the app is certified for the Windows Marketplace for Mobile is to make their solution compatible with various hardware specs of devices, as well as with different screen sizes or orientation. “Developers must identify the required device functionality during the Windows Marketplace submission process. Applications must have the ability to run on multiple Windows Mobile device platforms, for example, multiple Standard or multiple Professional devices. Although not recommended, applications can support a limited number of Windows Mobile devices,” Microsoft states.
Additional details on how one can improve the development process of Windows Mobile applications can be found on this post on the Windows Mobile Developer Blog. The Microsoft Hopper Test Tool for Windows Mobile is available for download from Softpedia too, via this link.