14 DAY TRIAL // Redmond-based software giant Microsoft is set to open the gates for application submissions to its Windows Marketplace for Mobile today, a software portal expected to kick off this fall along with the newest iteration of its mobile operating system, Windows Mobile 6.5. The company already announced that the Marketplace would open to developers today, and now a few more details on what they should do to receive certification for their apps in the Portal have been published.
Among the steps that need to be taken in this direction, developers will have to make sure that their apps can “perform all primary and secondary functions while the Microsoft Application Verifier Test (AppVerifier) is running.” According to the company, there are a few conditions that the apps will need to meet so as to pass the AppVerifier test:
- The application must not break into the debugger, crash, or fail when Application Verifier Heaps, Locks and Handles related tests are performed. - The application must not have any invalid pointers associated with the main executable.
As mentioned before, passing the test is only one phase of the Windows Marketplace certification. Developers will need to read the Windows Marketplace Application Submission Requirements whitepaper (.pdf link) to learn all the details on the matter. As for the Application Verifier tool, it has been developed to check the stability of an application and to discover common programming mistakes.
“The tool can detect and pinpoint memory leaks, handle leaks, and leaks in graphics device interface (GDI) objects. The tool can also detect some forms of heap corruption. Application Verifier attaches to an application and performs tests while the application runs. With the tool, you may be able to diagnose subtle problems with an application that would otherwise be difficult to diagnose,” is what Eric Nelson says on the Windows Mobile Blog.
The Application Verifier Installation process (for 32-bit development environments) consists of the installation of: Microsoft .NET Framework Version 1.1 Redistributable Package, Microsoft Windows CE Test Kit (CETK), Application Verifier Tool, after which developers should run the appverifier.bat.
In addition, Eric Nelson also says that, “When using the desktop application for AppVerifier on Windows Vista and Windows 7, you must set up a Windows Mobile Device Center partnership with any device you are using with Application Verifier. Otherwise, after any initial connection with the device, subsequent connections will not work.” More details can be found here (Application Verifier for Windows CE and Windows Mobile 5.0) and here (Step by Step: Monitoring Resource Leaks Using the Application Verifier Tool for Windows Mobile 5.0).