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• Simple language to learn and program 
• True (non-native) compiler, allowing you to save/share only the compiled applet if desired 
• Invisible data-type conversions to ease programming 
• Rich function library including graphics, sound, database, file, and serial I/O 
• String data type (which is, sadly, missing from C) 
• Generating CPU independent software with extremely small file size.  
• Dynamic memory allocation 
• COM support - allow you to call COM objects on the CE devices

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Previous versions 

PocketC V2.0 

PocketC V1.3 (Palm-sized PC  Handheld PC)

PROGRAMMING POWER
Programming Windows CE applications on your Windows CE machine
By Tom Campbell

PocketC
PocketC from OrbWorks (at http://www.orbworks.com) is the best of the languages described here for creating programs that look and feel like real Windows CE applications. While it is nowhere near as comprehensive or as fast as Visual C++, it more than compensates in ease of use and drastically lower entry costs--it runs a mere $25 for H/PC users, and--oddly--$24.95 for P/PC users. Don't ask me. Installation is straightforward but there is no installer program.

[Actually, the pricing difference might make some sense. Sometimes, you use different prices to see if different price points perform better. But I suspect different reasoning. Back when I had a software company, we'd regularly get checks without the buyer telling us which product in our line he or she was buying. By pricing the two products slightly differently, you can tell which product to send based on the amount of the payment. -- DG]

PocketC doesn't generate machine code like Visual C++. Instead, it writes intermediate code interpreted by a freely distributable runtime, which OrbWorks calls a virtual machine. This is the same approach taken by Visual Basic up until Version 4 and by Java now. Windows CE machines are particularly well suited to the use of VMs because they tend to run client applications that don't need incredibly fast loop or integer performance. The runtime is small, in the neighborhood of 100K. I have seen no programs written in PocketC that suffered from performance problems.

The PocketC language is nowhere near ANSI standard C. It is in fact far closer to Java or Visual Basic than C, with strings as a native data type, support for a range of hard-coded events, and no memory allocation. It's a very small language, lacking in such features as direct access to the Win32 API, compound data structures, and macros. Despite this you can write a wide variety of applications because its library includes graphics, registry, file system, and many other functions that in turn call the Windows CE API.

PocketC has the best Web site of any of the products reviewed here, and already has a booming third-party developer's market. If you see a game written or neat little utility for Windows CE, it's likely written in PocketC, because it is the best of the offerings here for those chores.

Among the more interesting contributions of third parties are Visual Form Buddy from http://www.krugsoft.com/, which generates PocketC forms code, and DelC, an improved IDE (Interactive Development Environment) from http://homepages.tig.com.au/~pcdz/delc/delc.htm that has its own support for PocketC forms. PocketC also generates code for other handheld machines. It's a bargain at $25 and the best starting point for CE development on a CE machine, at least if you know C.

Windows CE Lair Review PocketC 1.0 for Palm-sized PC

PocketC programming language and applications article is published in May/June 1999 issue of Handheld PC magazine.  

  CEcity Choice Award [September 12 1998]  

OrbWorks PocketC has been given the CEcity Choice Award. 

CeMonster Rating