Silver GPS - Part 1

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Ok, here is part 1 of a multi-part installment to cover the Silver GPS application.  I thought we would start by examining the "Big Picture" below.

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This first segment will focus on the Mobile GPS Tracker client - which includes the ability to capture GPS data and store it locally on the device in a SQL Server Compact database.  Before we begin, here is the software you will need to complete this piece of the application:

The starting point for this application will be the "GPS Sample" application that gets installed with the Windows Mobile 6 SDK at:

C:\Program Files\Windows Mobile 6 SDK\Samples\PocketPC\CS\GPS

You can get a feel for how the "FakeGPS" SDK tool works by  copying the "FakeGPS.CAB" file from the following folder:

C:\Program Files\Windows Mobile 6 SDK\Tools\GPS

to the GPS Sample project.  Then "include" the FakeGPS.CAB file in your project and right-click, mark the "Build Action" property as "Content" - so it gets deployed to the device.

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To see this in action - Press F5 to run the application - Select "Windows Mobile Professional Emulator" as the deployment device.

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The application will then be deployed to the device and you will see the following screen:

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Click on Start / File  Explorer / MyDevice / Program Files / gpssample to navigate to the installation folder.

Double-click on the "FakeGPS.cab" file - this will install the FakeGPS tool on the emulator device.

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Once installed, you will find the FakeGPS application under Start / Programs on the emulator device:

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After double-clicking, select the listbox item to "Enable" the FakeGPS tool and use the "FakeGPSData.txt file for GPS emulation data points.

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At this point, you are ready to "Start" the GPS sample application and you will see  that is starts registering GPS information via the emulator device...

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We will use this base GPS application as a starting point for building the Silver GPS mobile application.  In addition to this core GPS functionality, we will add the following items to the solution:

  1. Add a new SQL Compact Database to the solution
  2. Design the layout of the SQL Compact Database
  3. Add a Timer control
  4. Add code to "Save" the data to the SQL Compact database
  5. Add new menu items to start/stop saving GPS data to the SQL Compact database

 

(1) - Add a new SQL Compact Database to the solution:

  • Right-click on the solution, "Add New Item" - > Database File -> Name it GPSTracks.sdf

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(2) - Design the layout of the SQL Compact Database:

  • Open the Database designer and add these fields:
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  • Note the use of the "Identity" field type for the ID field above.

(3) Add a Timer Control:

  • Add a timer control to the main form and logic to save to the database every 2 minutes (120,000 milliseconds):
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(4) Add code to "Save" the data to the SQL Compact database

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(5) Add new menu items to start/stop saving GPS data to the SQL Compact database 

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And there you have it - a complete, ready-to-use GPS tracking application that saves your GPS data to a local SQL Compact database.

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Here is the link to the code: SilverGPS_Part1.zip

and here is a link to a 15 minute overview with a Silverlight 1.0 Pop-Up Player: https://www.dotnettikihut.com/SilverGPS/

(Be sure to float over the top & bottom of the player to activate the controls and markers)

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Well see you next time for Part 2 in the SilverGPS series:

"Creating a WCF host Web Service and Mobile NET CF Client"

 

Technorati Tags: SilverGPS, Compact Framework, WCF, Mobile, GPS