Introducing the Windows Mobile API Usage Tool!

I'm really excited to announce the release of the Windows Mobile API Usage Tool, available here: https://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=fc803c7b-e855-475a-b8f3-38c19a007d36&displaylang=en

 The API Usage Tool scans your Windows Mobile applications (in cab, msi, or binary formats), performs static analysis, and reports on the usage of APIs and other system resources. Our application compatibility team has been using the tool for several months now to ensure that we have good coverage of our public SDK when we do testing with 3rd party applications, as well as to help guide resource allocation and investments toward the most frequently used APIs.

 The tool includes a file-- deprecated.txt-- that has the current list of deprecated APIs for Windows Mobile, and will report on your application's usage of these APIs. It's a really effective way to evaluate how your application will be affected once these deprecated APIs are removed from Windows Mobile.

 The tool is command-line based, and its output is a SQL Compact Edition database (.sdf file). When used with the /deprecated option, the tool will also generate a collection of useful reports.

 We're hoping that developers find the tool and reports useful, and we're encouraging developers to send us a copy of their database (or a link to a copy for larger files) at wmaut@microsoft.com. We'll aggregate the data and incorporate it into our application compatibility planning, and we'll also share findings with the community via this blog.