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So Windows Embedded Compact 7 (another classic from the naming department) supports Silverlight for Windows Embedded.
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsembedded/en-us/products/windowsce/compact7.mspx But this is a C++ only stripped down version of Silverlight 2 XAML.

Does anybody know if Windows Embedded Compact 7 will support real Silverlight? This seems to be out of step with Windows Phone (which I think is based on Windows CE 6) and the fact that Windows Embedded Compact 7 supports Flash 10.1.

Joe Wood
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  • [Silverlight for Windows Embedded (Compact 7) is a stripped down version of Silverlight 3](http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee502198(v=winembedded.70).aspx), not 2. – Felix Jul 07 '14 at 05:02

3 Answers3

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Not in the first release, no, it will not support managed Silverlight (or, IMO, what the entire world considers to be "Silverlight").

They may, at some point, move the work done by the Phone team to create a managed SL implementation, but they've made no announcements as to if or when that might ever occur.

ctacke
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    So in one release Microsoft have managed to confuse everybody with a convoluted name (this has nothing to do with Windows Embedded). Plus fragmented their development platform. Plus confuse consumers with an OS that is not likely to receive any real attention from developers. It is crazy that the only way to develop .NET applications for this OS is to use the Compact Framework and the old WinForms controls. I thought Microsoft was a platforms company? Surely a consistent platform should be their #1 priority. – Joe Wood Jun 02 '10 at 21:28
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    Well, it is really just the rename from Windows CE to Windows Embedded Compact. Then, as a Windows CE developer, I can tell you that we try to avoid managed code as it has a too high footprint and overhead (that's embedded development, not smartphone app development), so the native Silverlight is really welcome. – lornova Jun 15 '10 at 12:28
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    I've been working with MS platforms for nearly two decades and consistency has never been a priority as far as I can tell. Pick just about anything they put their hands on, but their workflow system comes to mind as a stunning example. It was on its own, then part of the server platform, then exchange, then not exchange, then no one knew where to put it, then it's in foundation, who knows where it is now or will be tomorrow. – Jeremy Sep 02 '11 at 23:06
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You'll see "Developers,Developers" Balmer come out later like he has done before and admit they made a mistake with this. Its the developers that produce the apps and if you make all the microsoft technologies linq, wpf, ria and patterns such as MVVM unuasable developers won't trust you and move to another platform. They dropped the ball on the Phone OS by not having a great consumer oriented phone. Now they will focus on consumers stick it to the business developers that they had built up on Windows Mobile. They did a great job with the silverlight 4 so I don't understand how they can drop the ball this badly on Compact 7.

Joe
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  • This is specifically about CE, *not* Windows Phone (which is managed Silverlight), so you're comparing apples and oranges. Microsoft's decision to do a C++ implementation of a XAML framework makes sense in light of the fact that it foremost needs performance on any potential target. I think the framework is a good idea and a good implementation, I just have a disagreement with calling is "Silverlight". – ctacke Jun 27 '10 at 17:57
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I agree about the non-uniform development environment, but you should also consider that the processor that are currently powering WP7 devices are not still available on the general embedded market where 1GHz processors are a small minority and 5-600MHz processors are used only for hi-end devices. Trying to run both the XAML and the .NET runtime could lead to weak performances and disappointing results. If you need RAD, use the Compact Framework. If you need cool UI, use Silverlight for Windows Embedded. You can't have both right now, as you can on the phone...

Valter Minute
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