demonstrates how to examine the Startup folder and launch the applications, find the Explorer.cpp file in the %_WINCEROOT%PublicShellOAKHPCExplorerMain folder. Look for a function called StartupProcessFolder and use it as a starting point for your own implementation.
The Windows Embedded CE standard shell can handle executable and shortcut files. Windows Embedded CE shortcut files differ from the shortcut files of Windows XP, but provide similar functionality. CE shortcut files are text files with an .lnk file-name extension. They contain the command-line parameters for the linked target according to the following syntax:
nn# command [optional parameters]
The placeholder
Directory('WindowsStartup'):-File('Home Page.lnk', 'Windowshomepage.lnk')
Chapter 2 covers these configuration tasks in more detail.
The key advantage of the Startup folder is that the applications placed in this folder do not need to implement the SignalStarted API to inform the kernel that the initialization and start process completed successfully. However, this also implies that the operating system cannot manage dependencies between applications or enforce a specific startup sequence. The operating system starts all applications in the Startup folder concurrently.
Delayed Startup
Another interesting option to start applications automatically is to leverage the services host process (Services.exe). Although Windows Embedded CE does not include a full-featured Service Control Manager (SCM), it does include built-in services and also comes with a sample service called Svcstart that can be used to start applications.
Svcstart is particularly useful for applications with dependencies on system components and services that are not immediately available after the startup process finishes. For example, it might take a few seconds to obtain an Internet Protocol (IP) address from a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server for a network interface card (NIC) or initialize a file system. To accommodate these scenarios, the Svcstart service supports a Delay parameter that specifies the time to wait before starting an application. You can find the Svcstart sample code in the %_WINCEROOT%PublicServersSDKSamplesServicesSvcstart folder. Compile the sample code into Svcstart.dll, add this DLL to your run-time image, and then run the sysgen -p servers svcstart command to register the Svcstart service with the operating system. Load it by using Services.exe.
Table 3-4 lists the registry settings that the Svcstart service supports to start applications.
Table 3-4 Svcstart registry parameters
| Location | HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftSvcstart1 |
|---|---|
| Application Path | @='iexplore.exe' |
| Command-line Parameters | Args='-home' |
| Delay Time | Delay=dword:4000 |
| Description | Starts the application with the specified command-line parameters after a delay time defined in milliseconds. See the Svcstart.cpp file for more details. |
Windows Embedded CE Shell
By default, Platform Builder provides three shells to implement the interface between the target device and the user: the command processor shell, the standard shell, and a thin client shell. Each shell supports different features to interact with the target device.
Command Processor Shell
The command processor shell provides console input and output with a limited set of commands. This shell is available for both display-enabled devices and headless devices without keyboard and display screen. For display-enabled devices, include the Console Window component (Cmd.exe) so that the command processor shell can handle input and output through a command-prompt window. Headless devices, on the other hand, typically use a serial port for input and output.
Table 3-5 lists registry settings that you must configure on the target device to use a serial port in conjunction with the command processor shell.
Table 3-5 Console registry parameters
| Location | HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINEDriversConsole | |
|---|---|---|
| Registry Entry | OutputTo | |
