automating your build process with CE 5.0

Command Line Build

Submitted by Erwin on May 15, 2008 - 22:31.

This post will show you how to create a batch file that will build your Windows CE OS without using the Visual Studio/Platform Builder IDE.

Often the question is asked how to setup an environment which automatically extracts all information from version control and then builds your code. There are a lot of tools that can help you do that: an open source alternative can be found at http://cruisecontrol.sourceforge.net.

To build your kernel without having to use the IDE create a batch file with the following content:

@echo off
SET _WINCEROOT=C:\WINCE500
SET _OSDESIGNDIR=%_WINCEROOT%\PBWorkspaces\YOUR_WORKSPACE_FOLDER
SET _OSDESIGN=%_OSDESIGNDIR%\YOUR_WORKSPACE_FILE.pbxml
SET _OSDESIGNCONFIG=YOUR_OSDESIGN_CONFIG_NAME

"%ProgramFiles%\Windows CE Platform Builder\5.00\CEPB\BIN\pbxmlutils" /getbuildenv /workspace "%_OSDESIGN%" /config "%_OSDESIGNCONFIG%" > SetEnv.bat

cd "%_OSDESIGNDIR%"
call SetEnv.bat
delete SetEnv.bat
cd "%_OSDESIGNDIR%"
blddemo clean -q


Note that for CE 6.0 pbxmlutils is located in "%ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Platform Builder\6.00\cepb\IdeVS\" and you use SET _WINCEROOT=C:\WINCE600

You need to replace the first 3 SET variables to match your specific project:

YOUR_WORKSPACE_FOLDER: Workspace folder which is located under the PBWorkspaces (CE 5.0) or OSDesigns (CE 6.0) folder. This is the folder that contains YOUR_WORKSPACE_FILE.

YOUR_WORKSPACE_FILE: The name of your OS Design workspace; the file with extension .pbxml. This file is located in YOUR_WORKSPACE_FOLDER.

YOUR_OSDESIGN_CONFIG_NAME: This is the configuration name you select in the IDE of Platform Builder, eg Emulator: x86_Release. You can also open your .pbxml file with notepad to find out what the configuration name is (search for Configuration Name).

Happy building!