Mike Meyer wrote: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: >> I have looked at the options for developing the client for these >> "electronic job sheets" and have decided upon Microsoft Pocket PC and >> the .net compact framework. It seems the easiest environment for >> developing and the PDA's can be obtained very cheaply as a package from >> a GSM/GPRS data carrier. > > That seems like overkill for this application. > >> Problem 1 - Physical connectivity >> how would I make the actual network connection in to the server from >> the client >> Running a VPN connection over GPRS ? >> Connecting to the web on the client then using web services ? > > The physical connectivity isn't your worry. How you access it from > software depends on your chosen platform. > >> The above decisions probably depend on the answer to problem 2... >> How to connect to the data >> Or even simpler I could just export data for the engineers into XML or >> .csv files and expose them using a web server the client then just >> connects to the server and then downloads the job data , and uploads >> completed job information > > I've gone this route before, and this is why I say your .net solution > looks like overkill. The phones that GSM providers *give away* have > web browsers built into them, and it's been that way for years. No > need for .net or Pocket PC or whatever on the mobile device - just get > a web-enabled phone. This makes half the development trivial - you > don't have to do *any* development on the mobile side of things. <cut> Somehow I immediately thought of the s60 platform, it even runs some form of python if you really need it to ;-) http://www.s60.com/
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