FAQ-1013 Can I use Visual Studio .NET with Symbian OS v7.x or v8.x SDKs?


FAQ-1013 Can I use Visual Studio .NET with Symbian OS v7.x or v8.x SDKs?

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Classification:	C++	Category:	Utilities & Build Tools
Created:	03/23/2004	Modified:	02/22/2005
Number:	FAQ-1013
Platform:	Symbian OS v7.0, Symbian OS v7.0s, Symbian OS v8.0, Symbian OS v8.1a

Question:
Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 is no longer sold or supported by Microsoft. Can I use Visual Studio .NET with Symbian OS v7.x or v8.x SDKs?

Answer:
Symbian does not guarantee or test the use of Symbian OS C++ SDKs in conjunction with Visual Studio .NET. For Symbian OS v7.0 and v7.0s, and for v8.x, Symbian enables two kinds of C++ SDK products:

WINS - built with the Microsoft Visual Studio v6.0 compiler
WINSCW - built with the Metrowerks CodeWarrior compiler

WINS SDKs can be used in conjunction with the legacy Microsoft Visual Studio v6.0 IDE. They can also be used in conjunction with the current Borland C++ BuilderX IDE. This is because the latter IDE ships with a licensed version of the Visual Studio .NET compiler, which has been found to be compatible with Symbian OS WINS SDKs.

Although Visual Studio .NET performs automatic conversion of Visual Studio v6.0 (vc6) projects, Nokia also now provide explicit support for Visual Studio .NET 2003 (v7.1) in their Series 60 SDKs from v2.1 (aka 2nd Edition, Feature Pack 1) via an abld makefile vc7 option, albeit that this fact is not mentioned in the build tools documentation in the accompanying Symbian Developer Library. Likewise for the equivalent Series 80 SDKs. For users of the older Visual Studio .NET 2002 (v7.0), some small modifications are needed to a Perl script to make the SDK(s) compatible. Instructions have been posted on a 3rd party web site.

Going forward, Symbian is committed to collaborating actively with its tools partners to ensure their products continue to interoperate with the latest Symbian SDKs. Currently the Symbian tools partners providing C++ IDEs are Metrowerks and Borland. Their IDE products for C++ development are, respectively, CodeWarrior and C++BuilderX.