nivanov Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 Hey everyone, I recently posted this idea under the topic about AVIC running Linux. Although, Linux is definitely an option for this system, I think it's a bit of an overkill. I was thinking of rewriting the front-end in managed .NET code for .NET CF platform, and I'm trying to see how many people would be willing to contribute. I'd want to keep it open-source and free, so by contributing, I mostly mean "code". Please reply if you have programming experience in .NET or Java. Here are a few advantages as well as potential hurdles: Pros: -.NET is easier so the programming community is larger -Infinite customization capabilities. It's open source so you can change what you want, if you are able. -Heavily re-use existing Pioneer functionality through existing DLLs for Ipod integration, as well as IGO interaction -Limitless compatibility with GPS engines, like TOMTOM, Garmin, IGO, IGuidance etc. Cons: -Technically challenging. I personally have never written anything major for WinCE. I have extensive experience with .NET though and have written some small software in .NET CF. -.NET CF might actually be just as slow as Pioneer software (although I really doubt that ) -We might not get any support from Pioneer's side in terms of hardware interaction layer. Things we are likely to not have problems with: GPS, Sound, Microphone, Touchscreen - those things are handled by the OS. Things we most likely will have problems with - AM/FM/XM/Sirius/HD Radio and other IPBUS devices, Auxilary IO. Opinions? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BorisM Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 Sounds like a good plan. Question 1 though -- does the unit already have .NET СА installed on it? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nivanov Posted November 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 We'll probably end up using .NET CF 2.0, which is, by default, not installed on WinCE 5. It is pretty simple to deploy it though. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BorisM Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 True... Although the unit does not have _that_ much fre space available. After adding 3D buildings for North America and newer maps, I think there's just over 100MB left, and we'd need room for СА and whatever we develop in it. Of course with a proper shell we can run most of the stuff off of SD... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Bman69 Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 well boris dont forget that you would be removing alot of the unused pioneer software then since it wouldnt all be needed :/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BorisM Posted November 19, 2008 Report Share Posted November 19, 2008 well boris dont forget that you would be removing alot of the unused pioneer software then since it wouldnt all be needed :/ I, personally, think that it would be a good idea to keep the original shell on the unit to use as a backup. Besides, the native shell and AV/Tel/etc. executables aren't all that big (and we'll need to reuse existing libraries)... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nivanov Posted November 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 21, 2008 The more I think about this front-end, the more it looks like a more powerful Launcher, kind of like what LeetCoder. I'll PM him and see if he'd like to join us on this project. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LCatGA Posted November 22, 2008 Report Share Posted November 22, 2008 I'm in - also could get some of my Russian guys to work on it Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nivanov Posted November 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 I created an SVN tree and uploaded some files to a repository on Assembla: http://www.assembla.com/spaces/OpenNav To contribute to the project you'll need Visual Studio 2005 with AnkhSVN installed (you can use other SVN clients too, but that one integrates well with VS). I also uploaded an emulator image we can use for debugging - you can find it in the Files section. I'll write a short guide to setting up the environment soon. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LCatGA Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 I houpe Studio 2008 works for this proj Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nivanov Posted November 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 Yeah it should... Maybe I should upgrade? For now, please don't commit any non-text files to SVN, like sln or resx. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gpollacchi Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 I can contribute with the interface design. Just let me know what kind of files you guys need and I will do the rest. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nivanov Posted November 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 I structured the resource code so it would be easy to skin the application by providing different files for button images and stuff like that, so we'll definitely need someone to design the "default" skin. It would be nice to get the basic functionality going first though, but you can definitely contribute to GUI components. Thanks! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nivanov Posted November 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 I switched to VS 2008 and checked in all the file changes. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gpollacchi Posted November 24, 2008 Report Share Posted November 24, 2008 I structured the resource code so it would be easy to skin the application by providing different files for button images and stuff like that, so we'll definitely need someone to design the "default" skin. It would be nice to get the basic functionality going first though, but you can definitely contribute to GUI components. Thanks! Exactly, I need to know the functionalities first. For the map function, what kind of software are you going to use, iGo, TeleAtlas, NAVTEQ? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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