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Best Practices in Programming for Windows XP Starter Edition
Because there are some differences between Windows XP Starter Edition and other Windows XP Editions, there are some suggested best practices for developing Windows XP Starter Edition programs.
Windows XP Starter Edition is a 32-bit platform. Therefore, 64-bit programs will not run on Windows XP Starter Edition.
To learn more about general best practices for developing Windows programs, visit the SDK for more information.
The following are the system requirements for Windows XP Starter Edition.
To determine if programs are running on a Windows XP Starter Edition computer, the GetSystemMetrics API can be used. If the computer is running Windows XP Starter Edition, all the Windows XP Starter Edition limitations will apply.
/* First check if we are running on Windows XP */
OSVERSIONINFOEX osvi;
osvi.dwOSVersionInfoSize = sizeof(OSVERSIONINFOEX);
if (GetVersionEx((LPOSVERSIONINFO)&osvi))
{
if (osvi.dwPlatformId == VER_PLATFORM_WIN32_NT &&
osvi.dwMajorVersion == 5 &&
osvi.dwMinorVersion == 1)
/* Check for Windows XP Starter Edition */
if (GetSystemMetrics(SM_STARTER) > 0)
/* Running on Windows XP Starter Edition */
}
Windows XP Starter Edition computers cannot share its resources or access resources on other computers.
A Windows XP Starter Edition computer can connect to the Internet using a wireless, dial up, or high-speed connection and can access a server using FTP. A Windows XP Starter Edition computer can be connected to the Internet through a router, but it cannot be set up to belong to a network.
Computers running Windows XP Starter cannot do the following:
· Be connected to from another computer.
· Use the Common Internet File System (CIFS) protocol–a subset of the Server Message Block (SMB) file system protocol. This protocol is used over the Internet to enable groups of users to work together and share documents across the Internet or within corporate intranets.
Windows XP Starter Edition limits the number of programs that can run simultaneously to three distinct interactive programs, and limits the number of child windows to three windows per program. A program must have a top-level visible window and an entry in the notification area to count towards the three program limit. Background processes like NT Services and control panel applets do not count towards the limit. Therefore, if three interactive programs are running, another interactive program cannot be started.
For MDI programs, child windows count toward the three window limit. In MDI programs, close existing child windows if possible before displaying new windows.
A new process (child process) started from the main interactive program will count towards the three program limit. Therefore, it is recommended that you avoid creating new processes from your programs. If you need to create a new process, use the following programming guidelines to ensure that your program and any new processes started from that program run properly:
1. When the user starts a new process from your main program, create code that detects if the new process failed to start.
2. If the new process failed to start, display a notification that informs the user to close another program before they try to run the new process again. To enable the user to try to run the new process again, you may need to implement a user interface that allows them to retry the new process.
3. Implement code that continues to check that the program limit and displays a notification that informs the user to close another program until the process is successful.
Windows XP Starter Edition computers are locked by region so they cannot be activated outside of the region where the computer is sold. For testing on a Windows XP Starter Edition computer, there are currently two options available:
As part of Windows XP Starter Edition testing, the program limit should be tested. Interactive programs should be tested while one or two other interactive programs that have a visible top-level window are open. The program limit should be handled properly and should not cause any errors.
Large programs can use the majority of resources, and can affect computer performance. Because there are limits on the amount of memory and type of processor that can be used in Windows XP Starter Edition computers, testing on a machine with the minimum required memory and the minimum processor speed listed in System Requirements is necessary.
Certain features are unavailable in Windows XP Starter Edition, and any functionality associated with these features is unavailable. The following features are unavailable on Windows XP Starter Edition:
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