Catalog Files and Catalog Items (Compact 2013)

3/26/2014

Catalog items and BSPs are defined in catalog files. These files have an extension of .pbcxml (Platform Builder catalog XML) and are distributed throughout the Windows Embedded Compact directory structure. The root directory of the structure is %_WINCEROOT% (whose default value is WINCE800).

Here is a BSP definition from the catalog file %_WINCEROOT%\ platform\CEPC\Catalog\cepc.pbcxml:

  <Bsp Id="Bsp:MS:CEPC:X86">
    <Title>Generic CEPC : x86</Title>
    <Description>A BSP for a Windows Embedded Compact PC-based hardware reference platform, Virtual PC, or Hyper-V. The platform uses the OS based on the x86 architecture.</Description>
    <CecImportGuid>b3509b9a-f1e4-11d2-85f6-004005365450</CecImportGuid>
    <PlatformDirectory>CEPC</PlatformDirectory>
    <CpuId>Cpu:X86</CpuId>
    <BspItemId>Item:MS:bsp_wavedev_sb16:cepc</BspItemId>
    <BspItemId>Item:MS:bsp_nic_dc21x4:cepc</BspItemId>
  </Bsp>

This definition specifies the following BSP properties:

XML element / attribute	Property	Value
<Bsp> / Id	BSP identifier	Bsp:MS:CEPC:X86
<Title>	BSP title	Generic CEPC : x86
<Description>	BSP description	A BSP for a Windows Embedded Compact PC-based hardware reference platform, Virtual PC, or Hyper-V. The platform uses the OS based on the x86 architecture.
<PlatformDirectory>	Subdirectory that holds the BSP files	CEPC
<CpuId>	BSP CPU type	Cpu:X86
<BspItemId>	BSP item	Item:MS:bsp_wavedev_sb16:cepc
<BspItemId>	BSP item	Item:MS:bsp_nic_dc21x4:cepc

The following screen shot of a Catalog Items View for project VCEPC_download shows the BSP as the top item. Platform Builder displays the BSP title. If you hover the cursor over the title, Platform Builder displays the BSP description in a tooltip window.

The previous screen shows catalog item Target Control Support (Shell.exe) (and others). Here is the definition for that item from the catalog file %_WINCEROOT%\public\CEBase\Catalog\catalogitems.pbcxml:

  <Item Id="Item:MS:sysgen_shell">
    <Title>Target Control Support (Shell.exe)</Title>
    <Description>Transfers files to the device, accesses files on the computer from the device, and helps you debug device applications.</Description>
    <Size>-96950</Size>
    <SdkHelpAttribute>CORE</SdkHelpAttribute>
    <CecImportGuid>50e9ccf4-8729-468d-a61c-5f435f144d0d</CecImportGuid>
    <Type>CoreOSSpecific</Type>
    <SysgenVariable>SYSGEN_SHELL</SysgenVariable>
    <Location>Core OS Services\Debugging Tools</Location>
    <SourceCode>
      <Title>Platform Builder Release directory File system driver for development use</Title>
      <Path>$(_WINCEROOT)\private\winceos\COREOS\fsd\relfsd</Path>
    </SourceCode>
  </Item>

This definition specifies the following catalog item properties:

XML element / attribute	Property	Value
<Item> / Id	Item identifier	Item:MS:sysgen_shell
<Title>	Item title	Target Control Support (Shell.exe)
<Description>	Item description	Transfers files to the device, accesses files on the computer from the device, and helps you debug device applications.
<SysgenVariable>	Sysgen variable	SYSGEN_SHELL
<Location>	Location of the item in the tree structure that Platform Builder displays (starting from the Windows Embedded Compact node).	Core OS Services\Debugging Tools
<SourceCode>	Information about a feature or aspect of the catalog item	(Refer to the XML code above.)

The location property in item definitions creates the container nodes of the item structure that look like folders. For example, the location property in the above table is “Core OS Services\Debugging Tools”. This location mandates the existence of the “Core OS Services” and “Debugging Tools” containers. There are no separate definitions for these containers, so their only property is the title.

The <SourceCode> element of the XML produces the entry in the Catalog Items View titled “Platform Builder Release directory File system driver for development use”. This is not a separate catalog item from the item being defined, “Target Control Support (Shell.exe)”. Rather it is an aspect of that item that is being displayed to further describe the item.

See Also

Reference

Catalog Editor Window

Concepts

Platform Builder User Interface