Professional Windows® Embedded Compact 7

WINDOWS EMBEDDED COMPACT DRIVERS

Compact 7 is a componentized operating system in that apart from a core set of drivers, components can be optionally added depending upon the system functional requirements and system capabilities. These components are individually selectable via the Catalog. They are also selected at a macro level when you choose a Board Support Package (BSP) or a template for an OS. When you add a component, its dependencies are generally automatically added. When the OS is built, the driver’s DLL is included in the image as well as its resources and Registry settings.

Components in the Catalog consist of Device Drivers, Board Support Packages, Services, Applications, Libraries, and Resources. Out-of-the-box drivers installed with the Compact 7 development system are Product Quality Developed (PQD) or Microsoft Validated. PQD means they have been developed and tested in-house by Microsoft for Compact 7. Microsoft Validated means that they have been developed by a third party but have been validated by Microsoft for Compact 7.

Compact 7 drivers interface to a Graphical Windows and Events Sub System (GWES), the file system, and Device Manager. A BSP is essentially a collection of device drivers plus configuration information.

GWES and File System

GWES implements the graphical user interface (GUI) aspects of the operating system. This includes the Windows messaging system for Windows events. The file system drivers implement the storage aspects of the OS. ATAPI, ...