title: Can the common Windows application development workflow apply to WCE7?
body: <p>Specifically speaking for Windows Embedded Compact 7 (with a x86 PC).</p>
  
  <p>In a perfect scenario, I would hope to use the common desktop application development workflow. For example, "install" the provided WCE7 OS from CD, boot-up the OS, copy over a console application to the hard drive and execute the console application (to run some simple tests) - such as I would do on my Windows 7 desktop.</p>
  
  <p>However, in research, I found the common workflow for developing an application on an embedded system with WCE7, includes but is not limited to, creating the OS image with platform builder, installing a boot loader on the device, connect to the device, load the custom built image and run the image from flash etc. (reference: <a href="http://www.embedded101.com/Blogs/SamuelPhung/tabid/72/entryid/201/Windows-Embedded-Compact-7-Getting-Started-Part-1-Introduction.aspx" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Compact 7 Getting Started</a> by <a href="http://www.embedded101.com/Blogs/SamuelPhung/tabid/72/authorid/24/Samuel-Phung.aspx" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Samuel Phung</a>)</p>
  
  <p><strong><em>Can the former common application workflow apply to WCE7? If yes, how? If not, why?</em></strong></p>
  
  <p>I did see <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/9394882/add-cab-file-to-the-os-design">Add CAB file to the OS design</a> and <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10680107/how-to-install-an-application-into-the-windows-ce-7-image">How to install an application into the Windows CE 7 image?</a> and <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/11609435/how-to-install-exe-file-on-windows-embedded-compact-7?rq=1">How to install .exe file on windows embedded compact 7?</a> but not sure if their scope helps to fully answers this more general design type question.</p>
  
  <p>(In spirit of the former, I did try to executed the installer provided on the WCE7 ISO - but this just appears to load files onto the hard drive, on a partition I made, and was unable to boot into the OS. Since it did not do what I was expecting, what is the purpose of the WCE7 installer? If we build the image from Visual Studio to begin with, how does this installer tie into the second methodology?)</p>
  
  <p>Any point in the right direction is greatly appreciated.</p>