Smart Device authentication methods

[Lonifasiko]

Hi guys,

I'm now going to ask you a very general question that I expect sounds
interesting to you.

I must develop a Smart Device application and I don't know if I'll use
Pocket PC or Windows CE.NET. Any suggestions on this issue?

Well, appart from above newbie question, the main question is this:
I must somehow authenticate users and limit what they can see and do in
the application, that is role based permissions. I've initially thougth
users providing me user and pass, validating them on server and see to
what role they belong. When I have the user role, could I send to the
Smart Device a XML file with configuration parameters that will custom
the application for the user? Is that possible?

And last but not least: Some users may not be able to enter user and
pass from the Smart Device keyboard, so I was thinking about any global
method for authenticating a user without having to enter user and pass
from keyboard. Any ideas? Having a XML configuration file with the
application maybe, or saving some information in the Pocket PC registry
? The problem is that many users can access the application from the
same device.

I would really appreciate any kind of ideas related to these general
issues.
Thanks very much.

 

[Daniel Moth]

I'll leave your last two very generic questions to others.

I must develop a Smart Device application and I don't know if I'll use
Pocket PC or Windows CE.NET. Any suggestions on this issue?

Pocket PCs and SmartPhones are the most commonly used windowsce devices and
ones you can expect a wide consumer base to own, so most people target
those. Typically you only create wince projects when you have other custom
wince devices. The fact that you even ask the question probably means you
should go for ppc. For more on the distinction read this:
http://blogs.msdn.com/marcpe/archive/2005/04/22/410778.aspx

Cheers
Daniel

 

[Lonifasiko]

Thanks Daniel for the post, but silly me that I haven't understood some
comments of your post.

I'm now developing with an HP iPAQ and the target platform I've
selected is PocketPC. However, the target devices for my application
should be all kind of PDAs and Smart Phones in the market. Reading the
link you provided, I've understood that PocketPC operating system is
under one version of Windows CE.NET, like a subset.

Therefore, selecting Windows CE.NET as the target platform would be
more general and would cover more devices, or targeting PocketPC
platform would cover even more devices?

Sorry for this new repeating question but I'm a little bit confussed
with this issues and before starting developing I want them to be very
clear to me.

Do you have any ideas for the authentication methods ;-) ?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Daniel Moth]

Choose PPC project to target all PPCs.

To target Smartphone, download the free SDK and create a SP project. A
Smartphone quickstart (with link to SDK) is here:
http://www.danielmoth.com/Blog/2005/03/smartphone-development-quick-start.html

There is an article on MSDN with some advice on how to get close to
achieving binary reuse cross PPC and SP but I don't have the link handy.
(Windows Mobile 5.0 makes the whole thing so much easier, btw.)

To share the *code* between the two, follow the same advice as sharing code
between devices and PCs:
http://www.danielmoth.com/Blog/2004/09/share-code-if-fullframe_17.html

Cheers
Daniel

 

[Lonifasiko]

Thanks Dani for your time and information. SmartPhones development kit
sound really interesting but first of all I'll target PPC.

I finally will bore you all, but I need new ideas about alternative
authentication methods (in Smart Devices of course) to help people that
are not capable of entering a username and a pass.

Any help is greatly appreciated.