Re: [HS] HS and WP7

--- Brad Stiles <bradstiles@...> wrote:
> Well, having done it for three applications at my day 
> job, I think I can pretty categorically say that my 
> statement is 100% accurate, for at least some class of 
> application. :)  
> We run the same code on the desktop as we do the hand 
> held, without modification.  

My point is not ability whether it is possible to build multiple flavors from a single code base.  That's pretty ubiquitous.

My point is about the additional cost of making a desktop version.

I mean, I've had HS running on the desktop for years.  But it is sized and shaped just like the handheld, and it's horrible for use on the desktop.  Further, people really expect a desktop version to do a bunch of additional things that a handheld version realistically cannot.

If your mobile apps yield the exact same user experience on the desktop with 0 modification and 0 effort to make them work on the desktop, and that one user experience is perfect for both handheld and desktop, then that's convenient indeed.

Are the dialog boxes on the desktop 240 pixels wide by 320 pixels tall?  Does the desktop version require mouse swiping gestures?  Does the desktop version have a menu with only two popups?  Does the desktop version respond to mouse right-clicks?  There are no compile-time modifications via #if directives?

Just some examples of how in my experience there are differences, and there is definitely work involved.  Sure it is possible to have a single code base that builds for multiple different flavors.  But that is very different than saying "build for this flavor, and then for 0 hours of additional work these other flavors work perfectly and give the experience users expect", which is how I took your original statement.

This is a hobby.  Adding more work has to be funded with more time.  More time is not available.  I don't even know if I have time available to rewrite HS for WP7, much less throw in desktop support as well.