Question

I used to use MsgWaitForMultipleObjects with success to wait on the event’s handle and pump messages at the same time.

However I don’t have that procedure on Windows Mobile.

The situation is as follows:

• I open form which displays some animation
• Run thread
• Wait until thread finishes (when it sets event to Set())

Without pumping messages I will not see the animation on the form as waiting for the thread using WaitOne for instance, is blocking everything …

How can I achieve the same functionality on Windows Mobile?

Thanks

Answer 1

A simple way to achieve what you’re looking for is to use the BackgroundWorker class that’s part of the OpenNETCF framework

It’s essentially a functional copy of the System.ComponentModel.BackgroundWorker class from the full .NET framework.

Execute as follows:

1. start animation on form load event
2. start backgroundworker
3. wait for backgroundworker to fire completion event.

Below is an example adapted from the MSDN backgroundworker class documentation that may point you in the right direction.

    public Form1()
    {
        InitializeComponent();
        InitializeBackgroundWorker();

    }

    // Set up the BackgroundWorker object by  
    // attaching event handlers.  
    private void InitializeBackgroundWorker()
    {
        backgroundWorker1.DoWork += 
            new DoWorkEventHandler(backgroundWorker1_DoWork);
        backgroundWorker1.RunWorkerCompleted += 
            new RunWorkerCompletedEventHandler(
        backgroundWorker1_RunWorkerCompleted);
        backgroundWorker1.ProgressChanged += 
            new ProgressChangedEventHandler(
        backgroundWorker1_ProgressChanged);
    }

    protected override void OnLoad(EventArgs e)
    {

        if (backgroundWorker1.IsBusy != true)
        {
            // Start the asynchronous operation.
            // start your animation here!


            backgroundWorker1.RunWorkerAsync();
        }
    }



    // This event handler is where the time-consuming work is done. 
    private void backgroundWorker1_DoWork(object sender, DoWorkEventArgs e)
    {
        BackgroundWorker worker = sender as BackgroundWorker;

         //this is taken from the msdn example, but you would fill 
         //it in with whatever code is being executed on your bg thread.
        for (int i = 1; i <= 10; i++)
        {
            if (worker.CancellationPending == true)
            {
                e.Cancel = true;
                break;
            }
            else
            {
                // Perform a time consuming operation and report progress.
                System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(500);
                worker.ReportProgress(i * 10);
            }
        }
    }

    // This event handler updates the progress. 
    private void backgroundWorker1_ProgressChanged(object sender, ProgressChangedEventArgs e)
    {
        //modify your animation here if you like?
    }

    // This event handler deals with the results of the background operation. 
    private void backgroundWorker1_RunWorkerCompleted(object sender, RunWorkerCompletedEventArgs e)
    {
        //your background process is done. tear down your form here..


    }