eVC

eVC, short for Embedded Visual C++, was an integrated development environment from Microsoft designed for developing software for Windows Embedded Compact and Windows Mobile platforms. It formed the centerpiece of the eMbedded Visual Tools suite and was commonly used to create native C/C++ applications for devices running Windows CE. The IDE provided a code editor, project management, build and debugging tools, and access to Windows CE APIs, along with libraries and sample code tailored to embedded targets.

Historically, eVC was introduced in the late 1990s to support Windows CE versions such as 2.x and 3.x, with later support extending into Windows CE 4.x and early Windows Mobile devices. It was designed to work with the Platform Builder toolchain to produce both applications and device images for CE-based hardware. Developers targeted handhelds, automotive terminals, industrial devices, and other embedded systems using Windows CE.

With the transition to the Visual Studio family, Microsoft gradually migrated Windows CE/Windows Mobile development to Visual Studio and the .NET Compact Framework. Support for eVC declined in the mid-to-late 2000s, and Microsoft officially discontinued eVC as part of the Windows Mobile/Embedded tools lineup in favor of newer IDEs. Today, eVC is considered obsolete, though it remains of historical interest for understanding the evolution of Windows-based embedded development.

See also Windows CE, Windows Mobile, eMbedded Visual Tools, Platform Builder.