Microsoft has announced a free tool for Windows Mobile programmers that can take stock of what resources applications are using. The "Windows Mobile API Usage Tool" performs static analysis of selected binaries, then reports on their usage of APIs (application programming interfaces) and other resources, the company says.

As a new posting on Microsoft's Windows Mobile Team blog notes, some APIs in Windows Mobile have been deprecated and may not be present in future versions of the operating system. Therefore, it's important to be aware of all the APIs an application is using.

The Windows Mobile API Usage Tool is designed to run on desktop computers running Windows Vista or XP, and requires Visual Studio 2005 or 2008. It is a command-line utility that allows selecting either a Windows Mobile application (in .CAB or .MSI format), or a directory containing multiple applications, as input. It will examine the selected code, then create a report listing its system dependences, optionally including any deprecated APIs, says Microsoft.

The tool saves its output in a SQL Compact Edition database (.SDF) file, and is said to be capable of creating a collection of useful reports. The Windows Mobile Team is encouraging developers to examine their applications with the tool, then send in copies of its reports to the company. This will aid in planning the future evolution of Windows Mobile, according to Microsoft.

To read the Windows Mobile Team's posting about the Windows Mobile API Usage Tool, see its blog, here. To obtain further background and download the tool, go to the Microsoft website, here.