Originally posted June 4, 2009 at MSDN.

Earlier this week we released the Windows Mobile 6.5 Developer Toolkit (DTK). This release has raised a few questions relative to the other Windows Mobile software development tools and resources. I’d like to take a moment to describe what the SDK, DTK, and DRK are, and just as importantly what they are not.

Figure: Windows Mobile 6.5 Developer Resource Kit

SDK: Software Development Kit

We have not released a new SDK for Windows Mobile 6.5. The Windows Mobile 6 Professional SDK or Windows Mobile 6 Standard SDK are required for Windows Mobile 6.5 application development.

DTK: Developer Toolkit

The Windows Mobile 6.5 Developer Toolkit (DTK) is not an SDK! The DTK contains emulators, gesture APIs, and samples useful for developing Windows Mobile 6.5 applications. You will still need to install Visual Studio and the Windows Mobile 6 SDK prior to running the toolkit installer.

DRK: Developer Resource Kit

The Windows Mobile Developer Resource Kit (DRK) is an offline DVD copy of the most useful and relevant Windows Mobile application development tools and resources. Traditionally the DRK does not contain any exclusive content, in that nearly everything on the DRK is available for download online. This time we are pleased to publish the Windows Mobile 6.5 DRK with several sample chapters of Microsoft Mobile Development Handbook from Microsoft Press (Wigley, Moth, and Foot).

We hand out free copies of the DRK at several conferences and developer events throughout the year. 

WTF: Where To Follow?

Follow us on Twitter @wmdev to get the inside scoop and up to date information for development on Windows Mobile!

Lastly, you can find the latest development resources at http://developer.windowsmobile.com.

*UPDATE* Documentation has been released for Using Gestures in Windows Mobile 6.5. Thanks for your patience!