For your convenience Apress has placed some of the front
matter material after the index. Please use the Bookmarks
and Contents at a Glance links to access them.
Download from Wow! eBook <www.wowebook.com>
iii
Contents at a Glance
About the Author �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������xi
About the Technical Reviewer �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������xiii
Acknowledgments �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� xv
Chapter 1: Introduction ■ �����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������1
Chapter 2: Getting Started ■ �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������5
Chapter 3: Building a First Project ■ ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������21
Chapter 4: Consuming Data ■ ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������43
Chapter 5: Build a Charming Application ■ ������������������������������������������������������������������������67
Chapter 6: Using Live Tiles ■ ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������97
Chapter 7: Notifications ■ �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������119
Chapter 8: Building an Adaptable App ■ ���������������������������������������������������������������������������131
Chapter 9: Sensors ■ ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������151
Chapter 10: Games ■ ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������173
Chapter 11: The Windows Store ■ ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������195
Index ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������205
1
Chapter 1
Introduction
Windows 8 is an exciting release. It tries to reimagine the way we use computers; it’s a fresh wind through an
old, established environment. Before we dive into the technical stuff, we’ll have a small history lesson about the
development process of Windows 8.
History
Windows 8 was first announced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in 2011. Back then, it was just the next
Windows iteration. A very early version found its way onto the Internet pretty fast, and inside was evidence of native
Universal Serial Bus (USB) 3.0 support, United Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI), and even some slight hints at
an application (app) store. The leaked version still had the classic Start button and Start menu like in Windows 7.
The biggest news, however, was not really the announcement of the new operating system but the fact that Windows
was getting an Acom RISC Machine (ARM) version next to the classic x86/x64 versions. This immediately fueled
rumors of Windows 8 focusing on touch and taking on capabilities of the iPad and Android tablets.
A few months later Microsoft showed off the new interface for the first time at the Taipei Computex 2011 show.
This was followed closely by the Build Windows 8 blog, where the Windows 8 product team would reflect on certain
decisions and features involving Windows 8.
On September 13, 2011, the keynote presentation of the Build conference went into detail about the Windows 8
app store and the development process. Microsoft Belgium asked all their technical communities to set up a live
stream for their members. I remember sitting there and getting really excited about getting started developing for this
brand new platform with a potential huge reach of customers.
In that same keynote there was an announcement of the Windows 8 Developer Preview, marking the start of
one of the biggest beta programs of any Windows release so far. The Developer Preview came with Visual Studio 2012
beta (known as Visual Studio 11 back then) and a Blend 5 beta, giving developers the chance to dive into the platform
early on before release. It also included some installed example apps that had been developed by interns at Microsoft.
The Developer Preview did not yet have an app store, but its sole purpose was to get developers familiar with the
new Windows Software Development Kit. The operating system and Visual Studio bits were still in a very early stage,
resulting in many crashes and frustration among those trying to learn the new development environment.
The Developer Preview, shown in Figure 1-1, still had a Start button, it was square this time but it was still there.
It would take the user to the Start screen, so the classic menu was already gone. A registry hack appeared on the Web
faster then you could say metro. That hack brought back the classic Windows 7 shell.
Chapter 1 ■ IntroduCtIon
2
In February 2012 Microsoft announced the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, as shown in Figure 1-2. This version
was aimed toward normal users to get them familiar with the new interface. In this version the Start button was gone,
but other than that it still strongly resembled Windows 7 with all the glass effects. Developers were able to get a new
Visual Studio 11 beta version and could actually get work done on this. There was an increase in stability in both
Windows and Visual Studio. Microsoft reported that the Consumer Preview was downloaded over 1 million times in
24 hours, making it one of the most popular beta products ever released by the software company.
Figure 1-1. Developer Preview
Figure 1-2. Consumer Preview
- 1
- 2
前往页