Today, we are going to learn about one of the emerging technologies of Microsoft, Universal Windows Platform (referred as UWP). Before looking into the UWP, let's have a look at what was before UWP and why we should switch to UWP.
Before UWP – Windows 8.1 Development
Before UWP, we (the developer community) were using Windows 8 Development. In Windows 8 Development, we were targeting mobile devices mostly. It’s all about the versions of Operating Systems, not the devices. To compete in the tech market, we have to target various devices and that's why we have to move to UWP.
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Why UWP
UWP targets all Windows 10 devices (PC, Tablet, Mobile etc.). So, if we develop the application on one platform, we can implement them to all the Windows 10 devices, through Windows Store. The UWP apps development sets three ground rules.
- One API
- One App Package
- One Store
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Unlike Windows 8.1 Development, in UWP, you can develop the applications for device families, not for OS.
The app developed can be distributed on the Windows Store and can be made available for all Windows 10 devices. The apps are formatted in .APPX so it can be installed and updated seamlessly.
UWP follows the Core API concept, using which, it can achieve the implementations on all kind of Windows 10 devices. And, we can limit the app for particular device families and particular devices as well. With the help of some SDK, we can light up our application to a particular device also.
Prerequisites for UWP
If you want to become UWP developer, you need to have some skills in the following technologies.
- C# or Visual Basic for code behind.
- XAML from front-end design
We can develop the UWP application using the following languages also.
- JavaScript with HTML
- C++ with DirectX and XAML.
This cross-platform development is achieved using WinRT (Windows Runtime) API which supports development in C#, C++/CX, JavaScript and Visual Basic. WinRT API and components support multiple languages including managed language and scripting languages.
UWP Development Environment Setup
If we want to develop the UWP app, we need to set up the following things in our system.
Let's see them one by one.
- Windows 10 Operating System
UWP fully depends on Windows 10 OS, so if we have Windows 10 OS, it will be better to run and view the application. However, we can run the application on Windows 8.1 OS also, but there is no support for UI Designer available in Window 8 OS.
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- Visual Studio 2015
Using Visual Studio 2015, we can design, develop, test, and debug our UWP application. You can download the Visual Studio 2015 Community Edition for free from the following Link.
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- Enable the developer Mode
Before starting the development, we need to enable the developer mode in our Windows 10 System. To do that, follow the steps mentioned below.
START -> SETTINGS -> UPDATE & SECURITY -> FOR DEVELOPERS -> DEVLOPER MODE
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- Need to Register as Developer
After development, you need to make the application available to your client or public. For that, you need to host the application on Windows Store by registering as a developer with Microsoft. Using the following link, you can do that.
After completing the above steps, now you can start the UWP application development. In future articles, we will see the development in details.