Dev-MicroSoft

A Developer's Guide to Windows 10

2015-10-29T07:29:00.000-07:00

Visit: https://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/en-US/training-courses/a-developer-s-guide-to-windows-10-12618

Please note (August 2015): This updated Windows 10 content reflects the most current information, as of August 12, 2015.

Do Windows 10 and Visual Studio 2015 make a developer’s job easier? You bet they do! And now that the Windows 10 Universal Windows Platform (UWP) is here, find out how simple it is for you to create outstanding end user experiences tailored to a wide array of device types, from the smallest Lumia phone to the new 84" Surface Hub, all running the same app!

Walk through the core developer scenarios with experts Andy Wigley and Shen Chauhan, and see how to take an app from the Visual Studio 2015 designer all the way to the Windows Store. Find out what all the excitement is about, and watch cool demos, including how to cloud-enable your in-store app, a look at implementation and diagnostics in Visual Studio (to help you stay productive), and an exploration of Cortana integration, speech-to-text input, and inking. Get the details on everything you need to know to build compelling app experiences, with less work than ever before, on Windows 10, which is expected to run on a billion devices in the next few years!

(NOTE: To refresh your basic knowledge of development languages, check outProgramming in C# or explore the XAML modules in Developing Universal Windows Apps with C# and XAML.)

1 | The Universal Windows Platform

Take a look at how Windows 10 brings a single platform experience to many different devices and how Windows tooling and UWP APIs provide developers with a great opportunity to create amazing apps.

2 | XAML Controls in UWP

Investigate how XAML controls, including the new RelativePanel and SplitView controls, are used in a UWP app to accomplish your Windows 10 design considerations.

3 | Windowing and In-App Navigation

See how windowing and resizing can be applied to your app layout. Explore in-app navigation, how it works across Windows 10 devices, and how to offer back navigation UI across UWP apps.

4 | Adaptive UI

Learn design principles for Windows 10, how they make design easier with adaptive controls, and how to approach designing UWP apps. Build an adaptive UI using View States and Adaptive Triggers.

5 | Adaptive Code

Dig deeper into the code that supports the ability of UWP apps to run on any Windows 10 device and that can provide a great user experience. Look at Platform Extension SDKs, and explore adaptive code.

6 | Application Lifecycle

Take a look at the lifecycle of a Windows 10 UWP app. Cover the basics of suspension, resuming, and termination, and then see how to handle lifecycle events and how to request extended execution.

7 | Improving XAML Performance

See how to improve the performance of your app UI by taking advantage of XAML features, like phased rendering and deferred loading.

8 | New Tooling in Visual Studio 2015

Take a tour of the great new tools in Visual Studio 2015, including performance diagnostic tooling, battery usage monitoring, and the XAML Live Visual Tree inspector.

9 | Microsoft Edge and the Web Platform

Investigate benefits provided by the Edge browser, and see how to develop packaged and hosted web apps for the new web app platform. Find out how to use some of the new APIs and Cortana integration.

10 | Improvements to XAML Data Binding

Explore data binding within a XAML-based UWP app, starting out with basic data binding and then looking into some new features and techniques, like compiled binding, available with Visual Studio 2015.

11 | Background Execution

Dig into the implementation of background tasks, including how they can be used to support your app, using multiple background tasks, triggers, and the time allotted to background tasks.

12 | Building an Azure Back End

Build a connected experience that makes users' data available, regardless of device. Look at using roaming data and OneDrive and how to integrate Azure App Service Mobile Apps within your apps.

13 | Live Tiles, Notifications, and Action Center

Engage your users with Live Tiles and notifications when your app isn't running. Learn how to use the new adaptive template available with Windows 10. Integrate your app with Action Center.

14 | More Personal Computing

Take user interaction beyond the keyboard and mouse with Windows Hello and face recognition, speech input, and integration with Cortana, inking support, adding sharing, and drag and drop.

15 | App-to-App Communication

See how app-to-app communication will work in your UWP apps. Get context on how this worked in Windows 8.1, and then review URI activation, sending files, query URI support, and App Services.

16 | App Services

Find out what App Services are, explore scenarios, and then look at App Services Clients and App Services Servers. Find out how to debug an App Service, and hear details on App Service lifetime.

17 | Porting 8.1 Apps

Get an overview of the migration paths for bringing your apps to Windows 10. Then, dig deeper into scenarios for migrating Windows 8.1, Windows Phone 8.1, and Windows 8.1 universal apps to Windows 10.

18 | Submitting Your App to the Store

Package your app and submit it to the Windows Store, a single store for all the different types of Windows apps. Explore the opportunities for monetization, such as advertising and in-app purchases.

Recommended Resources & Next Steps

Take this opportunity to explore these topics in greater detail, at your own pace.

Learn

Explore the Universal Windows Platform.
Take a look at XAML controls in UWP.
Explore windowing and in-app navigation.
Learn about adaptive UI.
Get the details on adaptive code.
Look at the application lifecycle.
Find out about XAML performance.
Dig into new tooling in Visual Studio 2015.
Hear about the Microsoft Web Platform.
Learn about improvements to XAML data binding.
Take a look at background execution.
Hear about building an Azure back end.
Get to know Live Tiles, Notifications, and the Action Center.
Hear about App Services.
Get details on porting Windows 8.1 apps to Windows 10.
Learn to submit your app to the Windows Store.
Take personal computing beyond the mouse and keyboard.
Explore app-to-app communication.

2015-10-13T07:22:00.004-07:00

The New Microsoft Surface Book

The New Microsoft Surface Pro 4

Learn more at surface.com

What's a Universal Windows app? and Guide to Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps

2015-10-12T00:22:00.004-07:00

A Universal Windows app is a Windows experience that is built upon the Universal Windows Platform (UWP), which was first introduced in Windows 8 as the Windows Runtime. At the core of Universal Windows apps is the idea that users want their experiences to be mobile across ALL their devices, and they want to use whatever device is most convenient or productive for the task at hand.

Windows 10 makes it easier to develop apps for the UWP with just one API set, one app package, and one store to reach all Windows 10 devices – PC, tablet, phone and more. It’s easier to support a number of screen sizes, and also a variety of interaction models, whether it be touch, mouse & keyboard, a game controller, or a pen.

read more: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/xaml/dn726767.aspx

Guide to Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps, learn about Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps that can run across a wide variety of devices.

In this guide, you'll learn about:

What a device family is, and how to decide which one to target.
New UI controls and panels that allow you to adapt your UI to different device form factors.
How to understand and control the API surface that is available to your app.

Windows 8 introduced the Windows Runtime (WinRT), which was an evolution of the Windows app model. It was intended to be a common application architecture.

When Windows Phone 8.1 became available, the Windows Runtime was aligned between Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows. This enabled developers to create Universal Windows 8 apps that target both Windows and Windows Phone using a shared codebase.

Windows 10 introduces the Universal Windows Platform (UWP), which further evolves the Windows Runtime model and brings it into the Windows 10 unified core. As part of the core, the UWP now provides a common app platform available on every device that runs Windows 10. With this evolution, apps that target the UWP can call not only the WinRT APIs that are common to all devices, but also APIs (including Win32 and .NET APIs) that are specific to the device family the app is running on. The UWP provides a guaranteed core API layer across devices. This means you can create a single app package that can be installed onto a wide range of devices. And, with that single app package, the Windows Store provides a unified distribution channel to reach all the device types your app can run on.

Developer’s Guide to Windows 10

2015-10-11T00:12:00.000-07:00

Windows 10 is here! Windows 10 represents a drastic shift in approach to operating systems... one that makes developer's lives radically more easy.

The biggest thing Microsoft's done here is made it easier than ever for developers to build outstanding end user experiences tailored to a wide array of device types, from the smallest, wildly affordable, memory constrained Lumia phone to the new 84" Surface Hub, and beyond to compelling new experiences like Microsoft HoloLens.

Given that the Windows OS is currently run by over a billion users today, and Microsoft's committed to Windows 10 being on a billion devices in the next 2-3 years, this presents an enormous opportunity for developers to more easily reach larger audiences with outstanding experiences with less work than ever before.

Join developer experts Andy Wigley and Shen Chauhan as they give you a live, two day whirl-wind tour of the Windows 10 developer platform. Andy and Shen will give you detail on everything you need to know in order to build compelling application experiences on Windows 10. You'll leave fully prepared to build an outstanding app on Windows 10.

Visit: Developer’s Guide to Windows 10

Windows 10 development for absolute beginners

2015-10-11T00:07:00.001-07:00

The absolute beginners series is back for Windows 10. It doesn't matter if you're a pro dev or just starting out, there's valuable content for everyone. If you're looking for a faster pace content that dives deep, the Developer's Guide to Windows 10 series may be for you.

Your guide through the series, Bob Tabor from http://www.learnvisualstudio.net/, walks you through how to create Windows 10 apps on the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) – meaning you'll gain access to all the Windows 10 screens: PCs, phones, tablets, and even on a Raspberry Pi, HoloLens, and Xbox. Bob will challenge you with exercises, help you build a cheat sheet for future reference, and explain the techniques and concepts being used along the way in a simple, friendly manner.

This only thing that the series assumes is that participants understand the basic language fundamentals of C#; if you don't have this covered, you should take a look at the C# Fundamental series first.

Source code: https://github.com/Windows-Readiness/AbsoluteBeginnersWin10

5 Minutes with Visual Studio 2015 Community Installer

2015-09-09T01:22:00.001-07:00

A quick 5 minute-ish video about installing Visual Studio 2015 Community.

New features in Visual Studio 2015

2015-09-09T01:15:00.005-07:00

Richard Campbell hosts the next of the DEVintersection countdowns with guest Robert Green, discussing some of the great new features in the recently released Visual Studio 2015. Roberts talks about the productivity enhancements in VS2015 that can get you working on the right code in the right place faster than ever.

source: Channel 9: Visual Studio 2015 with Robert Green

Windows for Makers: Raspberry Pi 2, Arduino and More

2015-09-07T21:55:00.001-07:00

In this session you’ll learn about how to leverage the value of Windows when building these next generation devices based on hardware like the Raspberry Pi 2, as well as how to extend your Windows devices with the capabilities provided by .NETMF and Arduino. Will demonstrate how to extended the platform to include support for popular Internet of Things (IoT) hardware interfaces (like GPIO and I2C) to enable you to build rich devices based on the Raspberry Pi 2 (from fun DIY arcade machines through life-saving flood-detection systems) Additionally it will teach you how to use remote wiring and virtual shields open-source libraries to create innovative new solutions. With remote wiring you can add Arduino Wiring calls into your apps that execute on a remotely (BT) connected Arduino device; similarly with virtual shields library you will learn how to expose your device’s capabilities to a remotely connected Arduino device. Finally show you the latest improvements have been made to the .NETMF and how these are being leveraged by other partners to create compelling new hardware.

Cross-Platform Mobile Development with Visual Studio 2015

2015-09-05T20:17:00.002-07:00

Create mobile apps for iOS, Android, and Windows with Visual Studio.

Getting started with Xamarin

2015-09-04T18:53:00.002-07:00

To help you get started with Xamarin, take a look at some of top on-line Getting Started guides (PDF available):

You can also jump-start your first project with pre-build apps, our templates that include everything from UIs designed entirely with Xamarin.Forms to fully native cross-platform functionality.

The Universal Windows Platform

2015-09-04T18:33:00.003-07:00

Take a look at how Windows 10 brings a single platform experience to many different devices and how Windows tooling and .NET Native provide developers with a great opportunity to create amazing apps.

Getting Started with Cross-platform Apps

2015-09-02T10:31:00.000-07:00

Office Dev Show - Episode 8 - Getting Started with Cross-platform Apps

In this episode of the Office Dev Show, Richard diZerega shows how to use Apache Cordova to build a simple mobile application built using Cordova, AngularJS, and the Ionic Framework to display contacts from Office 365.

The sample code can be found here on GitHub,

source: https://channel9.msdn.com/Shows/Office-Dev-Show/Office-Dev-Show-Episode-9-Getting-Started-with-Cross-platform-Apps

Introduction to C++ and DirectX Game Development

2013-12-13T07:06:00.000-08:00

The video tutorials "Introduction to C++ and DirectX Game Development" teach about the game loop, input detection, applying basic shaders, state management, and more. With these skills, you'll be building the engine, not just the game—and you'll up-level your employability options with AAA companies at the same time.

Microsoft Visual Basic 2013 Step by Step

2013-12-11T09:12:00.001-08:00

Your hands-on guide to Visual Basic fundamentals

Expand your expertise—and teach yourself the fundamentals of Microsoft Visual Basic 2013. If you have previous programming experience but are new to Visual Basic 2013, this tutorial delivers the step-by-step guidance and coding exercises you need to master core topics and techniques.

Discover how to:

Master essential Visual Basic programming techniques
Begin building apps for Windows Store, Windows Phone 8, and ASP.NET
Design apps using XAML markup, touch input, and live tiles
Tackle advanced language concepts, such as polymorphism
Manage data sources including XML documents and web data
Create a Windows Phone 8 app that manages key lifecycle events

Microsoft Visual C# 2013 Step by Step

2013-12-11T09:10:00.004-08:00

Your hands-on guide to Visual C# fundamentals

Expand your expertise—and teach yourself the fundamentals of Microsoft Visual C# 2013. If you have previous programming experience but are new to Visual C# 2013, this tutorial delivers the step-by-step guidance and coding exercises you need to master core topics and techniques.

Discover how to:

Create and debug C# applications in Visual Studio 2013
Work with variables, identifiers, statements, operators, and methods
Create interfaces and define abstract classes
Write robust code that can catch and handle exceptions
Display and edit data using data binding with Microsoft ADO.NET Entity Framework
Respond to user input and touchscreen gestures
Handle events arising from multiple sources
Develop your first Windows 8.1 apps

Windows 8.1 Inside Out

2013-12-09T13:14:00.004-08:00

You're beyond the basics - so dive right in and really put your PC to work! This supremely organized reference packs hundreds of timesaving solutions, troubleshooting tips, and workarounds for Windows 8.1. Plus, you get access to two and half hours of video training and a companion ebook.

Topics include:

Installing, upgrading, or migrating to Windows 8.1
Using and managing apps
Personalizing your system
Accessibility features
Organizing, backing up, and restoring files
Managing storage and using SkyDrive
Digital media and home entertainment
Security and privacy features
Setting up and troubleshooting networking
Maintenance, performance tuning, and troubleshooting
Using Hyper-V virtualization

Windows 8.1 Step by Step

2013-12-09T13:12:00.004-08:00

The smart way to learn Windows 8.1—one step at a time!

Experience learning made easy—and quickly teach yourself how to navigate and use Windows 8.1. With Step by Step, you set the pace—building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them!

Navigate with ease using the new Start screen
Search your files, music, and the web—all at once
Store, access, and manage data in the cloud with SkyDrive
Explore improvements in Internet Explorer 11
Stay in touch using Mail, Calendar, People, and Skype
Customize your computing experience with PC settings

Build Apps for Both Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 Jump Start

2013-11-28T04:36:00.001-08:00

This session compares and contrasts Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 with a focus on understanding how developers can maximize code reuse when building for both platforms ("code sharing"). This Windows 8 Jump Start training targets developers with some experience developing for the Windows Phone and want to develop apps for both Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8. Through engaging demos, Ben dives into guidance, best practices, patterns and techniques that will help developers deliver apps for both Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 with maximum code reuse.

Instructors | Introducing Ben Riga, a Senior Technical Evangelist for Windows 8 at Microsoft's who is passionate about sharing the compelling technical and business value of the Windows platform and how partners benefit when publishing apps to the Windows store.

link: http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/windows-8-and-windows-phone-8-app-development

Check OpenGL version supported on your system - OpenGL Extensions Viewer

2013-11-15T20:41:00.003-08:00

OpenGL Extensions Viewer is a software which displays useful information about the current OpenGL 3D accelerator. It available for Windows 32bit and 64bit and MacOS X, iOS, and Android.

This program displays the vendor name, the version implemented, the renderer name and the extensions of the current OpenGL 3D accelerator.

Visit: http://www.realtech-vr.com/glview/

OpenGL Extensions Viewer

Download MSDN Magazine for FREE

2013-11-06T12:04:00.000-08:00

Digital version of MSDN Magazine is available to download for FREE here. The latest available issue is 2013 October, and Government Special Issue.

Download MSDN Magazine for FREE

Visit: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/ee310108.aspx

GTK+ 3 is now on Windows

2013-11-06T10:59:00.001-08:00

GTK+ 3.6.4 is the current maintained version on Windows. The current GTK+ stack uses APIs that are available only on Windows 2000 or later. Download GTK+ 3 for Windows (32-bit) here.

You will need the GLib, cairo, Pango, ATK, gdk-pixbuf and GTK+ developer packages to build software against GTK+. To run GTK+ programs you will also need the gettext-runtime, fontconfig, freetype, expat, libpng and zlib packages.

The packages here are for people who develop software that uses GTK+. This page is not intended directly for end-users. It is expected that people who build installers for GTK+ applications for Windows bundle GTK+ with them.

An installation and usage tutorial is available for beginners.

How to Find on this page in IE11

2013-11-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

To find words in current loaded page in Internet Explorer (currently IE 11), you can press Ctrl+F, or click "Find in this page" in Edit option of Menu bar.

If you can't see the Menu Bar in IE, you can enable it by right clicking on IE's top area, and check to enable Menu bar.

The new Nexus 5: Now available in two memory versions and two colors

2013-11-01T02:17:00.000-07:00

http://www.google.com/nexus/5/

Free ebook: Programming Windows Store Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, Second Edition (second preview)

2013-10-31T12:40:00.004-07:00

Microsoft Press is pleased to offer the second preview of Kraig Brockschmidt’s in-depth ebook on writing Windows Store apps using HTML, CSS3, and JavaScript within the Windows 8.1 platform. Here are the download links:

Programming Windows Store Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, Second Edition (second preview) [16.4 MB PDF; 12 chapters & 3 appendices; 750 pages]
Companion content for the Second Edition (second edition) [132 MB ZIP; code samples, plus 20 videos]

Free ebook: Programming Windows Store Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, Second Edition (second preview)

Source: Microsoft Press Blog

Python Tools for Visual Studio v2.0

2013-10-31T11:03:00.000-07:00

Python Tools for Visual Studio (currently version 2.0) is a free, open source plugin that turns Visual Studio into a Python IDE.

PTVS supports CPython, IronPython, editing, browsing, Intellisense, mixed Python/C++ debugging, remote linux/MacOS debugging, profiling, IPython, Django, and cloud computing with client libraries for Windows, Linux and MacOS.

Designed, developed, and supported by Microsoft and the community.

web site: https://pytools.codeplex.com/

PTVS 2.0: A quick overview
This video does a quick walk through of PTVS 2.0 including:
- Installation
- Intellisense
- REPL + IPython
- Reformat
- Django & Django debugging
- Debugging: local, remote, linux, mixed Python/C++
- Profiling