Looking at Windows Phone 8 from a developer's perspective

Microsoft has finally started to talk about the highly anticipated major update to Windows Phone, codenamed Apollo. With it we go a glimpse into the make new Windows Phone 8.0, we've had a adventure to assess some of the features that are inbound with this update and for the developers out there, it's time to offset getting excited about a few of the features nosotros're going to highlight.

• Native C++ development
• App-to-app communication APIs
• NFC & Bluetooth stacks
• In-app purchasing and the Wallet

Some of the biggest news of class is the shift in the base of the organization to the new 'WinPRT' (Windows Phone RunTime), a subset of Windows Phone 8 (WinRT) with a few COM and Win32 APIs available for good measure out. That means that a off-white amount of code written for WinRT will be directly portable to this new WinPRT based framework.

Read on by the break for our take on exactly how Microsoft has opened up a new world of development possibilities...

Native C++ development

Now I may not exist particularly versed in the language of C++, but this is huge news for developers who are bringing their apps over to the Windows Phone platform. Briefly from a consumer perspective I'k excited past the prospective that the major app successes we're missing from Windows Telephone will at present find it easier than e'er to join the political party.

Every bit for game developers, those who know their way around C++ volition find their new games performing amend, and perhaps this will fifty-fifty pave the way for popular engines such every bit Unreal to come to the platform, especially as DirectX and native sound feature sets accept also been appear. [Edit: Of course already engines such as the Havok physics platform accept been announced for Windows Telephone 8.]

Of course, XNA is not expressionless for those of y'all who prefer it. If managed code is your preference so your XNA games will continue to piece of work with Windows Phone 8, but we're now in the realms of backwards compatibility, so peradventure the writing is on the wall.

Finally, back up for mixed mode development is still available, so only as in Windows Phone 7.1 with XNA and Silverlight apps,  Windows Phone 8.0 developers can combine C++ elements with managed C# code to mix the great UI controls of Windows Telephone with more advanced C++ routines when needed.

App-to-app communication APIs

Every bit a developer this is perhaps the nigh heady feature to have learned about, via sources outside the Windows Telephone Summit interestingly enough. The premise is uncomplicated, apps will be able to annals either a URI scheme which they have, or register equally existence handlers for a specific file extension. The user would then be able to choose which app opens the file/URI, Windows (and Android in the mobile earth) has used this approach for a while and it is a superb decision by the Windows Phone squad.

Why is this and so exciting? Well take for example the YouTube integration in the WPCentral app, I'g mimicking how the official YouTube app plays content, only I'd much rather be able to launch into a protocol that say, SuperTube could selection up. SuperTube would then be able to identify the control sent to it and take over video playing responsibilities, practiced for the SuperTube developers for advertising, good for me to know the app has improved, and great for consumers getting the best feel.

As an example of how the protocol might work, hither'southward a quick diagram showing a theoretical future version of WPCentral allowing other apps and websites to link straight to manufactures, reviews or podcasts.

Specially smart website owners would even exist able to test for the Windows Telephone browser's user agent and automatically effort to open relevant links or articles using the app'south protocol, now wouldn't that be something?

At present 1 caveat to consider, we understand that Microsoft has reserved a myriad of Protocols and file names for the operating system, and so it's probable that files: mp3, jpg, pdf, xaml and protocols such equally http and Mailto would not be available for developers. Don't await to be replacing the default media player, marketplace, web browser or postal service client with a third party offer, that's still nether Microsoft'southward control.

Bluetooth stack

Near field advice is crawly (if a little terrifying privacy wise) but let'due south talk about a few options at present available to developers. It's not perfectly articulate from the information we take whether the NFC stack will be available to third parties, just we know for certain that the Bluetooth stack is. We also know that NFC can be used to pair Bluetooth devices, assuasive phones to tap together to create a connection for sharing.

With the Bluetooth stack provided in Windows Phone eight.0, any developer can claw into the phone'south connection capabilities, either to connect to any Bluetooth enabled device, or to another instance of their app.

The option to pair to a device means we might outset seeing Windows Telephone apps sold with Bluetooth accessories, equally simple as a pedometer of some kind for fitness buffs, or as interesting every bit a PayPal-manner card reader. Of grade connecting two apps would make it very easy to play multiplayer games with anyone in the proximity, or easily connect with people nearby in a regular app (recollect connecting with new people at a gig with Pepper). The all-time office is you don't need an existing pairing to connect with another instance of your own app, so setting up a quick game with a nearby stranger on the bus will be perfectly possible and condom.

Rumored lock screen access

Taking the "glance and become" mantra one step further, Windows Phone 8.0 looks to offer app developers a little control over the lock screen, and more than than you might imagine. Equally a developer you can bear upon the lock screen in one of two ways, either by using a lock screen notification, or by changing the wallpaper.

Lock screen notifications are similar to those you lot'll discover on your electric current Windows Phone device for your e-mail accounts or messaging app. They are incredibly simple to implement if yous've already got a live tile, requiring almost 2 new entries into the WMAppManifest.xml file. The reason they are so simple is that they read the count value from your app's main live tile, along with a newly specified 24x24 PNG icon. That'south great and so long equally you utilize the default count type (that's the picayune black circle with a white number for those who oasis't tried it out yet), but if y'all're using a custom counter blazon like one of the options in our app, y'all'll demand to work out a different way to apply that counter. In fact, it looks similar the only way to have a custom counter manner as well equally a lock screen counter would exist to create a sub tile using your custom counter type, and have the user united nations-pin the main tile (disclaimer: I haven't tested this theory yet!).

Lock screen wallpaper access is still a lilliputian mysterious as I write this. A simple implementation idea would be to have an app which could download dissimilar wallpapers for you to utilise, similar to the idea in existing apps, merely with direct access to really setting the wallpaper. A possibly more interesting (but very intrusive) thought would be to utilise the wallpaper as a giant notification screen. Assuming that the wallpaper could be changed from a Background job, wallpapers could be updated every hour or and then directly from your favourite prototype (or news!) source.

In-app purchasing & Wallet

Monetisation (that's the British spelling) is a big role of attracting developers to a platform, only it'due south also a delicate balancing act. So far one of the most popular models to adapt involves the trial/free model, assuasive users to "unlock" an app for a prepare fee. Microsoft is following the lead of other pop mobile operating systems in providing developers the tools for users to buy new features or products for your app.

Now this can exist as unproblematic equally unlocking your app to a full version, or as a whole product list, updateable online without updating the app.

Note that you won't be uploading your 'products' to the Microsoft dev heart here, they will demand to exist hosted on your own server, but a catalogue linking to the products available on the dev eye. What'south equally interesting here is the concept of receipts, pregnant that user'due south volition receive a full proof of purchase, protecting their product purchase in the future.

So what is a product in this sense? Microsoft have two types defined, a Consumable and a Durable. A consumable is demonstrated by the  equally akin to 'gold coins' in a game, something the user will purchase, utilise, so may want to buy again. On the other hand a durable works more similar a license, where users will make a one time purchase available in an app indefinitely, for case a new game level or app feature.

This gives developers the risk to offer one grade of an app at a sure price, and then expand the app further through additional charges, an incredibly important tool when certain new features can have a lot of attempt to implement.

In terms of wallet access to developers, it looks like functionality exists to add and remove cards to the wallet, equally well every bit list wallet information. How is this useful? Think of the loyalty app concept, apps will at present be able to direct add a copy of a loyalty card to to the telephone's wallet, making it available through NFC for a seamless experience.

Other changes

Finally at that place are a few more controls presumably inbound the SDK (coming late summer) that will make a big departure to the apps you develop.

Those apps which centre around or integrate map controls will come across the maps in Windows Telephone switch to the Nokia maps system. Equally office of this switch new directions and map tasking APIs are being introduced, including access to Nokia'due south 3D mapping packages.

As a concluding point of discussion, the new resolutions Windows Phone 8 will offer mean that as developers nosotros can no longer be lazy virtually the XAML nosotros produce. User interfaces will exist expected to scale well to the new 720p resolutions, and Microsoft is recommending that y'all showtime using images for the new resolution to be scaled downwards rather than letting your former ones be scaled up. If you want to get a bound on making sure your app will adapt to different resolutions, my communication to developers would be to brand every single screen in your current app piece of work in landscape fashion. That volition give you the chance to get out of whatever bad habits you may have picked upward in setting fixed pixel locations, instead focussing on alignments and margins.

Well, hopefully that's enough expansion for one article, expect to meet more information about changes in Windows Phone viii.0 if more than comes to light, and call back this is non a full list of everything that'southward inverse, only some of the features nosotros call back are either promising a great deal of potential, or that are just plain exciting. There are plenty more to discuss and we'll be doing that in the next few days.

As always we'd honey to hear your thoughts on all the information above, whether you're already developing apps, thinking of starting your first Windows Phone project, or just dear reading near the new apps which may be hitting your device, let u.s.a. know in the comments beneath.

It's here

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Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/looking-windows-phone-80-developers-perspective

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