Building Windows 8 Apps with C# and XAML is Here!

“Jeremy builds real apps for real customers. That’s why I can heartily recommend this book. Go out and write some great apps … and keep this book handy.” – from the forward by Jeff Prosise.

When my wife stuck her head in the office and said, “Honey, there’s a UPS truck in front of the house” I knew exactly what it was. I ran downstairs and practically kicked down the door to grab my box that contained the initial copies of my latest book, Building Windows Apps with C# and XAML.This is my third full-length book and it is still amazing to see the final result. I pitched the project back in October of 2011 on the heels of the first //BUILD conference. I started with the idea of pushing out a comprehensive reference manual but quickly realized that project would take way too long to deliver in time for the official release of Windows 8. Therefore, I decided instead to focus on the core story necessary to go from an idea to a complete app successfully accepted in the Windows Store. I’m happy I did because I was able to cover all of the key areas in what I believe is an easy to read narrative that gives you everything you need to get started, while connecting to other resources and references to “go deeper” when and where needed.

 

If you’re curious about just what is covered, here is the detailed table of contents:

1. The New Windows Runtime
   1. Looking Back: Win32 and .NET
   2. Looking Forward: Rise of the NUI
   3. Introducing the Windows Store Application
      1. Windows 8 Design
      2. Fast and Fluid
      3. Snap and Scale
      4. Use of Right Contracts
      5. Great Tiles
      6. Connected and Alive
      7. Embrace Windows 8 Design Principles

Windows 8 Tools of the Trade

1. Blend for Visual Studio
2. HTML5 and JavaScript
3. C++ and XAML
4. VB/C# and XAML
5. Behind the Scenes of WinRT
6. WPF, Silverlight, and the Blue Stack

Summary

Getting Started

1. Setting Up Your Environment
   1. Windows 8
   2. Visual Studio 2012
   3. Blend

Hello, Windows 8

1. Creating Your First Windows 8 Application
2. Templates

The ImageHelper Application

1. Under the Covers

Summary

Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML)

1. Declaring the UI
   1. The Visual Tree
   2. Dependency Properties
   3. Attached Properties
   4. Data-Binding
   5. Value Converters

Storyboards

Styles an

d Resources

Layout

1. Canvas
2. Grid
3. StackPanel
4. VirtualizingPanel and VirtualizingStackPanel
5. WrapGrid
6. VariableSizedWrapGrid
7. ContentControl
8. ItemsControl
9. ScrollViewer
10. ViewBox
11. GridView
12. ListView
13. FlipView
14. ListBox

Common Controls

Summary

Windows 8 Applications

1. Layouts and Views
   1. The Simulator
   2. The Visual State Manager
   3. Semantic Zoom

Handling User Input

1. Pointer Events
2. Manipulation Events
3. Mouse Support
4. Keyboard Support
5. Visual Feedback
6. Targeting
7. Context Menus

The Application Bar

Icons and Splash Screens

About Page

Sensors

1. Accelerometer
2. Compass
3. Geolocation
4. Gyrometer
5. Inclinometer
6. Light Sensor
7. Orientation Sensor

Summary

Application Lifecycle

1. Process Lifetime Management (PLM)
   1. Activation
   2. Suspension
   3. Termination
   4. Resume
   5. Navigation
   6. Application Data API

Connected and Alive

Custom Splash Screen

Summary

Data

1. Application Settings
2. Accessing and Saving Data
   1. The Need for Speed and Threading
   2. Understanding async and await
   3. Lambda Expressions
   4. IO Helpers
   5. Embedded Resources

Collections

1. Language Integrated Query (LINQ)

Web Content

Syndicated Content

Streams, Buffers, and Byte Arrays

Compressing Data

Encrypting and Signing Data

Web Services

1. OData Support

Summary

Tiles and Toasts

1. Basic Tiles
2. Live Tiles
3. Badges
4. Secondary Tiles
5. Toast Notifications
6. Windows Notification Service
7. Summary

Giving Your Application Charm

1. Searching
2. Sharing
   1. Sourcing Content for Sharing
   2. Receiving Content as a Share Target

Settings

Summary

MVVM and Testing

1. UI Design Patterns
   1. The Model
   2. The View
   3. The View Model

The Portable Class Library

Why Test?

1. Testing Eliminates Assumptions
2. Testing Kills Bugs at the Source
3. Testing Helps Document Code
4. Testing Makes Extending and Maintaining Applications Easier
5. Testing Improves Architecture and Design
6. Testing Makes Better Developers
7. Conclusion: Write Those Unit Tests!

Unit Tests

1. Windows Store Unit Testing Framework
2. Mocks and Stubs

Summary

Packing and Deploying

1. The Windows Store
   1. Discovery
   2. Reach
   3. Business Models
   4. Advertising
   5. Preparing Your App for the Store
   6. The Process
   7. The Windows App Certification Kit (WACK)
   8. What to Expect

Side-Loading

Summary

My publisher did a great job pulling together the content, including the dozens of figures and screenshots I included to illustrate every step of the process. Besides your local book store (and if they don’t have it, be sure to let them know they need to fill a shelf with copies), where can you pick this up? There are several options available and various sites will be running different specials and discounts, so check them out:

• Publisher Website (InformIT – Print and eBook editions, separate or bundled together)
• Amazon.com – Print Copy
• Amazon.com – Kindle Version
• Barnes and Noble – Print and Nook Version

Thanks again for all of your support!