The appearance of the Windows Runtime (WinRT) brought forth a lot of attention when it was introduced as part of the shift in focus to Windows 8. Since the general availability of Windows 8-based systems and the OS itself, there is an opportunity to see first hand what the runtime meant. Essentially, Microsoft felt the need to advance the state of Windows application development by providing a new platform that recognized the rise of non-PC-based devices, touch interfaces, and to combine that with a method to obtain safe and secure Windows applications. WinRT abstracts away the underlying hardware, minimizes security risks, and prevents developers from making insecure or poorly performing calls via the traditional Windows API.

What WinRT offers developers familiar with Windows-based tools is the ability to easily create secure apps that run on Windows 8-based systems. Your users benefit from a straightforward shopping, purchasing, and installation process. As a developer, you...