Windows 10 marks the second radical departure from the traditional Windows desktop applications in as many releases. Whereas Windows 8.x saw the introduction of the modern interface and major support for touch-based apps through Windows Runtime (WinRT), Windows 10 has introduced the Universal Windows Platform (UWP). An evolutionary change from the Windows 8 apps, UWP apps run on any device that runs Windows 10. This includes tablets, desktop PCs, hybrid systems, and phones. Taking advantage of UWP will let you focus on writing solid code while having your app automatically benefit from the multitude of hardware devices that exist.

The UWP approach works by targeting one or more device families rather than a specific operating system. Your app can elect to only use the base APIs provided by UWP that are found on all devices, or it can augment those with the additional device-specific APIs. Choosing which APIs to use can be a decision made during design (such as targeting the Xbox...