Book Image

Learn WinUI 3 - Second Edition

By : Alvin Ashcraft
5 (2)
Book Image

Learn WinUI 3 - Second Edition

5 (2)
By: Alvin Ashcraft

Overview of this book

WinUI 3 takes a whole new approach to delivering Windows UI components and controls and has the ability to deliver the same features across multiple versions of Windows. Learn WinUI 3 is a comprehensive introduction to WinUI and Windows apps for anyone who is new to WinUI and XAML applications. This updated second edition begins by helping you get to grips with the latest features in WinUI and shows you how XAML is used in UI development. The next set of chapters will help you set up a new Visual Studio environment, develop a new desktop project, incorporate the Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) pattern in a WinUI project, and develop unit tests for ViewModel commands. Next, you’ll cover the basics of data access from WinUI projects with a step-by-step approach. As you advance, you’ll discover how to leverage the Fluent Design System to design beautiful WinUI applications. You’ll also explore the contents and capabilities of the Windows Community Toolkit and learn how to create cross-platform apps with markup and code from your project using Uno Platform. The concluding chapters will teach you how to build, debug, and deploy apps to the Microsoft Store. By the end of this book, you’ll have learned how to build WinUI applications from scratch and how to modernize existing desktop apps using WinUI 3 and the Windows App SDK.
Table of Contents (20 chapters)
Free Chapter
1
Part 1:Introduction to WinUI and Windows Applications
8
Part 2:Extending WinUI and Modernizing Applications
13
Part 3:Build and Deploy on Windows and Beyond

Windows 10 and UWP application development

While taking a leap forward with the launch of Windows 10, Microsoft also blended the best of what worked in previous versions of Windows. It brought back the start menu, but its contents look an awful lot like the Windows 8 home screen experience. In addition to an alphabetized list of all installed apps, there is a resizable area for pinned app tiles. In fact, when running Windows in Tablet mode, the start menu can transform into the Windows 8-style home screen experience for better usability on a touchscreen.

When Microsoft launched Windows 10, it also introduced UWP applications to Windows developers. While UWP apps have their roots in the XAML apps of Windows 8, some key differences give developers some major advantages when building apps for the platform.

A key advantage is the universal aspect of these apps. Microsoft builds versions of Windows 10 to run on different device families, listed as follows:

  • Desktop (PC)
  • ...