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..::H.O.W...T.O...N.A.T.I.V.E::..
Hello,
today I had decided to start this thread about native development for WP7.
At the current moment I don't upload/attach any working stuffs to this message. It will happen a bit later, after new DFT ROMs release. This is because it's very difficult to run them for now.
Let's start from current achieved results:
1) It's possible to run any EXE files (after "FullUnlock")
2) Those EXE files can do any operations in the system (after "FullUnlock")
3) It's possible to show some GUI from this applications. But GUI has legacy Windows CE style, it's impossible to create Metro-style applications for now.
How can it be used by community?
We can develop a lot of homebrew applications: like porting emulators, old native applications, video players and etc.
It can be possible to port famous TCPMP player for example and get ultimate playback on Windows Phone 7!
Is it possible to run old Windows Mobile 6.5 applications without modifications?
No, it's not possible. A lot of different APIs are missing for those applications.
Is it hard to modify old Windows Mobile 6.5 applications?
Well, it's almost same like porting to pure Windows CE, but a lot of Windows CE stuffs are "damaged" inside Windows Phone. They just doesn't work right, because nobody never used/tested them before
Photos of sample "WP7 Native test"
Information for developers you can find in the next messages.
So I will release demo WP7 native application, when we fix issues with FullUnlock.
Demo will be as binary EXE file. And as VS2008 project, which can be good start point for other developers.
Now this thread dedicated for discussion, share ideas and thoughts.
DFT, Cotulla
Information about "FullUnlock"
Information about "FullUnlock"
DevUnlock actually allows only to deploy XAP files from external sources.
It doesn't give more privileges.
So we (DFT) developed "FullUnlock". FullUnlock is implemented as replacing some system files by wrappers, which allows any kind of access (disable access checking at all)
We replace LVMOD.DLL which used to check files and data (checksums, certificates and etc) and POLICYENGINE.DLL which implements internal objects access checking.
All written before means that FullUnlock at the current moment only possible by flashing custom ROM to device. In future maybe we can find good ways to do it without flashing, but for now I don't see any ideas how to do it without flashing.
Maybe we can replace DLLs inside \Windows\ directory (put a shadow copy), but I am not sure if it will work really. It's stuffs for future experiments.
It can be possible to do something near by editing policy values, but it need big research to find right way. As it still won't disable file checking, maybe we can add own certificate to right store and then sign files with them.
The last DFT 7720 MANGO ROMs contains FullUnlock, but it doesn't work as expected there few issues. as well some users got issues with debugging on those ROMs and etc. We will continue work under it
So I will release demo WP7 native application, when we fix issues with FullUnlock.
Demo will be as binary EXE file. And as VS2008 project, which can be good start point for other developers.
Now this thread dedicated for discussion, share ideas and thoughts.
For developers
For developers
(users do not read! danger for brain!)
First of all I want to talk about abilities of native code.
Most applications built in inside WP7 are native. But they don't use usual Dialog UI style, they are using some kind of Silvelight scripts. This kind of UI is called "UIX".
Main idea of UIX that DLL files have UIX resources inside which describe whole UI.
Something similar is used inside CE 7.0 Slivelight - there some xml compiler which make binary data and put them as resources inside DLL. I don't know how to decode this binary data.
Seems Zune desktop application also using this framework.
So UIX used some kind of scripts for UI part and callbacks for all actions.
If we decode this UIX format, we will able to change/modify UI as we want, like it was before with regular resources inside DLL. But UIX must be much more powerful.
We can't use UIX for native application because we don't know how to use it, how to make proper binary data and etc. It's hard to reverse.
But native application can have some GUI with Windows CE style (you can see examples on the photos above)
Another issue: If you call API function "CreateWindowW" you won't see anything on the screen. It seems because shell handle all output, so window doesn't visible.
After some searching I found inside some test ROM nice DLL called "WindowTreeUpdater.dll". After looking inside and decoding functions parameters, it's working!
Basic idea: you create window and call function from this DLL and Window appear on the screen. There seems some kind of proxy engine to output legacy windows on top of shell output.
Nice, it's working...
So we can use usual windows for UI inside native application.
There present standard controls, but they work rather laggy (hey, and looks too).
Basic controls like PushButton, Static, CheckBox, Radiobutton, Icon are working.
About extended controls: (Progress bar, list view, and etc)
they come from Commctrl.dll usually, it was present inside Initial/NODO releases, ut it was removed inside MANGO. I was able to run NODO Commctrl.dll under MANGO after some modifications. But all this controls are shown on screen, but they don't do anything on input. So you can see toolbar, but can't press any button.
CommDlg.dll is missing and never was inside WP7.
There present AYGSHELL.DLL, but most functions are broken. For example, I was not able to create menu bar.
So, a lot of functions are broken, like MessageBox not working.
But we still can create own custom controls and use them for developing.
For example porting TCPMP means that we will need reimplement UI fully - because toolbar doesn't work. slider also won't. Maybe get and reuse some source from ReactOS or NT40 CommCtrl
reserved1reserved1
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This is some crazy ****! I like it
for...all...devices!? If possible...damn
I just came...
Holly smoke !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Way to go guys....BRAVO... This is a major breakthrough for wp7 dev
Once again well done DFTeam
You guys are beasts...please keep it up
for...all...devices!? If possible...damn
I just came...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For now it's only for HTC devices with flashing custom ROM
The UIX/UIB scripts are a real pain.. I tried going through them a while back to change the annoying notification system (10 seconds? Really, Microsoft?) and figured it would all boil down to the usual XML-style script that WM6.5 and other MS products use, but the format is newer and there doesn't seem to be an easy way to decompile them.
From what I do know, however, is that it's more of an encoding than a compilation, and can be decoded if we can figure out what all the different headers mean... but that's a serious reverse engineering project.
Keep it up.is it possible to add Samsung device into support list?
Great work! Are there any multitasking restrictions for these apps? presumably because they are not Silverlight they will not be present in the task switcher & the app will be in charge of when the process terminates?
Looking forward to doing some nice low-level operations - hopefully this will open a whole new world for WP7 dev
Sent from my 7 Pro T7576 using Board Express
That's great，，，Thanks
Cotulla said:
For now it's only for HTC devices with flashing custom ROM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hopefully this will change when you receive the Samsung Focus and try custom ROMs.
Blade0rz said:
Great work! Are there any multitasking restrictions for these apps? presumably because they are not Silverlight they will not be present in the task switcher & the app will be in charge of when the process terminates?
Looking forward to doing some nice low-level operations - hopefully this will open a whole new world for WP7 dev
Sent from my 7 Pro T7576 using Board Express
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would suspect that they won't be killed unless there's an Out of Memory issue (you can see the whitelists for that in the registry), because these processes are not like the silverlight/xna apps that are launched in Taskman.exe. Whether they show up in multitask lists, idk, but they probably won't be killed in the traditional way..
but that's a serious reverse engineering project.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes...
maybe it's precompiled XAML scripts, like inside Managed applications?
Great work! Are there any multitasking restrictions for these apps? presumably because they are not Silverlight they will not be present in the task switcher & the app will be in charge of when the process terminates?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would suspect that they won't be killed unless there's an Out of Memory issue (you can see the whitelists for that in the registry), because these processes are not like the silverlight/xna apps that are launched in Taskman.exe. Whether they show up in multitask lists, idk, but they probably won't be killed in the traditional way..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Plain EXE can run without restrictions, but I guess it will be killed at OOM condition still. EXE with window seems all a bit more complex. When I press back button it usually disappear after few seconds. I think window got WM_CLOSE or something at that moment. It should be researched more in the future.
Furthermore, I forgot to say: Interesting thing, before MANGO WP7 supports native XAP files too!
There was few files nativeinstaller* which implements native installation. There references inside for setup.dll and _setup.xml like in old CAB files.
But it was removed from MANGO seems
Cotulla said:
For now it's only for HTC devices with flashing custom ROM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Would we be able to install an old application like fpsece for windows mobile? One of the biggest things I miss about windows mobile! I get paid today so I will be making a donation for your hard work! I'm currently using your custom rom on my HD7! Thanks again, and keep up the good work!
支持DFT論壇！支持xda-developers！至於你信不信，反正我是信了！
Lemon
MODERN BROWSING
FEATURED
Massive Overhaul - completely rewritten to optimize the code and unify the overall interface
OTA Updates - updates require little to no user interaction
Security - hide and lock the browser with the touch of a button
Privacy - browsing history is only stored locally and can even be automatically deleted on exit
Auto Complete - suggests words depending on your history
Screenshot - nothing special, but you may take HD screenshots right within the browser
Notepad - notes that save automagically
Open Source - the source has now been released
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NEW
Privileges Fixed - no longer runs needs to run in administrator mode thanks to @SixSixSevenSeven
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
BUGS
Outdated Browser Component - this browser is based off IE7 on some computers
Mishandles Links - links that open in a new window or tab will most likely open in your default browser
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lemon has been abandoned for quite some time now and I have removed the screenshots and download links. I am considering coming back to this project in the near future when I have time to put Windows on my MacBook. Until then, however, you may play with the source.
Source // Website
Maybe post some screenshots, or possibly a download?
netham45 said:
Maybe post some screenshots, or possibly a download?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for the recommendations Just uploaded 3 screenshots and added a download link towards the bottom.
Nice start. No go on RT.
cx1 said:
Nice start. No go on RT.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wonder why this is not working on the RT.. I wish I had this device to test some things on. Anyways, this build was focused on 4.0 .NET framework made in visual studio 2012 for windows 8 Desktop. Thanks for trying.
EDIT: Problem is with the installer, download the ZIP below it and use that. I will try to find a fix for the installer. Sorry for the inconvenience.
mellowdev said:
I wonder why this is not working on the RT.. I wish I had this device to test some things on. Anyways, this build was focused on 4.0 .NET framework made in visual studio 2012 for windows 8 Desktop. Thanks for trying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try targeting 4.5 for Windows RT.
netham45 said:
Try targeting 4.5 for Windows RT.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just updated to .NET 4.5
Nope will not run on RT unless I'm doing something wrong?
THEBIG360 said:
Nope will not run on RT unless I'm doing something wrong?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmm, any errors being displayed? Or just not opening?
EDIT: Problem is with the installer, download the ZIP below it and use that. I will try to find a fix for the installer. Sorry for the inconvenience.
You would need to target "Any CPU" in the .NET code, and recompile any third-party x86 libraries that you are using to target ARM, and it would probably work then. Most (although not all) of the system libraries on Win8 are also on Windows RT, and (at least in the case of .NET libraries), the ones that aren't can sometimes be brought over from a Win8 box anyhow.
GoodDayToDie said:
You would need to target "Any CPU" in the .NET code, and recompile any third-party x86 libraries that you are using to target ARM, and it would probably work then. Most (although not all) of the system libraries on Win8 are also on Windows RT, and (at least in the case of .NET libraries), the ones that aren't can sometimes be brought over from a Win8 box anyhow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At the moment, I am trying to get geckoFX 15 and xulrunner 19 added to the project so I do not have to use the default WebBrowser component given in Visual Studio. If you would like, I could send you the source and maybe you could help porting to Windows RT and adding geckoFX? Btw after v1.0 this will be Open Source to all Thanks for all the support guys.
Works now thanks, scrolling is a little hitchy how ever its a great start. On another note would it be possible to make the onscreen keyboard auto pop up?
Will the flash be optimized, the browser is really fast. Its just the flash side of things that is buggy.
Seems to bypass the Flash whitelist on Windows RT. That's quite handy.
Re: [APP] Lemon Browser v0.9.7.3
I can surely attempt the auto pop up on screen keyboard, also the glitchy scrolling will be fixed soon. Thanks
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
Just FYI: a web browser requiring Administrator to run is absolutely unacceptable. Browsers should run with extremely limited permissions (lower than standard user, ideally) rather than elevated permissions. I fixed this by hand-editing the .EXE file's embedded manifest to run AsInvoker (rather than RequireAdministrator). You should change the manifest in VS. Preferably, the whole thing would run in a low-IL sandbox the way IE does, and/or use some other sandboxing technique.
Also, there's little reason, especially for RT-targeted builds, to use Debug unless you include the source files and expect people to use them when reporting bugs. Release builds are typically smaller and faster.
Finally, could you get this to use a somewhat less awful rendering engine than IE7? I don't mind using Trident in general, but IE7 is archaic and awful. How do you justify "faster than Chrome" on a browser that can't even pass Acid2, much less run a modern speed benchmark? Gecko would be awesome, though I don't believe anybody has managed to port it to RT yet so that would be x86-only at first.
There are other things I'd like to see, ranging from simple UI conventions (double-clicking the tab bar, tapping Alt to show the menu bar, etc.) to some significant security issues (loading mixed content - that is, HTTP content on an HTTPS site - is a potentially serious risk).
Re: [APP] Lemon Browser v0.9.7.3
I appreciate the feedback, about the debug, i honestly did not even think about that, its just much faster to update using the debug folder. I will make it the release build next time. Next - about the admin permissions - Unfortunately this is needed to enable the temporary download of version.txt (allows OTA updates). And I was not planning on targeting the RT at all. I simply made this on my windows 8 laptop and released to the public for however they would like. I am now working on a 3D FPS though and will be releasing the code to this very shortly. And for the IE7 subject, I tried using firefox component but it does not allow the "LoadComplete" sub. Simply put, I do not know how to do 'if web page loaded' do this. I need this feature so i can load favicons etc. Please understand that this was made < 1 week ago. I highly appreciate all the comments though because I can not even begin testing all of these. Plus with school and other activities I do not expext this to be a huge project. Just simply a fun project (focused on gui) to add to my projects. Thanks again
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
No worries on the Debug/Release, just a tip.
The admin thing, though... that's a serious problem. If the problem is just downloading a file, download it to the local application data folder instead of the install directory. If auto-updating is desired, make a separate updater that runs as Admin, and have the browser launch the updater program when it detects an update.
That said, though, admin is only needed if the browser is "installed" to a location where Admin is required to write. Programs installed in (for example) the user profile don't require this. In fact, on machines where the user *can't* get Admin (think about computers at a school, library, or office), the fact that it can install and run without requiring admin is a major advantage.
I understand that this is a side project for you, and I applaud you for hobby programming and sharing it with us, that's fantastic to see. I also do quite like the GUI, although I find it a bit bare-bones at the moment. Additionally, you getting it to work on RT is fantastic. However... I cannot in good conscience recommend using a web browser that sets the state of environment security back by nearly seven years. The web is an extremely hostile "place" and we've learned many lessons over the years. one of the critical ones is that web browsers are simply too easy to attack for them to be trusted; the only safe way to use one is to assume it will be compromised, and run it in a suitable contained environment. Microsoft did his with the IE7 Protected Mode on Vista betas in 2006, but even on XP it was possible to run IE as a non-Admin.
Re: [APP] Lemon Browser v0.9.7.3
I will admit chrome will always be my favorite browser Just wanted to throw something visually appealing together though after seeing all the horribly designed ones on youtube lol. If anyone would like the source just email me. The code is (slightly cluttered) but OCD friendly. everything labeled and named properly. If someone would like the source, i recommend also downloading the android holo icons from their site. That is what I am currently using and this allows identical pre-made light / dark icons.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda premium
Hello !
really thank for this build ! :good:
A question:
Can you integrate a download manager which allow us to download files with screen off but which avoid the complet stand-by state of the tablet during the download ?
Because with IE it's impossible to download something with the Surface screen OFF.
It could be a really cool feature, and the only browser which allow that ! :highfive:
@+
*********_
Edit:
Oh......
Your browser yet intagrate this feature !
Cool... Now I can download big files with screen Off !
I love you
samco08 said:
Hello !
really thank for this build ! :good:
...
Cool... Now I can download big files with screen Off !
I love you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! I appreciate that aha. Major update (kinda lol) will be released soon. Have to work on Mango Tools first (I might toss a thread up on this tool) but this can be found on my site mellowdev.net It just allows you to easily perform ADB commands on android phone. Anyways right after this I will work on v0.9.8! Hoping to add lots of cool, unique features to give this browser an edge. I know that speed means a lot and I have received many complaints on using the IE7 component. However my focus at the moment is to add features. Web browsing for most is just type in words and search. I want this to be so much more. So anyways aha thanks again. Love the support here!
Windows 8 Store App Development
being fresh and a new ecosystem lacks apps a Microsoft is trying ever bi the can to get developers into it and offering some great opportunities.
Why windows 8?????
#1 Its free:
Unlike other platforms which require you to pay to publish applications on there stores Windows on the other hand doesn't ask you a cent to publish your apps
#2 Multilingual(Script Wise) Support:
If you know web development technologies, you can develop a Windows Store app using HTML5, Cascading Style Sheets, Level 3 (CSS3), and JavaScript.
If you have developed .NET, Windows Presentation Foundation, or Microsoft Silverlight applications, you can develop a Windows Store app using XAML, with code-behind in C++, C#, or Visual Basic.
If you know DirectX, you can develop a DirectX Windows Store app using native C++ and HLSL to take full advantage of graphics hardware.
Lets get started:
Windows 8 introduces a new type of application: the Windows Store app. Windows Store apps have a brand new look and feel, run on a variety of devices, and you sell them on the Windows Store.
You can develop Windows Store apps in a variety of languages as mentioned above.
This guide tells you why you want to develop Windows Store apps, where to get the tools you need, and how to build your first app
Note: Windows Store Apps can only be developed on windows 8
Get The Tools:
To develop Windows Store apps, you need to install Windows 8 and some developer tools. They are available for free #GenrousMicrosoft
1. Download Windows 8
Important as windows 8 apps only run on windows 8
2. Download Developer Tools
These a the only tools required to build store apps #win8+1
Not to mention the need no setup just installation is need and NO ADDITIONAL CONFIGURATION.
This download gives you Microsoft Visual Studio Express 2012 for Windows 8, Blend for Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 for Windows 8, the Windows 8 software development kit (SDK), and project templates for creating new Windows Store apps.
Visual Studio gives you everything you need to create code, debug, localize, package, and deploy a Windows Store app.
Blend is another tool you can use to create Windows Store apps. It provides effective support for designing a great-looking user interface for your Windows Store app.
Visual Studio and Blend were designed to work together. You can move seamlessly back and forth between them to develop your app.
Getting a developer license
Microsoft was smart enough and to prevent illicit acts it does not allows sideloading apps with exception to developers who will find handy:good:.
To get your self approved as a developer you need to get a free developer licence which can be done via following methods.
Through Visual Studio
When you run Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 on your local machine for the first time, you are prompted to obtain a developer license. Read the license terms, and then click I Agree. In the User Account Control (UAC) dialog box, click Yes to continue.
After you install a license on a local machine, you won’t be prompted again on that machine unless the license expires (or you remove it) and you try to run an uncertified Windows Store app or create a project. You can run uncertified Windows Store apps on your local machine by pressing the F5 key in Microsoft Visual Studio or Blend for Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 for Windows 8.
Note If you choose not to acquire or renew a developer license, you'll receive an error (DEP0100) when you attempt to build or deploy a Windows Store app in Visual Studio.{Courtesy MSDN}
Getting a developer license at a command prompt
If you aren’t using Visual Studio 2012, you can get and manage developer licenses at a command prompt by running these commands in
Windows PowerShell:
Show-WindowsDeveloperLicenseRegistration. This command opens a dialog box from which you can get a developer license and install it on the local machine. To run this command, you must have a valid Microsoft account. You also must run this command in a command prompt with elevated permissions.
Get-WindowsDeveloperLicense. This command returns an object that has two properties: ExpirationTime and IsValid. ExpirationTime is a System.DateTime structure that contains the date and time when the license expires. IsValid is a System.Boolean that indicates whether the license is valid. You can run this command from either a non-elevated command prompt or a command prompt with elevated permissions.
Unregister-WindowsDeveloperLicense. This command warns you that some Windows Store apps will stop working if you remove the developer
license from the local machine. If you choose "Yes" (the default) to confirm that you want to remove the license, the license is removed from the local machine. You must run this command in a command prompt with elevated permissions.
Code:
C:\PS> Show-WindowsDeveloperLicenseRegistration
C:\PS> Get-WindowsDeveloperLicense
C:\PS> Unregister-WindowsDeveloperLicense
Read full detaild artile @MSDN also for TNC
Build Your First app!
Time to say hello to HELLO WORLD!
Using Javascript and HTML with CSS
Follow These Great Tutorials On MSDN JavaScript and HTML
Using C# or with XAMLVisual Basic
For Android or Java Developer I prefer C#
Follow These Great Tutorials On MSDN C# or Visual Basic and XAML
Using C++ with XAML
My favorite preference.
Follow These Great Tutorials On MSDN C++ with XAML
Using C++ and DirectX
DirectX i dont know anything about it
Dont expect support on this by me altopgh others might be able to help.
Follow These Great Tutorials On MSDN C++ with DirectX
Creating a project and choosing a template
When you create an app, the first thing you need to do is decide which language to use. You can choose JavaScript, Visual Basic, Visual C#, or Visual C++.
To create a project for a Windows Store app, click File > New Project (or press Ctrl+Shift+N).
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
You'll see the New Project dialog box.
Click one of the language nodes in the left pane. You'll see various app templates in the center pane. Some important templates, like Blank App, Grid App, and Split App, are shared between all four programming languages. A few templates are language-specific.When you create a project for a Windows Store app, Visual Studio creates a solution, which is a way of managing the various source elements of your project (code files, images, style sheets, settings, and so on). A solution container can contain multiple projects, and a project container typically contains multiple items that represent the references, folders, and files that you need to create your app.
Solution Explorer displays solutions, their projects, and the items in those projects. In Solution Explorer, you can open files for editing, add new files to a project, and view solution, project, and item properties. Here's what Solution Explorer looks like for a JavaScript project: courtesy MSDN
In addition to source code files appropriate to the language, each project also includes the package.appxmanifest file, which describes the app package for Windows. Each project also includes several image files, like splashscreen.png for the splash screen image and storelogo.png, which is used for Windows Store. A project source certificate (.pfx) file that's required for signing the package is also included in each project.
Designing a UI
When you plan your user interface, it's important to select the most appropriate Visual Studio project template for a starting point, and to learn about adding re-usable item templates such as Search contracts. You can develop your UI by writing code or by using a visual designer. A visual designer provides a designer-oriented interface for app design that includes a drag-and-drop interface for building the UI.
For Windows Store apps, you can use the visual designer provided in Blend for Microsoft Visual Studio 2012 for Windows 8. You can open a Visual Studio project in Blend by right-clicking the project in Solution Explorer and clicking Open in Blend. Alternatively, open the solution file (.sln) from within Blend.
image courtesy MSDN:
Updating the app manifest
unlike android working on mainfest of win 8 apps is a breeze
You can use the Manifest Designer in Visual Studio to edit the app manifest file that describes your app package. The app manifest file is present in Windows Store apps written in all languages.
The Manifest Designer has five tabs:
Application UI. Configure UI settings, including the logo, splash screen, and initial orientation.
Capabilities. Specify system features or devices that your app can use, such as Internet access, current location, and music library access.
Declarations. Add declarations for app contracts, like search and share target contracts, and specify their properties.
Content URIs. Specify URIs that your app either can or can't access. This tab appears only for JavaScript projects.
Packaging. Set properties that identify and describe your package when it is deployed.
To open the Manifest Designer, double-click the package.appxmanifest file in Solution Explorer, or right-click the file and click View Designer. The Capabilities tab of the Manifest Designer is shown here:
image courtesy MSDN:
Writing code
Visual Studio Express 2012 for Windows 8 includes full-featured editors for the following languages: JavaScript, HTML/XML/XAML, CSS, C#, Visual Basic, C++, HLSL. The editors provide many language-specific features that you can customize to help create your app:
IntelliSense, which provides features such as statement completion and parameter Help as you type code. This illustration shows a member list in the C# Code Editor. Note that the list also displays a Quick Info box for the selected item.
image courtesy MSDN:
Using inellisense:
Code snippet insertion, available by right-clicking in a code file and clicking Insert Snippet.
Navigation aids like Go To Definition, Bookmarks, and Navigate To.
The Go To Definition command enables you to find the definition of a class or function by right-clicking the identifier and clicking Go To Definition. (Visual Basic and Visual C++ use the Object Browser to display information about Windows Runtime types.)
This illustration shows options like Go To Definition and Insert Snippet in the JavaScript Code Editor:
You can customize the behavior of the Code Editors, and enable or disable features like indentation, word wrap, and statement completion. To customize the behavior of the Code Editors, click Tools > Options, expand Text Editor, expand the appropriate Code Editor to configure, and then select the appropriate category of options.
Building an app
To build an app, click Build Solution (or press F7) or Rebuild Solution (or press Ctrl+Alt+F7) on the Build menu. You'll see the results of the build process in the Output window.
Debugging
Read The MSDN article
Design Using Blend for VisualStudio 2012
Blend for Visual Studio 2012 helps you design and build user interfaces by providing you with an accurate design surface and tools that let you visually create and edit Windows Store applications. These new design tools take advantage of Windows 8 technologies to create dynamic applications that run on a wide variety of Windows-based hardware. You can choose to design your user interface using HTML or XAML.
image courtesy MSDN:
Designing in HTML
A Windows Store app built using HTML uses the same technology that a web site uses. However, a Windows Store app is not deployed page-by-page from a web server. Instead, it is installed locally on the user's computer. Like any native Windows application, a Windows Store app built using HTML has direct access to the underlying platform and is able to share information with other applications.
Visual design Visually edit HTML, CSS, and Microsoft design style controls. What you see in Blend is what users will see in Windows 8.
Interactive Mode Design your app in states that would otherwise be available only at run time, without having to endlessly compile and run.
App building Drag and drop Windows app controls onto the design surface, set their properties, and style them.
Powerful code generation When you add a new style or element to an app, Blend takes care of all the syntax and generates concise, reliable, and predictable code.
Debugging Visual Studio can debug JavaScript, but only Blend lets you visually debug HTML and CSS. The Winning Properties virtual rule shows you the CSS cascade for any element. The Computed Values virtual rule shows you how Windows 8 will compute CSS property values for each element. The Live DOM panel updates to display run-time changes.
learn more @MSDN
Designing in XAML
A Windows Store app built using XAML gives you more control over the styling and animating of controls. Visual Studio also provides a XAML Designer. Much like Blend, the XAML Designer in Visual Studio provides a main design surface and a toolbox to drag-and-drop controls.
Animation Use the Objects and Timeline and States panels to create complex animations for your app. The visual state design features in Blend also enable you to work with the new Windows 8 theme animations.
Visual States Use the States and Device panels to create a Windows app UI that takes advantage of view states and orientations supported in Windows 8.
Transitions Add pre-defined or create custom transitions for your app by using the States panel.
Styles and GroupStyles Customize the default control styles by the comprehensive styling and editing features available in Blend. You can also customize Windows 8 GroupStyles.
Template editing Edit control templates by using the Objects and Timeline panel or the Breadcrumb bar. While in template editing mode, you can add Windows 8 theme animations by using the States panel.
Data Binding Data binding tools support the following binding types: DataContext, DataSource, ElementName, RelativeSource Self, RelativeSource TemplatedParent, and StaticResource.
Layout Create Windows app layouts using built-in layout containers such as GridView, ListView, StackPanel, WrapGrid, and more, all of which can be customized to suit your needs.
Control creation Create controls on the artboard quickly and easily by using the Tools and Assets panels.
Property editing Modify and edit objects quickly and easily by using the Properties panel.
learn more @MSDN
The Last Word
A few Handy Links:
*Selling Apps
*Concepts and Architecture
*API Reference
*Language Reference
*Samples
Credits:
MSDN For amazing article and helping me to dev on win8.
Microsoft for their beautiful OS
Visual Studio Amazing IDE
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great guide..
publishing in windows is free??
will start it today...
thanks for the guide:good:
mysticsaver said:
publishing in windows is free??
will start it today...
thanks for the guide:good:
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It's FREE 100% NO HIDDEN COSTS
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sak-venom1997 said:
It's FREE 100% NO HIDDEN COSTS
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is it just like publishing in google play??
can we publish them as paid apps???
mysticsaver said:
is it just like publishing in google play??
can we publish them as paid apps???
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For paid apps I don't know but I ll let you know soon
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sak-venom1997 said:
For paid apps I don't know but I ll let you know soon
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okie will be waiting
mysticsaver said:
okie will be waiting
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So so sorry for being absent here but the answer to your query :
Yes Yes its free they'll charge you a small amount which will be refunded this is just to confirm that your payment source is authentic
More on this here.
Must the host machine i use to develop be on win8? Or i can use win7 to develop
sianzb0i said:
Must the host machine i use to develop be on win8? Or i can use win7 to develop
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Only win8 machine can be used can't dev on win7
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Just wanted to say thank you for all this great info!
jackrabbit72380 said:
Just wanted to say thank you for all this great info!
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Your welcome
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thank you very much, just started to make some windows 8 apps and this was very helpfull
WarBorg said:
thank you very much, just started to make some windows 8 apps and this was very helpfull
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You're welcome
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I've just started using Phonegap to develop Android apps and found it ridiculously easy (for simple stuff). I've got a background in Windows development for many years, and also a long-standing history of web development, both client and server-side, so for me Phonegap is an answer to many prayers.
I thought this would be an ideal place to share ideas and thrash out problems for anyone that's developing using Phonegap.
If you're not familiar with it but you have web development skills then you really need to look into it...
http://phonegap.com/
I also currently use adobe builder at to build my apps...
https://build.phonegap.com/
That will change when I start integrating my own plugins, using Java and Eclipse, but for now it's awesome as it builds my app for 6 different platforms, including Android, iOS and WP.
I'm new to this so I'm hoping this will be a good place for us to learn together and pick up any tips from each other. There's also the most awesome stack overflow where help can be garnered, as they have a phonegap tag for asking questions. Between there and here we should be covered
I may also use phonegap for my next project. It's either that or Xamarin/Mono. I'd be more comfortable out of the box with the latter, but it's probably more "useful" for me to start prodding HTML5.
Have you taken a look at VSNomad? Lets you work in Visual Studio if you're already familiar with that.
jmbillings said:
I may also use phonegap for my next project. It's either that or Xamarin/Mono. I'd be more comfortable out of the box with the latter, but it's probably more "useful" for me to start prodding HTML5.
Have you taken a look at VSNomad? Lets you work in Visual Studio if you're already familiar with that.
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I just had a look at VSNomad and it does look very interesting, but it's damn pricey! I'm certainly not used to paying subscription costs to develop software.
Some of the tools and tech I use to develop phonegap app
APTANA 3
GIT GUI
bootstrap.js
ADT
Dreamweaver CS 6
AppLaud - Mobile Developer Solutions
Best of all and universal tools to develop.
some other useful tools with phonegap
I usually develop applications with PhoneGap using the following tools:
Eclipse
ant scripts for packaging and javascript compression
jasmine for javascript module testing
karma for test in real time
I found very useful to use the last tool for testing on multiple browsers and mobile emulators because it allows to detect possible errors in real-time.
salamanred said:
I usually develop applications with PhoneGap using the following tools:
Eclipse
ant scripts for packaging and javascript compression
jasmine for javascript module testing
karma for test in real time
I found very useful to use the last tool for testing on multiple browsers and mobile emulators because it allows to detect possible errors in real-time.
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Karma sounds great for compatibility and debugging. I searched online and there are tons of results. Could you share more info so I can find it?
I currently use Eclipse with the Phonegap plugin and Firefox for basic debugging until I near final production.
Hey!
I am starting with a project to develop a multiplatform app with phonegap. I have minimal experience about webapp development and I have been searching for an editor especially for phonegap projects. So far I have been getting suggestions between notepad++ to eclipse, but none has satisfied me so far. It would be nice to be able to open the project and browse the structure from the editor. Also something like ctrl-clicking to jump to javascript codes etc. Hopefully you get the idea what I am looking for.
These are some editors I have found so far:
- Brackets
- Chrome dev tools
- Intel XDK
I mainly am looking for something to edit the sources. Building and debugging can be done separately. These things are a good thing to have, but not necessary:
+ WYSIWYG
+ Possibility to build the project
+ Possibility to launch the project in a device
+ Device emulator
+ Debugging possibility
+ Free
Edit:
+ SVN
I am used to something like eclipse/netbeans for coding. What editors do you usually use for PhoneGap/web app projects? I am also taking suggestions for debugging environments.
Intel XDK is pretty neat IDE for Web App development.
You should try Ionic Framework (Build and manage project)
+ Ionic View App (Launch project in device)
+ Ionic Lab (Basic WYSIWYG/Building/Deployment)
Personally I use Notepad++ +CMD btw ....It suits my style...
Also I don't use any emulators. Testing in View or on live device.
Emulators are just painful ,though I have heard good stuff about genymotion.
Use Chrome dev tools for debugging...
I suggest you to try Atom Editor or Visual Studio code. Both are free.
I forgot to mention that I have to start working with an already existing project. I think Ionic does not work for this. It seems like I would use it for my personal projects however. I should add subversion feature to plusses also.
Atom Editor and Visual Studio code are maybe the best editors I have tried so far.
VilleI said:
I forgot to mention that I have to start working with an already existing project. I think Ionic does not work for this. It seems like I would use it for my personal projects however. I should add subversion feature to plusses also.
Atom Editor and Visual Studio code are maybe the best editors I have tried so far.
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Have you tried phonegap for netbeans ?
https://netbeans.org/kb/docs/webclient/cordova-gettingstarted.html
karandpr said:
Have you tried phonegap for netbeans ?
https://netbeans.org/kb/docs/webclient/cordova-gettingstarted.html
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Wow, I don't know why I did not realize there is a plugin for Netbeans for this. This is awesome.
I worked cordova (same with phonegap) in visual studio and netbeans. netbeans is better in autocomplete but visual studio is more feature than. All of them are both good ide.
Netbeans can run in linux, mac, visual studio code version can too.
Hi,
Visual Studio Code or Atom or WebStorm