1. Windows 8 App Development with XAML

2. New version coming soon!
Updated for Silverlight 5
Over 115 recipes (that’s 30 extra!)
Extended to about 700 pages (that’s 250 extra!)
Covering WP7, MVVM, RIA Services and much more!
More info:

3. This is the road to development on Windows 8
In this part...
Styling and templating
Data in your Windows 8 apps
Getting data
Data binding
The Application Lifecycle (Copyright 2010 Windows Phone 7)
Tiles and more (Copyright 2010 Windows Phone 7)
IO’ing in Metro apps

4. This is the road to development on Windows 8
Covered in Part 1...
General XAML stuff for Windows 8
Old and new controls
Finding your way with navigation
See for the recording!

5. Default styles
Project templates provide great starting point for Metro style
Default styles are included
Familiar XAML styling and resource dictionaries
Works in the same way
Dark and light resource dictionaries

6. Dark and light themes Controls are styled by their control template
Resource Dictionaries containing dark and light styles
Dark styles are default
Recommended for media apps, such as photos or video
generic.xaml
Light styles can be switched to quickly
Recommended for text-based apps
light_generic.xaml

7. Get your style right!
Windows 8 provides great controls through the platform (we’ve seen that earlier)
Controls can be styled, breaking down their parts
Properties
Set foreground color to blue
Templates
Change the structural appearance of a control
Visual States
Define how a control looks in a specific state

8. Styling remains the same as well...
Explicit styles (keyed)
Apply the style to the target when requested by key name
Great for unique styles
BasedOn styles
Inherit from an explicitly keyed style
Implicit styles
Apply the style to all instances of the TargetType
Ideal for app wide styling of a control type

9. Templating in Windows 8 Metro style look and feel
Change the control to suit you
Properties
Visual States
Content

10. Visual State Manager (again)
Visual states give controls (and your app) a great feel
Define your app’s behavior
Change appearance
Transforms
Easing
KeyFrames
Animations

11. Working with data is similar to Silverlight and WP7
It involves
Getting data
Working asynchronously
Using the data
Binding
Parsing
...

12. Getting data Working with services is preferred in most cases
Relational databases should be behind a service
Local app storage
App has its own storage directory
Can access local file system

13. Supported service scenarios
Use
XML-over-HTTP
JSON-over-HTTP
ASMX Web Services
Sockets
oData
(no RIA Services at this point )

14. Working async gets easier
await keyword makes things easier
Doesn’t block UI thread
Doesn’t require the ugly Dispatcher.BeginInvoke(() => …);

15. Now what to do with the data?
LINQ is fully supported
Data binding to controls
We saw a lot of new controls
Old controls support data binding as well 
Optionally grouping the data

16. Data binding
Data binding is the infrastructure that links properties of controls with properties on your data objects
Can be done in XAML or via code
Binding actions enable customization of the binding logic
Value converters
Binding modes
OneWay, TwoWay, OneTime
All this stuff remains the same as it was before!
Not everything that is supported in data binding in WPF, SL and WP7 is currently supported
Might change
Currently SL4 options are supported more or less

17. Data templates
Enables re-usable declarative XAML to define data binding behavior and presentation
Can define the template for the panel in which the contents will appear
Can define the template for the items themselves

18. Application lifecycle
Running App
Suspending
Suspended App
Terminated App
Low Memory
Resuming

19. When the app is about to be shut down
OnSuspending event on app object is your chance
Understanding user’s intentions for save
Utilize familiar serialization mechanisms available in XAML Metro style apps

20. Suspending and saving
//SuspensionManager.cs can be found in SDK Samples
async protected void OnSuspending(object sender, SuspendingEventArgs args) {
SuspendingDeferral deferral =
args.SuspendingOperation.GetDeferral();
await SuspensionManager.SaveAsync();
deferral.Complete(); }

21. Resuming the application
Resuming event on app object
App still lives in resident memory
Scenarios around rehydrating live data
Activating an app
Provide content to your Window
Determine PreviousExecutionState for lifecycle management
Navigate your app to desired view based on activation type
Activate your Window to dismiss Splash screen

22. Activation events OnLaunched OnSearchActivated OnSharingActivated
User invokes app from Tile or Notification
OnSearchActivated
User selects your app from search pane
OnSharingActivated
User selects your app from share pane
OnFilePickerActivated
User selects your app via FilePicker to select files from
OnFileActivated
User selects file your app has a registered handler for

24. You all remember tiles from WP7?
Represents the app while not active
It’s a view in the application that engages the user
Can be updating and alive with activity
Easy to create and update!
Draw users back into your app over and over

25. 2 types of tiles: regular ones
Tap on tile to launch or switch to an app
Static default tile specified in app manifest
Two sizes:
Both sizes can have live updates
Square (1x1)
Wide (2x1)

26. 2 types of tiles: Live tiles
Tiles updated using pre-defined templates
Templates provide rich rendering options
Text-only, image-only or combination
JPEG or PNG only, max size 150 KB
Local or cloud updates
Can even use the Push Notifications

28. Badges Overlays status on top of tile Supports square and wide tiles
Number up to 99 or pre-defined glyph:
Always legible on top of images
Badge
Badge

29. Secondary tiles Tiles created by “pinning” content from app
Pin initiated by app via simple runtime call
User confirms pin operation via system UI
Exposes a personalized surface for app
Same capabilities as app tiles
Launch leads to relevant content

30. Can I touch your file please?
Metro apps are more or less like Silverlight when it comes to storage
Files can be
App data (specific for the application)
Local on the machine
On a device or a network
On the web
Depending on the location, different restrictions and access model are in place

31. App data Your Metro app has FULL access on its local folder:
C:\Users\<user_name>\AppData\Local\Packages\<packag e>
Can create, delete, modify… files
Accessible via ApplicationData.Current.LocalFolder

32. Library access
If your app wants access to a library on the device, it needs to specify this in the manifest
Forget this to get an System.UnauthorizedAccessException
Music, Picture and Video libraries: nothing extra needed
Documents Library: also requires filetypes to be specified

33. I need to access C:\temp
Sorry, no can do!
Only accessible via the FilePicker API
Remember, about the same in Silverlight

34. Thank You