Universal Windows Apps with XAML and C# Unleashed

Full Color: Figures and code appear as they do in Visual Studio. Universal Windows apps are a total game-changer. You can now write once and deploy your app to any modern PC, tablet, phone, or other Windows device. Suddenly, it’s quick and easy to serve new devices and form factors, sharing unified assets ranging from code to styles to user controls. It has never been easier to reach multiple-device markets! Now, the world’s #1 expert on Microsoft XAML brings together all the knowledge Windows developers need to build universal apps that adapt smoothly for any device running Windows 8.1, Windows Phone 8.1, or their successors. Drawing on his unsurpassed personal experience and direct input from Microsoft’s Windows and Visual Studio teams, Adam Nathan illuminates core development concepts, answers your most important questions, and candidly assesses the technology’s strengths and limitations. This full-color guide walks you through every key task involved in building a universal Windows app: layout and input, working with the app model, using advanced controls, leveraging XAML’s powerful rich media features, and much more. Detailed information on how to... Quickly build universal, localized apps that exploit the vast global scale of the Windows Store Size, position, and transform elements within layouts that gracefully adapt to different devices Handle input from touch, mouse, pen, keyboard, and any sensor Monetize apps with Windows Store sales, in-app purchases, and advertising Make the most of controls for managing content, items, text, images, media, speech, and more Create efficient 2D vector graphics and animations Use styles, templates, and visual states to redesign controls without losing functionality Bind data sources to simplify data presentation and updates Easily integrate data from apps, users, and networks Support Windows app commands: Search, Share, Print, Play, Project, Settings Use contracts to build apps that cooperate to perform complex tasks Improve the user experience even when your app isn’t running

Table of Contents:
Introduction     1 Who Should Read This Book?     3 Software Requirements     3 Code Examples     3 How This Book Is Organized     3 Conventions Used in This Book     5 Part I: Getting Started Chapter 1: Hello, Real World!     7 Creating, Deploying, and Profiling an App     7 Understanding the App Packages     10 Updating XAML and C# Code     21 Making the App World-Ready     29 Making the App Accessible     35 Submitting to the Windows Store     40 Summary     42 Chapter 2: Mastering XAML     43 Elements and Attributes     44 Namespaces     45 Property Elements     47 Type Converters     49 Markup Extensions     49 Children of Object Elements     52 Mixing XAML with C#     56 XAML Keywords     59 Summary     60 Part II: Building an App Chapter 3: Sizing, Positioning, and Transforming Elements     63 Controlling Size     64 Controlling Position     68 Applying 2D Transforms     72 Applying 3D Transforms     79 Summary     82 Chapter 4: Layout     83 Discovering Your Window Size and Location     84 Panels     88 Handling Content Overflow     103 Summary     115 Chapter 5: Handling Input: Touch, Mouse, Pen, and Keyboard     117 Touch Input     118 Mouse Input     141 Pen Input     144 Keyboard Input     153 Summary     159 Part III: Working with the App Model Chapter 6: App Lifecycle     161 Killing     163 Suspending     164 Resuming     166 Terminating     167 Launching     168 Activating     171 Managing Session State with SuspensionManager     173 Programmatically Launching Apps     176 Summary     179 Chapter 7: Threading, Windows, and Pages     181 Understanding the Threading Model for Universal Apps     181 Displaying Multiple Windows     186 Navigating Between Pages     189 Summary     198 Chapter 8: The Many Ways to Earn Money     199 Adding Advertisements to Your App     200 Supporting a Free Trial     205 Supporting In-App Purchases     210 Validating Windows Store Receipts     218 Testing Windows Store Features     220 Summary     225 Part IV: Understanding Controls Chapter 9: Content Controls     227 Button     230 AppBarButton     234 HyperlinkButton     241 RepeatButton     242 ToggleButton     243 AppBarToggleButton     243 CheckBox     244 RadioButton     245 ToolTip     246 App Bars     249 Summary     257 Chapter 10: Items Controls     259 Items in the Control     260 Items Panels     262 ComboBox     265 ListBox     267 ListView     269 GridView     273 FlipView     274 SemanticZoom     276 MenuFlyout     279 Summary     281 Chapter 11: Text     283 TextBlock     283 RichTextBlock     296 TextBox     301 RichEditBox     309 PasswordBox     311 Summary     313 Chapter 12: Images     315 The Image Element     316 Multiple Files for Multiple Environments     325 Decoding Images     330 Encoding Images     339 Rendering PDF Content as an Image     347 Summary     353 Chapter 13: Audio, Video, and Speech     355 Playback     356 Capture     367 Transcoding     378 Speech Synthesis     383 Summary     386 Chapter 14: Other Controls     387 Range Controls     387 SearchBox     390 Popup Controls     397 Hub     403 Date and Time Controls     407 ProgressRing     411 ToggleSwitch     412 WebView     413 Summary     419 Part V: Leveraging the Richness of XAML Chapter 15: Vector Graphics     421 Shapes     421 Geometries     428 Brushes     436 Summary     450 Chapter 16: Animation     453 Dependency Properties     454 Theme Transitions     455 Theme Animations     466 Custom Animations     472 Custom Keyframe Animations     485 Easing Functions     490 Manual Animations     495 Summary     497 Chapter 17: Styles, Templates, and Visual States     499 Styles     500 Templates     509 Visual States     519 Summary     528 Chapter 18: Data Binding     529 Introducing Binding     529 Controlling Rendering     538 Customizing the View of a Collection     546 High-Performance Rendering with ListView and GridView     550 Summary     554 Part VI: Exploiting Windows Chapter 19: Working with Data     555 An Overview of Files and Folders     555 App Data     557 User Data     563 Networking     572 Summary     582 Chapter 20: Supporting App Commands     583 Search     584 Share     589 Print     596 Play     604 Project     606 Settings     606 Summary     611 Chapter 21: Leveraging Contracts     613 Account Picture Provider     615 AutoPlay Content and AutoPlay Device     617 File Type Associations     620 Protocol     623 File Open Picker     624 File Save Picker     627 Contact Picker     628 The Contact Contract     631 The Appointments Provider Contract     635 Background Tasks     637 Summary     646 Chapter 22: Reading from Sensors     647 Accelerometer     647 Gyrometer     651 Inclinometer     651 Compass     651 Light Sensor     651 Orientation     652 Location     652 Proximity     659 Summary     662 Chapter 23: Controlling Devices     663 Fingerprint Readers     664 Image Scanners     664 Barcode Scanners     668 Magnetic Stripe Readers     671 Custom Bluetooth Devices     673 Custom Bluetooth Smart Devices     676 Custom USB Devices     679 Custom HID Devices     682 Custom Wi-Fi Direct Devices     684 Summary     686 Chapter 24: Thinking Outside the App: Live Tiles, Notifications, and the Lock Screen     687 Live Tiles     687 Badges     701 Secondary Tiles     703 Toast Notifications     705 Setting Up Push Notifications     711 The Lock Screen     719 Summary     721 Index     723