Building Windows 8 Apps with JavaScript
Published on 11. January 2013
Book
Paperback/Softback
624 pages
978-0-321-86128-3 (ISBN)
Description
Building Windows 8 Apps with JavaScript is the definitive guide for every experienced developer who wants to create, ship, and profit from Windows 8 apps built with HTML5 and JavaScript. Written by Chris Sells, former Visual Studio Principal Program Manager who led the team that built Microsoft's official Windows 8 JavaScript app templates, and Brandon Satrom, expert web/mobile developer, this book covers every facet of development with Microsoft's new JavaScript framework and WinRT.
The authors guide you through building full-featured Windows Store apps that merge the best aspects of desktop, web, and mobile apps into a single user and developer experience. You'll learn how to leverage the full power of the Windows 8 platform and integrate services ranging from client-side state to offline storage. Leveraging these techniques, you can deliver information to users faster, more clearly, and more concisely, on whatever devices they prefer.
Through complete example projects, Building Windows 8 Apps with JavaScript covers
Understanding powerful new improvements in Windows 8 developer experience
Using Windows 8's more flexible binding to update the UI as underlying data changes
Creating layouts and typography that fit Windows 8 style and leverage its advantages
Working with audio, video, captured media, animation, and HTML5 graphics
Making your app "connectable" with PlayTo
Integrating WinJS navigation services to improve UI control
Maintaining app states built up over time, and sharing them across devices
Writing highly responsive async apps
Supporting true-touch metaphors and interactions, location data, and sensors
Designing apps for the Windows 8 design language
Extending JavaScript code to integrate existing C/C++ code or to access Windows capabilities that WinRT doesn't expose
Discovering best practices for monetizing Windows Store apps
All of the downloadable examples can be created and run with Microsoft's free Visual Studio 2012 Express for Windows 8, which includes all you need to build, package, and deploy your Windows Store apps.
The authors guide you through building full-featured Windows Store apps that merge the best aspects of desktop, web, and mobile apps into a single user and developer experience. You'll learn how to leverage the full power of the Windows 8 platform and integrate services ranging from client-side state to offline storage. Leveraging these techniques, you can deliver information to users faster, more clearly, and more concisely, on whatever devices they prefer.
Through complete example projects, Building Windows 8 Apps with JavaScript covers
Understanding powerful new improvements in Windows 8 developer experience
Using Windows 8's more flexible binding to update the UI as underlying data changes
Creating layouts and typography that fit Windows 8 style and leverage its advantages
Working with audio, video, captured media, animation, and HTML5 graphics
Making your app "connectable" with PlayTo
Integrating WinJS navigation services to improve UI control
Maintaining app states built up over time, and sharing them across devices
Writing highly responsive async apps
Supporting true-touch metaphors and interactions, location data, and sensors
Designing apps for the Windows 8 design language
Extending JavaScript code to integrate existing C/C++ code or to access Windows capabilities that WinRT doesn't expose
Discovering best practices for monetizing Windows Store apps
All of the downloadable examples can be created and run with Microsoft's free Visual Studio 2012 Express for Windows 8, which includes all you need to build, package, and deploy your Windows Store apps.
Reviews / Votes
"This is going to be the Windows 8 app book YOU MUST have in your library! It's well written and expertly covers every aspect of how to build an HTML/JS app for Windows 8!"-Jonathan Antoine, Infinite Square and Microsoft MVP
"Great introduction to app development for Windows 8. After so many years in the XAML space, this book made me want to consider the JavaScript/HTML route."
-Shawn Wildermuth, Microsoft MVP (Data), author, trainer, and speaker, www.wilderminds.com
"What you hold in your hands right now is an excellent walkthrough of how to build, ship, and profit from building apps using HTML and JavaScript for Windows 8. While I've been working on Windows 8 for the last two years, I can honestly say that I have learned about new parts of the platform from this book and can't wait to build an app that uses them."
-From the Foreword by Chris Anderson, Distinguished Engineer, Windows Libraries for JavaScript, Microsoft Corp.
"Chris and Brandon have gone to the heart of Windows 8 programming and produced a clear, concise, and easily understood tutorial that should be on every Windows 8 programmer's bookshelf. If you are programming Windows 8 with HTML and JavaScript, this is the book you need."
-Jesse Liberty, Windows 8 technical evangelist, Telerik
"I feel that this book will be the must-read reference for anyone who is dedicated to building a great Windows 8 app, and will be the book by which all others are compared. Yes, that's a pretty bold statement, but considering that both of the authors have been deeply involved in Windows 8 app development for a LONG time, especially while they were at Microsoft, I feel confident in that statement."
-From the Foreword by Rey Bango, Developer Relations, Microsoft Corp.
"This is easily the most well-written book on building Windows 8 apps with JavaScript that I have read. It has been an invaluable resource for helping me to transfer my experience with building large JavaScript applications and thick-client applications into a Windows 8 environment. Chris and Brandon do a masterful job of explaining that this is just HTML, JavaScript, and CSS, while at the same time distilling all of the intricate details and subtleties of running web technologies in a native Windows application environment, with the full power of WinRT and the JavaScript extensions for it."
-Derick Bailey, independent consultant, screencaster, speaker, and author, http://mutedsolutions.com and http://watchmecode.net
"Chris and Brandon do a truly excellent job explaining how to create great Windows 8 applications. While reading this book I learned things about the platform."
-Josh Williams, Principal Development Lead for WinJS, Microsoft Corp.
More details
Persons
Chris Sells is the VP of the Developer Tools Division at Telerik. He's written several books, including Programming WPF, Windows Forms 2.0 Programming, and ATL Internals. In his free time, Chris makes a pest of himself on Microsoft forums and mailing lists. More information about Chris and his various projects is available at http://www.sellsbrothers.com.
Brandon Satrom (@BrandonSatrom) is Program Manager for Kendo UI at Telerik and is based in Austin, Texas. A longtime web developer, Brandon loves to talk about HTML, JavaScript, CSS, open source, and whatever new shiny tool or technology has distracted him from that other thing he was working on. Brandon speaks at events all around the world, and he loves hanging out with and learning from other passionate developers, both online and in person. He also loves writing and has had several articles featured in publications like MSDN Magazine, The Architecture Journal, and .net magazine. Brandon can be reached online at his blog http://www.UserInExperience.com.
Don Box is a Distinguished Engineer at Microsoft. At Microsoft, Don has worked on platform and developer technologies for .NET, SQL, and most recently, Xbox. Prior to Microsoft, Don roamed the earth helping developers come to terms with COM, Including writing Essential COM for Addison-Wesley.
Brandon Satrom (@BrandonSatrom) is Program Manager for Kendo UI at Telerik and is based in Austin, Texas. A longtime web developer, Brandon loves to talk about HTML, JavaScript, CSS, open source, and whatever new shiny tool or technology has distracted him from that other thing he was working on. Brandon speaks at events all around the world, and he loves hanging out with and learning from other passionate developers, both online and in person. He also loves writing and has had several articles featured in publications like MSDN Magazine, The Architecture Journal, and .net magazine. Brandon can be reached online at his blog http://www.UserInExperience.com.
Don Box is a Distinguished Engineer at Microsoft. At Microsoft, Don has worked on platform and developer technologies for .NET, SQL, and most recently, Xbox. Prior to Microsoft, Don roamed the earth helping developers come to terms with COM, Including writing Essential COM for Addison-Wesley.
Content
Foreword by Chris Anderson xvii
Foreword by Rey Bango xix
Preface xxi
Acknowledgments xxvii
About the Authors xxxiii
Chapter 1: Hello, Windows 8! 1
Your First Windows Store App 2 Getting Started in Visual Studio 2012 6
Controls, Binding, and Styling in Blend 16
Navigation 24
Networking in WinJS and WinRT 29
Split App Template 34
The Rest 40
Where Are We? 40
Chapter 2: Binding and Controls 41
Binding 41
Initializers 51
Binding List 53
Sorting and Filtering 55
Grouping 58
Templates 60
Controls 63
Where Are We? 78
Chapter 3: Layout 79
Layouts: Taming the Device Matrix 79 Using CSS Layout Capabilities to Adapt Your App 99
Creating Adaptive UIs with CSS and WinJS 104
Where Are We? 116
Chapter 4: Typography 119
Typography in Windows Store Apps 119
Working with Platform Iconography 136
Using and Manipulating Icon Fonts in a Windows Store App 147
Where Are We? 153
Chapter 5: Media 155
Working with Audio and Video 155 Getting Started with Media in Windows 8 156
Styling Media and Creating Custom Controls 159
Adding Subtitles to Video 163
Adding Video Effects 167
Working with Audio in Windows Store Apps 170
Working with User Media Libraries via a File Picker 175
Selecting Multiple Files 180
Other File Picker Types 182
Working with Captured Media 185
Making Your App Connectable with Play To 189
Where Are We? 192
Chapter 6: Drawing and Animation 193
HTML5 Graphics with SVG and Canvas 193
Manipulating Pixels 206
Animation in Windows Store Apps 212
Where Are We? 224
Chapter 7: App State 225
Settings 226 Lifetime 238
Files 252
Libraries 256
Where Are We? 266
Chapter 8: Networking 267
Network Capabilities 267
Mobile Networking 269
XMLHttpRequest 273
Syndication 277
Background Data Transfer 280
Web Content 284
Where Are We? 292
Chapter 9: Shell Contracts 293
The Windows 8 Shell 294 Contracts 295
Search Contract 297
Share Contract 305
Contacts Contract 322
Debugging Contract Providers 331
Where Are We? 332
Chapter 10: Shell Integration 333
Live Tiles 333
Badges 348
Background Tasks 350
Toast Notifications 358
Where Are We? 363
Chapter 11: Device Interaction 365
An Introduction to Touch 366 Working with Device Capabilities 380
Working with Location Data 387
Working with Sensors 394
Where Are We? 403
Chapter 12: Native Extensibility 405
Multiple Languages, One App 406
Getting Started 407
WinRT and the JavaScript Environment 411
WinRT Classes 413
WinRT Objects 421
WinRT Types in C++/CX and JavaScript 424
Delegates and Functions 435
Events 440
Concurrency and Asynchrony 443
Where Are We? 451
Chapter 13: Making Money 453
Preparing for Submission 454 Submitting Your App to the Windows Store 463
Working with Ads 476
Enabling Trial Mode in Your App 483
Working with In-App Purchases 488
Design for Monetization 495
Marketing and Managing Your App 496
Where Are We? 499
Appendix A: JavaScript for C-Family Programmers 501
Hello, World 502
Values and Types 507
Operators 508
Objects 510
Dates 511
Regular Expressions 511
Arrays 512
Object Prototypes ("Classes") 514
Functions 520
Debug Output 525
Scoping 526
Strict 529
Serialization 531
Appendix B: Presentation and Style at a Glance 533
Using HTML for App Content and Structure 534 Using CSS for App Layout and Style 541
CSS in Windows Store Apps 558
Index 565
Foreword by Rey Bango xix
Preface xxi
Acknowledgments xxvii
About the Authors xxxiii
Chapter 1: Hello, Windows 8! 1
Your First Windows Store App 2 Getting Started in Visual Studio 2012 6
Controls, Binding, and Styling in Blend 16
Navigation 24
Networking in WinJS and WinRT 29
Split App Template 34
The Rest 40
Where Are We? 40
Chapter 2: Binding and Controls 41
Binding 41
Initializers 51
Binding List 53
Sorting and Filtering 55
Grouping 58
Templates 60
Controls 63
Where Are We? 78
Chapter 3: Layout 79
Layouts: Taming the Device Matrix 79 Using CSS Layout Capabilities to Adapt Your App 99
Creating Adaptive UIs with CSS and WinJS 104
Where Are We? 116
Chapter 4: Typography 119
Typography in Windows Store Apps 119
Working with Platform Iconography 136
Using and Manipulating Icon Fonts in a Windows Store App 147
Where Are We? 153
Chapter 5: Media 155
Working with Audio and Video 155 Getting Started with Media in Windows 8 156
Styling Media and Creating Custom Controls 159
Adding Subtitles to Video 163
Adding Video Effects 167
Working with Audio in Windows Store Apps 170
Working with User Media Libraries via a File Picker 175
Selecting Multiple Files 180
Other File Picker Types 182
Working with Captured Media 185
Making Your App Connectable with Play To 189
Where Are We? 192
Chapter 6: Drawing and Animation 193
HTML5 Graphics with SVG and Canvas 193
Manipulating Pixels 206
Animation in Windows Store Apps 212
Where Are We? 224
Chapter 7: App State 225
Settings 226 Lifetime 238
Files 252
Libraries 256
Where Are We? 266
Chapter 8: Networking 267
Network Capabilities 267
Mobile Networking 269
XMLHttpRequest 273
Syndication 277
Background Data Transfer 280
Web Content 284
Where Are We? 292
Chapter 9: Shell Contracts 293
The Windows 8 Shell 294 Contracts 295
Search Contract 297
Share Contract 305
Contacts Contract 322
Debugging Contract Providers 331
Where Are We? 332
Chapter 10: Shell Integration 333
Live Tiles 333
Badges 348
Background Tasks 350
Toast Notifications 358
Where Are We? 363
Chapter 11: Device Interaction 365
An Introduction to Touch 366 Working with Device Capabilities 380
Working with Location Data 387
Working with Sensors 394
Where Are We? 403
Chapter 12: Native Extensibility 405
Multiple Languages, One App 406
Getting Started 407
WinRT and the JavaScript Environment 411
WinRT Classes 413
WinRT Objects 421
WinRT Types in C++/CX and JavaScript 424
Delegates and Functions 435
Events 440
Concurrency and Asynchrony 443
Where Are We? 451
Chapter 13: Making Money 453
Preparing for Submission 454 Submitting Your App to the Windows Store 463
Working with Ads 476
Enabling Trial Mode in Your App 483
Working with In-App Purchases 488
Design for Monetization 495
Marketing and Managing Your App 496
Where Are We? 499
Appendix A: JavaScript for C-Family Programmers 501
Hello, World 502
Values and Types 507
Operators 508
Objects 510
Dates 511
Regular Expressions 511
Arrays 512
Object Prototypes ("Classes") 514
Functions 520
Debug Output 525
Scoping 526
Strict 529
Serialization 531
Appendix B: Presentation and Style at a Glance 533
Using HTML for App Content and Structure 534 Using CSS for App Layout and Style 541
CSS in Windows Store Apps 558
Index 565