Barely a day after Windows 10 was released globally, Microsoft announced that developers can begin submitting Windows 10 apps to the Windows Store.
Today marks a huge milestone for Windows developers – Windows 10 and the related developer tools are now both available for download and for use in a production environment
Building Windows 10 apps requires that you update to the latest Windows 10, if you’re not already on Build 10240 and, installing Visual Studio 2015 plus the Windows 10 SDK, emulator, and tools. Do these 2 and you're good to go.
Windows 10 ushers in Microsoft's Universal Apps concept which empowers developers to build experiences that move with users seamlessly and easily across all devices - mobile, tablet and desktop.
Microsoft also annoucned updates to the Visual Studio suite for developers. The final version of the Windows 10 developer tooling is now also available for download. The latest update will enable you:
- Create a Universal Windows app in the language of your choice – C#, VB, C++ or JS – and deploy to a Windows 10 device.
- New debugging and diagnostic tools including UI debugging tools for XAML apps and a network profiler.
- Create app packages for submission to the unified Store.
- The Windows 10 Mobile Emulator now takes advantage of your PC’s graphics hardware (GPU) to make the screen render faster. It provides a faster and more responsive debugging environment using Microsoft RemoteFx.
- You can now use the NFC simulation feature in the Windows 10 Mobile Emulator to build and test NFC/proximity-enabled universal apps.
- Rich XAML designer support for creating user experiences tailored for the device.
- .NET Native compilation of .NET apps in the cloud.
Windows 10 and Universal Apps opens up new opportunities for developers to engage users in exciting ways. You can find out more about Microsoft's intention for Windows 10 apps here. You can also read this handy Developers' Guide.
