Microsoft have released the Windows 10 SDK (Software Development Kit) and hardware tools for developers, allowing them to create applications to specifically target the Windows 10 platform. This is the first technical preview of the Windows 10 developer tooling now available to Windows Insiders. Any developer can install the tools as long as they are part of the Windows Insiders program and have the latest Windows 10 Technical Preview release installed.
Developers will need to install both the Visual Studio 2015 CTP 6 (Community Technology Preview) as well as the Tools for the Windows Technical Preview which will include the Windows 10 SDK. Microsoft say the purpose of this release is to allow developers to experiment with the cool new platform capabilities while the company continue to complete Windows 10.
With Windows 10, Microsoft is taking a bold step forward with its “One Windows” vision which involves Windows running across a variety of devices including desktops, tablets, laptops, Internet of Things, phones and the Xbox One. Microsoft’s new universal app platform that it’s building for Windows 10 sits on top of the Windows core and acts as a superset of WinRT (not the Windows RT OS but runtime used in Windows 8 and Windows RT).
Image source courtesy of Mary Jo Foley.
With this release of the technical preview for developers, Microsoft are including some key aspects they want developers to test out. These include the Adaptive UX with is single UI that can adapt from small to large screens easily. User controls at runtime are determined by how the customer is interacting with the app and renders the app based on that experience. So it will adapt for touch if you’re on touch screen, keyboard and mouse if you’re on desktop and so forth. The new API contacts can now check at runtime if a Windows feature is available at runtime rather than calling a related API. Microsoft have also detailed tooling improvements available in this release.
A number of recourses have also been published by Microsoft today specifically for developers who want to get to grips with developing on Windows 10. These include Introducing the Universal App Platform, Windows 10 Jumpstart Preview, What’s New in Windows 10 for Developers and of course some code samples. Microsoft have also made available new instructional videos on Channel 9 for developing universal apps on Windows 10.
^Alan (@BeetleComet[/link])
Alan Walsh is a games journalist, head writer at AR12Gaming. They contributed 52 articles to ICXM in 2015, focused on game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news: leads editorial for AR12Gaming and reviews titles for OpenCritic.