Build Windows 8 Apps with Microsoft Visual C# and Visual Basic Step by Step

Table of contents

1. Dedication
2. Introduction
   1. Who should read this book
   2. Who should not read this book
      1. Assumptions
   3. Organization of this book
      1. Finding your best starting point in this book
   4. Conventions and features in this book
   5. System requirements
   6. Code samples
      1. Installing the code samples
   7. Acknowledgments
   8. Errata and book support
   9. We want to hear from you
   10. Stay in touch
3. 1. Introduction to Windows Store apps
   1. The Windows 8 experience
   2. Charms and App Bars
   3. The Windows Runtime
   4. Badges, Live Tiles, Toasts, and Lock Screen
   5. Background tasks
   6. Contracts and extensions
   7. Visual Studio 2012 and Windows 8 Simulator
   8. Summary
   9. Quick reference
4. 2. Windows 8 UI style
   1. Influences
      1. Seeing the Bauhaus style in the Windows 8 UI
   2. Enhance the functionality and the content, not the container
      1. Industrialize the software and user interface, create projects, not products
      2. Use clear typography
      3. Take advantage of the grid system
      4. Prefer photos over drawings
      5. Select few and contrasting colors
      6. Strive for international language and employ essential iconography
   3. Characteristics of a Windows 8 app
      1. Silhouette
      2. Full screen
      3. Edges
      4. Comfort and touch
      5. Semantic Zoom
      6. Animations
      7. Different form factors
      8. Snapped and fill view
   4. Summary
   5. Quick reference
5. 3. My first Windows 8 app
   1. Software installation
   2. Windows Store project templates
   3. Adding UI elements
   4. Adding search functionality
   5. Summary
   6. Quick reference
6. 4. Application lifecycle management
   1. Application manifest
   2. Application package
   3. The Windows Store
   4. Launching
   5. Activation
   6. Suspension
   7. Resume
   8. Summary
   9. Quick reference
7. 5. Introduction to the Windows Runtime
   1. Overview of the Windows Runtime
   2. Windows Runtime under the covers
   3. Windows Runtime design requirements
   4. Creating a WinMD library
   5. Windows Runtime app registration
   6. Summary
   7. Quick reference
8. 6. Windows Runtime APIs
   1. Pickers
   2. Webcam
   3. Sharing contracts
   4. Summary
   5. Quick reference
9. 7. Enhance the user experience
   1. Draw an application using Visual Studio 2012
   2. Create the layout of a Windows 8 application
   3. Customize the appearance of controls
   4. Summary
   5. Quick reference
10. 8. Asynchronous patterns
    1. await and async keywords for asynchronous patterns
    2. Writing asynchronous methods
    3. Wait for an event asynchronously
    4. Handling exceptions in asynchronous code
    5. Cancel asynchronous operations
    6. Track operation progress
    7. Synchronization with multiple asynchronous calls
    8. Choose SynchronizationContext in libraries
    9. Summary
    10. Quick reference
11. 9. Rethinking the UI for Windows 8 apps
    1. Use Windows 8 UI-specific controls
    2. Designing flexible layouts
    3. Using tiles and toasts
    4. Summary
    5. Quick reference
12. 10. Architecting a Windows 8 app
    1. Application architecture in general
    2. Architectures for Windows 8 apps
    3. Implementing the data layer
    4. Implementing the communication layer using a SOAP service
    5. Implementing the communication layer using an OData service
    6. Consuming data from a Windows 8 app
    7. Implementing an app storage/cache
    8. SOAP security infrastructure
    9. OData security infrastructure
    10. Summary
    11. Quick reference
13. A. About the Authors
14. Index
15. About the Authors
16. Copyright