14 DAY TRIAL // A strong app ecosystem for one operating system clearly means that more and more users will be tempted to adopt the platform, and Microsoft is working hard to ensure that this indeed happens with Windows 8.
In fact, with the release of Windows 8.1 Preview, the company pushed out some new developer resources to facilitate the building of fresh software for its product, in addition to delivering a nice range of new features and enhancements to end users and corporate customers.
Some of these resources are destined to make the building of Windows 8.1 applications a more appealing process for those who are currently developing applications for iOS, as Microsoft is trying to lure them to its platform.
“For those of you currently developing apps for iOS, we’ve been adding lots of content to the Windows Store apps Dev Center,” the Windows Dev Center team notes in a blog post.
“We’d like to help you get started building Windows Store apps, so we updated the section on Resources for iOS devs with lots of new info and sample code. We know you feel comfortable with Xcode and UIViewControllers, and we want you to feel just as comfortable with Visual Studio and XAML.”
Microsoft also updated the info on how devs can get Windows up and running on a Mac computer, and urges them to give the new Windows 8.1 Preview a try, especially since it is available as a free download.
Some of the support sections that have been updated for iOS developers include: Resources for iOS developers, Getting started, Windows 8 controls for iOS developers, Windows 8 cookbook for iOS devs, Recreating iOS app designs in Windows 8.
The new content is meant to help app builders to easily discover Windows equivalents of basic iOS tasks, such as changing the appearance of buttons, while also offering them tips on using Visual Studio. Unique Windows 8 controls should make a lot of sense to those familiar with iOS.
“The recent introduction of Windows 8.1 Preview added a lot of new features for developers. There are new and improved XAML, HTML and JavaScript controls, support for new screen sizes, DirectX enhancements, new text-to-speech APIs and lots more,” said blog post explains.
“With new controls and features, you might start thinking about re-writing your iOS apps to make use of them all, rather than trying to get a simple port working.”
iOS app builders can have a look at the Product Guide for Developers to learn more on this, or can watch the series of videos that Microsoft has released to enable them to know Windows 8 better.