Universal Windows Apps with XAML and C# Unleashed

Adam Nathan is a principal software architect for Microsoft, a best-selling technical author, and a prolific developer of apps for Windows. He introduced XAML to countless developers through his books on a variety of Microsoft technologies. Currently a part of Microsoft’s Windows division, Adam has previously worked on Visual Studio and the Common Language Runtime. He was the founding developer and architect of Popfly, Microsoft’s first Silverlight-based product, named by PCWorld as one of its year’s most innovative products. He is also the founder of PINVOKE.NET, the online resource for .NET developers who need to access Win32. His apps have been featured on Lifehacker, Gizmodo, ZDNet, ParentMap, and other enthusiast sites. Adam’s books are considered required reading by many inside Microsoft and throughout the industry. Adam is the author of Windows 8.1 Apps with XAML and C# Unleashed (Sams, 2013), 101 Windows Phone 7 Apps (Sams, 2011), WPF 4.5 Unleashed (Sams, 2013), .NET and COM: The Complete Interoperability Guide (Sams, 2002), and several other books. You can find Adam online at www.adamnathan.net, or @adamnathan on Twitter.

Introduction     1
Who Should Read This Book?     3
Software Requirements     3
Code Examples     3
How This Book Is Organized     3
Conventions Used in This Book     5
Part I: Getting Started
Chapter 1: Hello, Real World!     7
Creating, Deploying, and
Profiling an App     7
Understanding the App
Packages     10
Updating XAML and C# Code     21
Making the App World-Ready     29
Making the App Accessible     35
Submitting to the Windows Store     40
Summary     42
Chapter 2: Mastering XAML     43
Elements and Attributes     44
Namespaces     45
Property Elements     47
Type Converters     49
Markup Extensions     49
Children of Object Elements     52
Mixing XAML with C#     56
XAML Keywords     59
Summary     60
Part II: Building an App
Chapter 3: Sizing, Positioning, and Transforming Elements     63
Controlling Size     64
Controlling Position     68
Applying 2D Transforms     72
Applying 3D Transforms     79
Summary     82
Chapter 4: Layout     83
Discovering Your Window Size and Location     84
Panels     88
Handling Content Overflow     103
Summary     115
Chapter 5: Handling Input: Touch, Mouse, Pen, and Keyboard     117
Touch Input     118
Mouse Input     141
Pen Input     144
Keyboard Input     153
Summary     159
Part III: Working with the App Model
Chapter 6: App Lifecycle     161
Killing     163
Suspending     164
Resuming     166
Terminating     167
Launching     168
Activating     171
Managing Session State with SuspensionManager     173
Programmatically Launching Apps     176
Summary     179
Chapter 7: Threading, Windows, and Pages     181
Understanding the Threading Model for Universal Apps     181
Displaying Multiple Windows     186
Navigating Between Pages     189
Summary     198
Chapter 8: The Many Ways to Earn Money     199
Adding Advertisements to Your App     200
Supporting a Free Trial     205
Supporting In-App Purchases     210
Validating Windows Store Receipts     218
Testing Windows Store
Features     220
Summary     225
Part IV: Understanding Controls
Chapter 9: Content Controls     227
Button     230
AppBarButton     234
HyperlinkButton     241
RepeatButton     242
ToggleButton     243
AppBarToggleButton     243
CheckBox     244
RadioButton     245
ToolTip     246
App Bars     249
Summary     257
Chapter 10: Items Controls     259
Items in the Control     260
Items Panels     262
ComboBox     265
ListBox     267
ListView     269
GridView     273
FlipView     274
SemanticZoom     276
MenuFlyout     279
Summary     281
Chapter 11: Text     283
TextBlock     283
RichTextBlock     296
TextBox     301
RichEditBox     309
PasswordBox     311
Summary     313
Chapter 12: Images     315
The Image Element     316
Multiple Files for Multiple
Environments     325
Decoding Images     330
Encoding Images     339
Rendering PDF Content as an Image     347
Summary     353
Chapter 13: Audio, Video, and Speech     355
Playback     356
Capture     367
Transcoding     378
Speech Synthesis     383
Summary     386
Chapter 14: Other Controls     387
Range Controls     387
SearchBox     390
Popup Controls     397
Hub     403
Date and Time Controls     407
ProgressRing     411
ToggleSwitch     412
WebView     413
Summary     419
Part V: Leveraging the Richness of XAML
Chapter 15: Vector Graphics     421
Shapes     421
Geometries     428
Brushes     436
Summary     450
Chapter 16: Animation     453
Dependency Properties     454
Theme Transitions     455
Theme Animations     466
Custom Animations     472
Custom Keyframe Animations     485
Easing Functions     490
Manual Animations     495
Summary     497
Chapter 17: Styles, Templates, and Visual States     499
Styles     500
Templates     509
Visual States     519
Summary     528
Chapter 18: Data Binding     529
Introducing Binding     529
Controlling Rendering     538
Customizing the View of a Collection     546
High-Performance Rendering with ListView and GridView     550
Summary     554
Part VI: Exploiting Windows
Chapter 19: Working with Data     555
An Overview of Files and Folders     555
App Data     557
User Data     563
Networking     572
Summary     582
Chapter 20: Supporting App Commands     583
Search     584
Share     589
Print     596
Play     604
Project     606
Settings     606
Summary     611
Chapter 21: Leveraging Contracts     613
Account Picture Provider     615
AutoPlay Content and
AutoPlay Device     617
File Type Associations     620
Protocol     623
File Open Picker     624
File Save Picker     627
Contact Picker     628
The Contact Contract     631
The Appointments Provider
Contract     635
Background Tasks     637
Summary     646
Chapter 22: Reading from Sensors     647
Accelerometer     647
Gyrometer     651
Inclinometer     651
Compass     651
Light Sensor     651
Orientation     652
Location     652
Proximity     659
Summary     662
Chapter 23: Controlling Devices     663
Fingerprint Readers     664
Image Scanners     664
Barcode Scanners     668
Magnetic Stripe Readers     671
Custom Bluetooth Devices     673
Custom Bluetooth Smart
Devices     676
Custom USB Devices     679
Custom HID Devices     682
Custom Wi-Fi Direct Devices     684
Summary     686
Chapter 24: Thinking Outside the App: Live Tiles, Notifications, and the Lock Screen     687
Live Tiles     687
Badges     701
Secondary Tiles     703
Toast Notifications     705
Setting Up Push Notifications     711
The Lock Screen     719
Summary     721
Index     723