Tips and Tricks for Developing Universal Windows Applications Building Windows Universal Applications: Six guidelines to help you achieve success Creating Window’s universal apps enable developers to either create one application solution that will be able to run on multiple Window devices or share code between applications that are meant for different devices and have different purposes. This makes it possible for you to only have to write code or core code once, and then add on or make changes to it for each specific app. When taking advantage of this technology, it is best to use the following tips to ensure that your apps run smoothly, work properly, and meet certification standards. Employ Visual Studio Professional Microsoft Visual Studio is an integrated development environment (IDE). IDEs are used by developers when they are developing or programming an application or piece of software to help them code easier and find and fix bugs. There are several different versions of Visual Studio, professional gives you the most control, but the Community version does have a lot of the same features. Both Visual Studio Professional and Community support extensions and various project types with a single installation. Use NuGet and Package Restore NuGet is Microsoft’s package manager for its development platform. NuGet is used as a Visual Studio extension and helps developers integrate third party library or component with your project or application. Package Restore is one of NuGet’s most popular features. It restores any missing packages when you begin building your project in Visual Studios, without having to commit any packages to source control, ensuring that your repository is able to remain small and easy to handle. Utilize Productivity Tools There are a number of productivity tools that you can use to help you build your project or application for Windows. Visual Studio contains JustCode and ReSharper. JustCode helps making coding more simple and easier with features for debugging and cleaning code, finding and fixing code errors, and creating and customizing templates. ReSharper includes code editing helpers and functionality to help you create and maintain a coding standard for your projects. There is also a free Productivity Power Tools extension for Visual Studios Professional with over 20 features to help you code faster, easier, and more accurately. Leverage HTML/CSS/JS for Interoperability with Web Presence If there is an overlap to a web presence, you can usually reuse many components or portions of code. It may also be possible to share a large portion of code resources. Although there isn’t a method for direct sharing, the right expert developers may be able to come up with complex methods for sharing the code and resources if HTML, CSS, or JS is used. Use Best Practices for Application Architecture It has been said that a building is only as strong as its foundation; the same could be said for applications. When building a Windows application, you should follow the best practices for application architecture to ensure that it is built on a solid foundation. Use the SOLID (Single responsibility, Open-closed, Liskov substitution, Interface segregation, and Dependency inversion) principles of programming. Ensure that all of your project, files, and folders are properly located. Also be sure to follow the standard naming conventions and structuring the namespaces, classes, and methods in use. Ensure the App Meets Certification Standards Finally, when building an application, you need to make sure that it meets or exceeds Windows certification standards. Some common policies that your application must follow include not jeopardizing security of functionality of the Windows device, having a privacy policy if users’ information is given to a third party, and localizing your application for all the languages that it supports. Expert developers will be able to help guide you through and make sure that your application meets every certification standard. Clarity Can Help Our team of developers at Clarity has extensive experience creating applications for our clients. They have worked numerous times with Windows, Android, and iOS. We follow the best practices and ensure that every one of our clients’ applications exceed certification standards. To find out more about Windows application development or to schedule a consultation with a member of our team, call or click to contact us today!