Utvärdering av Windows 8-applikationer ur ett utvecklarperspektiv

Sammanfattning: With Microsoft's new operating system, Windows 8, a new type of applications were introduced, Windows Store Apps. These applications must meet certain requirements in order to be uploaded to Windows own store for apps. There are also guidelines to follow. The requirements and guidelines include appearance and functionality, such as a common search function in the applications to contribute to a more unified experience. How does these requirements and guidelines influence developers? Whether the development of the Windows Store Apps gets more difficult, or perhaps even simpler, is studied and evaluated in this report. In order to reach a reliable conclusion, a Windows Store App has been designed and developed in consensus with Microsoft's requirements. The app that has been developed is intended to help users to find Stockholm's best spots. It turned out that none of the demands were unreasonable hard to implement. However, it may be difficult to find meaningful uses for some of the recommended features. If common features, such as search and sharing, are implemented it should be done in accordance with Microsoft's requirements and guidelines. This is no problem since Microsoft provides information and examples of how the features should be implemented. Of course, all of the Windows Store Apps must be able to run on all devices that can run Windows 8, which means several different resolutions and input methods to take into account. This is one of the more difficult requirements to fulfill and require extensive testing of the application, which contributes to a longer development time. With the help of Visual Studio’s simulator, it is possible to get a reasonably good idea of how the app works, but it is still not good to trust it. The look must follow the guidelines that allow the user to always be familiar with the interface, regardless of which app is running. For example, every page in the app has to be built up horizontally unlike traditional websites. The interface is easy to implement using Visual Studio’s templates but it may be really tricky if you try to implement it by yourself. Windows Store Apps is extensively different from its competitor’s apps and as a developer, you are forced to think in completely new ways. It can sometimes feel limited, but on the other hand you got very much for free considering the standard look and functionality.