Microsoft releases new tools for Developers to more easily convert existing Classic apps to UWP apps in VS 2017 15.4

[AlTech]

Microsoft has released new tools for developers to allow them to more easily convert their Classic apps (like Paint.NET) and convert them to UWP apps.

 

The tools have been made available as part of the new Visual Studio 2017 update version "15.4" (yes, VS2017 version number is not 17.x but it doesn't matter ).

 

You might be wondering why you should care or why this is important?

 

You should probably care because this means more existing apps are coming to the Microsoft Store on Windows 10 app thing (because the name was changed from Windows Store..........idek anymore).

 

This is important cos Windows 10 S primarily uses the Store and also other device families such as Windows.Xbox and Windows.HoloGraphic as well as Windows.Teams only use the Store.

 

The Desktop App converter was a real pain to use properly and so Microsoft has built this functionality into VS 2017 cos a lot of people use VS to develop Windows apps.

 

As a result, you can probably expect a lot more people to use this in the near distant future.

Quote

Last year with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, we introduced the Desktop Bridge to provide desktop applications a path to modernize with the Universal Windows Platform, and to distribute via the Windows Store and the Microsoft Store for Business to all Windows 10 PCs, including devices that are running the Windows 10 S configuration.

The primary developer tool at the time was the Desktop App Converter, a tool that converts your current app installer into a Windows app package (.appx file), which can be submitted to the Windows Store or deployed via your distribution mechanism of choice. With Update 4 for Visual Studio 2017 we now have great support directly in Visual Studio for your Windows desktop application projects (WPF, Winforms, Win32, etc.). With the new tools you can now build, configure, deploy, test and debug your Desktop Bridge application as you develop them in VS by simply hitting F5!

Mind you, I'm not sure if all new apps like this will require Build 16299 instead of 15063.

 

Quote

Getting your desktop application development project ready for Windows Store submission is easy now with Visual Studio 2017 Update 4. Once converted to a Windows App Package your app can take advantage of all the Windows 10 platform capabilities and start using new APIs and features on Windows 10.

 

This will probably be a pretty niche LTT news topic but I hope it was entertaining .

 

Source:

https://blogs.windows.com/buildingapps/2017/10/18/visual-studio-2017-update-4-makes-easy-modernize-desktop-application-make-store-ready/

[paradigm249]

yay does it mean we can have spider solitaire and pinball on windows 10?

[Misanthrope]

I don't mind the push for the UWP thing but I have an uneasy feeling it will eventually come at a the expense of win32 apps

[AlTech]

6 minutes ago, Misanthrope said:

I don't mind the push for the UWP thing but I have an uneasy feeling it will eventually come at a the expense of win32 apps

The idea is that nobody should really be making Win32 apps in 2017.

 

Microsoft wants most windows devs to move to UWP apps. UWPs don't have to be distributed via the Windows Store but I have a feeling most will anyway.

[AlTech]

6 minutes ago, Misanthrope said:

I don't mind the push for the UWP thing but I have an uneasy feeling it will eventually come at a the expense of win32 apps

By the way if that wasn't confusing enough, just because something is a UWP app doesn't mean it's a native UWP app.

 

Native UWP apps include the Windows Calculator, Store, Settings, Mail App, Start, Cortana and more.

[King_of_Oz]

Windows 10 S is...

 

 

 

NO.

[AlTech]

Just now, King_of_Oz said:

Windows 10 S is...

 

 

 

NO.

What makes you say that?

[King_of_Oz]

2 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

What makes you say that?

It’s not an attractive option as a game dev. I would sooooo prefer something like Steam as it is far more flexible. UWP needs to mature a lot more.

 

 

Windows 10 S < SteamOS. Kinda.

[AlTech]

Just now, King_of_Oz said:

It’s not an attractive option as a game dev. I would sooooo prefer something like Steam as it is far more flexible. UWP needs to mature a lot more.

 

 

Windows 10 S < SteamOS. Kinda.

I disagree. SteamOS is basically almost not supported by Valve anymore.

 

Windows 10 S is intended for cheaper devices and not for gaming machines but targeting the Windows Store isn't a terrible idea.

[King_of_Oz]

Just now, AluminiumTech said:

I disagree. SteamOS is basically almost not supported by Valve anymore.

 

Windows 10 S is intended for cheaper devices and not for gaming machines but targeting the Windows Store isn't a terrible idea.

...

...

...

...

 

Yeah, I guess. Good point.

[YamiYukiSenpai]

I hope that Windows Store will not be full of Win32 apps that are converted to UWP.  I'm hoping for more native UWP apps.  I use a decent amount of them, like Grover, Cover and Readit

48 minutes ago, King_of_Oz said:

Windows 10 S < SteamOS. Kinda.

 

[leadeater]

47 minutes ago, King_of_Oz said:

...

...

...

...

 

Yeah, I guess. Good point.

I think you also need to add this to your post 

 

 

First thing that came to mind when I read that haha.

[AlTech]

3 minutes ago, huilun02 said:

UWP still doesn't make any sense to me.

What good does it bring compared to the the availability of applications from the open market?

Yes it means that the app can be had on devices running Windows 10S but that operating system is basically a intentionally retarded version of Windows 10.

Microsoft finding all sorts of stupid ways to establish monopolies is really getting on my nerves.

UWP apps don't need to be released to the Store. You can still distribute them out of the store if you want to.

[Drak3]

1 minute ago, huilun02 said:

So what does UWP do? Apart from being the reason why Windows 10S is retarded.

Break away from the registry.

[captain_to_fire]

1 hour ago, Misanthrope said:

I don't mind the push for the UWP thing but I have an uneasy feeling it will eventually come at a the expense of win32 apps

I get why Microsoft wants to ditch Win32 for UWP but at the moment I’m not convinced given how terrible Windows 10’s in-house UWP applications like Mail and Calendar. 

 

I don’t think the likes of Adobe (Creative Cloud) or Blackmagic (DaVinci Resolve) would start porting their applications to Win32. Also, how will third party anti-virus vendors function as a UWP app? UWP has a limited read/write capabilities so how will full system scans work? 

[Sauron]

1 hour ago, AluminiumTech said:

The idea is that nobody should really be making Win32 apps in 2017.

That's a really bad idea...

1 minute ago, AluminiumTech said:

UWP apps don't need to be released to the Store. You can still distribute them out of the store if you want to.

But why would you?

1 hour ago, AluminiumTech said:

What makes you say that?

Windows 10 S has nothing of what makes windows attractive in the first place and everything that makes it bad - for no particular reason other than microsoft trying to hook unsuspecting customers into UWP.

Just now, Drak3 said:

Break away from the registry.

And tie you in to the UWP framework. At least the registry can be emulated to some extent if you want to try and run windows apps on a different platform. UWP just locks it down.

1 hour ago, AluminiumTech said:

This will probably be a pretty niche LTT news topic but I hope it was entertaining .

Nice, a thread where I can rant about UWP while staying under the radar  release the kraken penguin!

[AlTech]

Just now, huilun02 said:

So what does UWP do? Apart from being the reason why Windows 10S is retarded.

UWP is a new app model. It's got loads of modern Windows RunTime APIs.

 

Windows RunTime was first released in Windows 8.0 in 2012, adapted in 8.1 for Universal Windows 8 apps and then in Windows 10 further developed to add way more cool features.

 

UWP has loads of modern components. The browser component of UWP apps for instance uses Edge versus IE for WPF and WinForms.

 

UWP uses GPU hardware acceleration unlike Windows Forms.

 

UWP is HiDPI aware and is suited for Touch and Non Touch PCs.

 

It allows cool apps to be brought to the Xbox and Windows 10 Teams if it's appropriate to port it to those platforms.

 

UWP also is sandboxed so it's relatively safe compared to Win32. It would be difficult for a UWP app to kill hardware unlike Win32 programs.

 

UWP supports all the Windows RunTIme stuff including the somewhat recent inking stuff and Fluent Design.

 

UWP is sort of similar to WPF except it's more modernized.

1 minute ago, Drak3 said:

Break away from the registry.

That too. The Registry was a really bad idea.

 

AppData too.

[AlTech]

7 minutes ago, Sauron said:

That's a really bad idea...

But why would you?

Progress.

Quote

Windows 10 S has nothing of what makes windows attractive in the first place and everything that makes it bad - for no particular reason other than microsoft trying to hook unsuspecting customers into UWP.

It's trying to actually go after devs and not customers.

 

They need more UWP devs so they're trying to hook them into a mostly UWP only edition of the same OS.

 

Windows 10 S is secure and safe by design. the Fiasco occured because Microsoft put it on a $1000 + device. It was never meant to be on expensive devices. It was only meant to be on $200-500 PCs competing with ChromeOS.

Quote

And tie you in to the UWP framework. At least the registry can be emulated to some extent if you want to try and run windows apps on a different platform. UWP just locks it down.

locks what down? There is no registry with UWP apps. Devs can make folders and storage for their apps but there's no need to use AppData.

Quote

Nice, a thread where I can rant about UWP while staying under the radar  release the kraken penguin!

[Misanthrope]

6 minutes ago, hey_yo_ said:

I get why Microsoft wants to ditch Win32 for UWP but at the moment I’m not convinced given how terrible Windows 10’s in-house UWP applications like Mail and Calendar. 

 

I don’t think the likes of Adobe (Creative Cloud) or Blackmagic (DaVinci Resolve) would start porting their applications to Win32. Also, how will third party anti-virus vendors function as a UWP app? UWP has a limited read/write capabilities so how will full system scans work? 

I think Adobe did just that check the other news topics.

 

Don't underestimate the power of Microsoft and their, shall we say, incentives to devs to push them into a new paradigm.

[AlTech]

6 minutes ago, hey_yo_ said:

I get why Microsoft wants to ditch Win32 for UWP but at the moment I’m not convinced given how terrible Windows 10’s in-house UWP applications like Mail and Calendar. 

The mail app is fine. Never really touch the calendar app. The calculator is pretty good and Edge is alright.

 

There's just been no real stand out amazing UWP app other than Groove tbh.

6 minutes ago, hey_yo_ said:

I don’t think the likes of Adobe (Creative Cloud) or Blackmagic (DaVinci Resolve) would start porting their applications to Win32. Also, how will third party anti-virus vendors function as a UWP app? UWP has a limited read/write capabilities so how will full system scans work? 

Windows Defender in Creators Update Build 15063 moved to UWP from Win32 and it works just fine.

[AlwaysFSX]

5 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

The mail app is fine.

I'm not a fan that sometimes it doesn't pull emails from the servers instantly. I'd rather it be polling every few seconds for an email. Also not a fan that it doesn't always keep track of all my emails, shit just goes missing after a while, while some really old stuff stays in the queue?

 

It needs work.

[LAwLz]

8 minutes ago, Drak3 said:

Break away from the registry.

Can you please give me a technical explanation using your own words of why this is a good and desirable thing?

@AluminiumTech feel free to chip in if you want.

No buzzwords or vague crap allowed. So no "it's old" or "it's slow".

 

Also, Win32 programs does not need to use the registry either. So it's just removing options from developers.

 

 

8 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

UWP is a new app model. It's got loads of modern Windows RunTime APIs.

 

Windows RunTime was first released in Windows 8.0 in 2012, adapted in 8.1 for Universal Windows 8 apps and then in Windows 10 further developed to add way more cool features.

 

UWP has loads of modern components. The browser component of UWP apps for instance uses Edge versus IE for WPF and WinForms.

 

UWP uses GPU hardware acceleration unlike Windows Forms.

 

UWP is HiDPI aware and is suited for Touch and Non Touch PCs.

 

It allows cool apps to be brought to the Xbox and Windows 10 Teams if it's appropriate to port it to those platforms.

 

UWP also is sandboxed so it's relatively safe compared to Win32. It would be difficult for a UWP app to kill hardware unlike Win32 programs.

 

UWP supports all the Windows RunTIme stuff including the somewhat recent inking stuff and Fluent Design.

 

UWP is sort of similar to WPF except it's more modernized.

That too. The Registry was a really bad idea.

 

AppData too.

That's a lot of buzzwords and very little actual facts of why it is better. A lot of the things you said sounds like they were lifted straight from a Microsoft PR speech.

[AlTech]

Just now, AlwaysFSX said:

I'm not a fan that sometimes it doesn't pull emails from the servers instantly. I'd rather it be polling every few seconds for an email.

That's not how normal email clients work.

Clients usually poll the server in a different way.

Just now, AlwaysFSX said:

Also not a fan that it doesn't always keep track of all my emails, shit just goes missing after a while, while some really old stuff stays in the queue?

 

It needs work.

It works for me on both of my Windows 10 Devices I currently use.

[captain_to_fire]

3 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

Windows Defender in Creators Update Build 15063 moved to UWP from Win32 and it works just fine.

Will third party av deveopers have the same read access as Windows Defender? I don’t think banks and big companies are using plain Windows Defender. 

5 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

The mail app is fine. Never really touch the calendar app. The calculator is pretty good and Edge is alright.

No. The mail app sucks and here’s why: it doesn’t have a unified inbox and fetching new mail is slow. 

 

2 minutes ago, AlwaysFSX said:

Don't underestimate the power of Microsoft and their, shall we say, incentives to devs to push them into a new paradigm.

Some game developers are reported to hate UWP. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/04/microsoft-monopolise-pc-games-development-epic-games-gears-of-war

[AlTech]

Just now, LAwLz said:

Can you please give me a technical explanation using your own words of why this is a good and desirable thing?

@AluminiumTech feel free to chip in if you want.

No buzzwords or vague crap allowed. So no "it's old" or "it's slow".

The registry is a mess.

Just now, LAwLz said:

Also, Win32 programs does not need to use the registry either. So it's just removing options from developers.

A lot of Win32 developers seem to love using AppData and the reigstry.

Just now, LAwLz said:

That's a lot of buzzwords and very little actual facts of why it is better.

Some people have a HiDPI device like I do....

 

Win32 apps scale very poorly on it. UWP apps scale correctly.

 

Windows Forms uses CPUs for rendering. This is bad for apps which require minimal CPU overhead. It also is bad because you can't really animate anything or make beautiful transitions.

 

I could list many more factual reasons why UWP is better.

Just now, LAwLz said:

A lot of the things you said sounds like they were lifted straight from a Microsoft PR speech.

HiDPI?

 

Modern APIs with support for literally any new feature added in a new Windows 10 Build such as their new design language stuff?

 

It doesn't sound like a lifted stuff from Microsoft PR....

 

Imagine you're an IOS dev having to deal with APIs in IOS 6 versus IOS 11. Wouldn't you rather use new and exciting APIs in IOS 11?