(We’ll release EPUB and MOBI versions of the final ebook.)
This first preview contains the first four chapters of what we think will be an 18-chapter final ebook:
Chapter 1 The Life Story of a Metro Style App: Platform Characteristics of Windows 8
Chapter 2 Quickstart
Chapter 3 App Anatomy and Page Navigation
Chapter 4 Controls, Control Styling, and Basic Data Binding
Chapter 5 Collections and Collection Controls
Chapter 6 Layout
Chapter 7 Metro Style Commanding UI
Chapter 8 State, Settings, Files, and Documents
Chapter 9 Input and Sensors
Chapter 10 Media
Chapter 11 Purposeful Animations
Chapter 12 Contracts
Chapter 13 Tiles, Notifications, the Lock Screen, and Background Tasks
Chapter 14 Networking
Chapter 15 Devices and Printing
Chapter 16 Extensions
Chapter 17 Apps for Everyone: Localization, Accessibility, and the Windows Store
Chapter 18 Services
In the summer we’ll release a Second Preview version, which will contain 8–12 chapters. And then, in the fall, we’ll release the final version. (Watch this blog and
follow us on Twitter to learn about these releases.)
Here’s more information about the ebook, from Kraig’s Introduction:
Who This Book Is For
This book is about writing Metro style apps for Windows 8 using HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. Our primary focus will be on applying these web technologies within the Windows 8 platform, where there are unique considerations, and not on exploring the details of those web technologies themselves. For the most part, then, I'm assuming that you're already at least somewhat conversant with these standards. We will cover some of the more salient areas like the CSS grid, which is central to app layout, but otherwise I trust that you're capable of finding appropriate references for everything else.
I'm also assuming that your interest in Windows 8 has at least two basic motivations. One, you probably want to come up to speed as quickly as you can, perhaps to carve out a foothold in the Windows Store sooner rather than later. Toward that end, I've front-loaded the early chapters with the most important aspects of app development along with "Quickstart" sections to give you immediate experience with the tools, the API, and core platform features. On the other hand, you probably also want to make the best app you can, one that performs really well and that takes advantage of the full extent of the platform. Toward this end, I've also endeavored to make this book comprehensive, helping you at least be aware of what's possible and where optimizations can be made.
Many insights have come from working directly with real-world developers on their real-world apps. As part of the Windows Ecosystem team, myself and my teammates have been on the front lines bringing those first apps to the Windows Store. This has involved writing bits of code for those apps and investigating bugs, along with conducting design, code, and performance reviews with members of the core Windows engineering teams. As such, one of my goals with this book is to make that deep understanding available to many more developers, including you!
What You'll Need
Acknowledgements
In many ways, this isn't my book—that is, it's not an account of my own experiences and opinions about Metro style apps on Windows 8. I'm serving more as a storyteller, where the story itself has been written by the thousands of people in the Windows team whose passion and dedication have been a constant source of inspiration. Writing a book like this wouldn't be possible without all the work that's gone into customer research, writing specs, implementing, testing, and documenting all the details, managing daily builds and public releases, and writing perhaps the best set of samples I've ever seen for a platform. We'll be drawing on many of those samples, in fact, and even the words in some sections come directly from conversations I've had with the people who designed and developed a particular feature. I'm grateful for their time, and I’m delighted to give them a voice through which they can share their passion for excellence with you.
A number of individuals deserve special mention for their long-standing support of this project. First to Chris Sells, with whom I co-authored the earliest versions of this book; to Mahesh Prakriya, Ian LeGrow, Anantha Kancherla, Keith Boyd and their respective teams, with whom I've worked closely; and to Keith Rowe, Dennis Flanagan, and Ulf Schoo, under whom I've had the pleasure of serving. Thanks also to Devon Musgrave at Microsoft Press, and to all those who have reviewed chapters and provided answers to my endless streams of questions: Chris Tavares, Jesse McGatha, Josh Williams, Feras Moussa, Jake Sabulsky, Henry Tappen, David Tepper, Mathias Jourdain, Ben Betz, Ben Srour, Adam Barrus, Ryan Demopoulos, Sam Spencer, Bill Ticehurst, Tarek Anya, Scott Graham, Scott Dickens, Jerome Holman, Kenichiro Tanaka, Sean Hume, Patrick Dengler, David Washington, Scott Hoogerwerf, Harry Pierson, Jason Olson, Justin Cooperman, Rohit Pagariya, Nathan Kuchta, Kevin Woley, Markus Mielke, Paul Gusmorino, as well as those I've forgotten and those still to come as additional chapters are added to this first preview. My direct teammates, Kyle Marsh, Todd Landstad, Shai Hinitz, and Lora Heiny have also been invaluable in sharing what they've learned in working with real-world partners.
Finally, special hugs to my wife Kristi and our young son Liam, who have lovingly been there the whole time and who don't mind my traipsing through the house to my office either late at night or early in the morning.
Enjoy!
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