Universal Windows Platform apps: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 22:27, 18 April 2023

Revision as of 14:04, 16 May 2023

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[[File:Wikipedia App snapped to Windows 8 desktop.png|thumb|Left: A traditional desktop app without contents; it is showing 60 [[Widget (GUI)|graphical widgets]], and a thick border.<br/>Right: Metro-style app; entirely composed of contents]]

'''Universal Windows Platform''' ('''UWP''') '''apps'''<ref>{{citation|title=Microsoft is trying to change Windows software forever — here's why it'll be a tough fight|first=Matt|last=Weinberger|date=March 17, 2016|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-universal-windows-platform-explained|access-date=June 27, 2016}}</ref> (formerly '''Windows Store apps''', '''Metro-style apps''' and '''Modern apps''')<ref name=Harrel>{{citation|title=Metro, Modern, Now Universal? Microsoft Can't Make Up Its Mind!|first=William|last=Harrel|date=April 10, 2015|work=Digital Trends|url=http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/microsoft-universal-apps/|access-date=June 27, 2016}}</ref> are [[Application software|applications]] that can be used across all compatible [[Microsoft Windows]] devices. WhichThey are primarily purchased and downloaded via the [[Microsoft Store (digital)|Microsoft Store]], Microsoft's digital storefront.<ref>{{citation|title=Microsoft's Windows app strategy comes under fire: 'The most aggressive move Microsoft has ever made'|first=Matt|last=Weinberger|date=March 4, 2016|work=Business Insider|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/epic-ceo-tim-sweeney-slams-windows-10-2016-3|access-date=June 27, 2016}}</ref>

==Nomenclature==

Starting with [[Windows 10]], Windows initially used "Windows app" to refer to a UWP app. Any app installed from the [[Microsoft Store (digital)|Microsoft Store]] (formerly Windows Store) was initially "Trusted Windows Store app"<ref>[[Cortana (software)|Cortana]]. ''[[Windows 10 1511|Windows 10 version 1511]]''. [[Microsoft]] (2015).</ref> and later "Trusted Microsoft Store apps."<ref>[[Cortana (software)|Cortana]]. ''[[Windows 10 1803|Windows 10 version 1803]]''. [[Microsoft]] (2018).</ref> Other [[computer program]]s running on a desktop computer are "desktop apps." Starting with [[Windows 10 1903]], Windows indiscriminately refers to all of them as "Apps."

The terms "[[Universal Windows Platform]]" (or "UWP"), only appear on Microsoft documentation for its developers.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/uwp/get-started/universal-application-platform-guide |title=What's a Universal Windows Platform (UWP) app? |website=Docs |publisher=[[Microsoft]] |date=7 May 2018}}</ref> Microsoft started to retrospectively use "[[Windows Runtime]] app" to refer to the precursors of UWP appapps, for which there was no unambiguous name before.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/desktop/apps/dn726537(v=win.10) |title=How to develop a Windows Runtime app |website=Docs |publisher=[[Microsoft]] |date=15 May 2017}}</ref>

== In Windows 8.x ==

WindowsUWP softwareapps first became available under the name "Metro-style apps" when the Windows Store opened in 2012 and waswere marketed with [[Windows 8]].<ref name=Harrel/><ref>{{citation|title=Microsoft's Metro apps rechristened with a new, sixth name: Windows apps|first=Jared|last=Newman|work=PCWorld|date=March 26, 2015|url=http://www.pcworld.com/article/2902220/microsofts-metro-apps-rechristened-with-a-new-sixth-name-windows-apps.html|access-date=June 27, 2016}}</ref>

===Look and feel===

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===Distribution and licensing===

For most users, the only point of entry for Metro-style apps is the [[Windows Store]]. Enterprises operating a [[Windows ___domain]] infrastructure may enter into a contract with Microsoft that allows them to [[sideload]] their line-of-business Metro-style apps, circumventing Windows Store. Also, major web browser vendors are selectively exempted from this rule, they are allowed to circumvent Microsoft guidelines and Windows Store and run a Metro-style version of themselves if the user chooses to make their product the default web browser.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.zdnet.com/googles-latest-chrome-release-tries-to-replace-the-windows-8-desktop-7000025190 |title=Google's latest Chrome release tries to replace the Windows 8 desktop |work=[[ZDNet]] |publisher=[[CBS Interactive]] |date=15 January 2014 |first=Ed |last=Bott |quote=Under Microsoft’s rules, Metro-style browsers are able to sidestep requirements that apply to all other apps, including the mandate to be distributed through the Windows Store}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Branscombe|first=Mary|title=Windows 8 browsers: the only Metro apps to get desktop power|url=http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/windows-8-browsers-the-only-metro-apps-to-get-desktop-power-1073930|work=TechRadar|publisher=Future Publishing|access-date=17 January 2014|date=27 March 2012}}</ref>

[[Windows RT]] requires all installed apps to be from

Metro-style apps are the only third-party apps that run on [[Windows RT]].

===Multiple copies===

Before Windows 8, programs were identified by their static [[computer icon|icon]]s. The [[Windows Shell#Taskbar|Windows taskbar]] was responsible for representing every app that had a window when they run. Metro-style apps, however, are identified by their "tiles" that can show their icon and also other dynamic contents. In addition, in Windows 8 and [[Windows 8.1]] RTM, they are not shown on the Windows taskbar when they run, but on a dedicated app switcher on the left side of the screen.<ref>{{cite web|title=Switch between open apps|url=http://www.microsoft.com/surface/en-us/support/apps-and-windows-store/how-to-switch-between-apps?lc=1033|work=[[Microsoft Surface]] manual|publisher=[[Microsoft]]|access-date=31 December 2013}}</ref> [[Windows 8.1 Update]] added taskbar icons for Metro-style apps.<ref>{{cite web |last=Fitzsimmons |first=Michelle |title=Windows 8.1 Update 1: hands on with Microsoft's latest Windows update |url= http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/windows-8-1-update-1-what-s-in-microsoft-s-latest-windows-update-1232863 |work=[[TechRadar]] |publisher=[[Future plc]] |access-date=May 19, 2014 |date=May 13, 2014}}</ref>

There is no set limit on how many copies of desktop apps can run simultaneously. For example, one user may run as many copies of programs such as [[Microsoft Notepad|Notepad]], [[Paint (software)|Paint]] or [[Firefox]] as the system resources support. (Some desktop apps, such as [[Windows Media Player]], are designed to allow only a single instance, but this is not enforced by the operating system.) However, in Windows 8, only one copy of Metro-style apps may run at any given time; invoking the app brings the running instance to the front. True multi-instancing of these apps were not available until Windows 10 version 1803 (released in May 2018).<ref name="multi-instancing">{{cite magazine|last1=Whitechapel|first1=Andrew|title=Universal Windows Platform - Closing UWP-Win32 Gaps|url=https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/mt846651|website=MSDN Magazine|publisher=[[Microsoft]]|volume=33|number=5|date=May 2018}}</ref>

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=== Look and feel ===

{{See also|Fluent Design System}}

How UWP apps look depends on the app itself. UWP apps built specifically for Windows 10 and 11 typically haveappear aand distinctfunction lookdifferently andthan ones on older feelversions, as they use new UI controls that look different from those of previous versions of Windows. The exception to this are apps that use custom UI, which is especially the case with video games. Apps designed for Windows 8.x look significantly different from those designed for Windows 10 and 11.

UWP apps can also look almost identical to traditional desktop apps, using the same legacy UI controls from Windows versions dating back to Windows 95. These are legacy desktop apps that are converted to the UWP apps and distributed using the [[APPX]] file format.

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===Windows Runtime===

Traditionally, Windows software is developed using the [[Windows API]]. Software has access to the Windows [[API]] with no arbitrary restrictions. Developers were free to choose their own [[programming language]] and [[development tool]]s. Metro-style apps can only be developed using [[Windows Runtime]] (WinRT). (Note that not every app using WinRT is a Metro-style app.) A limited subset of WinRT is available for also conventional desktop apps.<ref>{{cite web|title=Windows Runtime APIs for desktop apps|url=https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/dn554295%28v=vs.85%29.aspx|website=[[MSDN]]|publisher=[[Microsoft]]|access-date=31 July 2015}}</ref> Calling a forbidden API disqualifies the app from appearing on Windows Store.

Metro-style apps can only be developed using Microsoft's own development tools. According to Allen Bauer, Chief Scientist of [[Embarcadero Technologies]], there are APIs that every computer program must call but Microsoft has forbidden them, except when the call comes from Microsoft's own [[Visual C++]] runtime.<ref>{{cite web|last=Grange|first=Eric|title=Why no native WinRT support in Delphi XE3?|url=http://www.delphitools.info/2012/08/23/why-no-native-winrt-support-in-delphi-xe3/|work=DelphiTools|access-date=13 January 2014|date=23 August 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Anderson|first=Tim|title=Third-party compilers locked out of Windows Runtime development|url=http://www.itwriting.com/blog/6347-third-party-compilers-locked-out-of-windows-runtime-development.html|work=Tim Anderson's ITWriting|access-date=13 January 2014|date=23 August 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Bauer|first=Allen|title=HTML5 Builder|url=https://forums.embarcadero.com/message.jspa?messageID=484319#484319|work=Embarcadero Developer Network|publisher=Embarcadero Technologies|access-date=13 January 2014|date=22 August 2012|archive-date=14 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614102211/https://forums.embarcadero.com/message.jspa?messageID=484319#484319|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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<!--[[Universal app]] redirects here-->

{{Main|Universal Windows Platform}}

AppsUWP apps developed to work intrinsically on [[smartphone]]s, [[personal computer]]s, [[video game console]]s and [[HoloLens]] are called '''universal apps'''. This is accomplished by using the universal app API, first introduced in Windows 8.1 and [[Windows Phone 8.1]]. [[Visual Studio 2013]] with Update 2 could be used to develop these apps.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Waheed|first1=Ahmed|title=A first look at the Windows 10 universal app platform|url=http://blogs.msdn.com/b/msgulfcommunity/archive/2015/03/02/a-first-look-at-the-windows-10-universal-app-platform.aspx|website=Microsoft Gulf Technical Community blog|publisher=[[Microsoft]]|date=2 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Appel|first1=Rachel|title=Modern Apps : Build Universal Apps for the Windows Platform|url=https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/dn781364.aspx|website=[[MSDN Magazine]]|publisher=[[Microsoft]]|date=September 2014|volume=29|number=9}}</ref> Windows 10 introduced [[Universal Windows Platform]] (UWP) 10 for developing universal apps. Apps that take advantage of this platform are developed with [[Visual Studio 2015]] or later. Older Metro-style apps for Windows 8.1, Windows Phone 8.1 or for both (universal 8.1) need modifications to migrate to this platform.<ref>{{cite web|title=Migrate apps to the Universal Windows Platform (UWP)|url=https://msdn.microsoft.com/library/mt148501.aspx|website=[[MSDN]]|publisher=[[Microsoft]]|access-date=31 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Move from Windows Runtime 8.x to UWP|url=https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/xaml/mt238322.aspx|website=[[MSDN|Windows Developer Center]]|publisher=[[Microsoft]]|access-date=31 July 2015}}</ref>

UWP is not distinct from Windows Runtime; rather, it is an extension of it. Universal apps no longer indicate having been written for a specific OS in their manifest; instead, they target one or more device families, e.g. desktop, mobile, Xbox or [[Internet of Things]] (IoT). They react to the capabilities that become available to the device. A universal app may run on both a small mobile phone and a tablet and provide a suitable experience. The universal app running on the mobile phone may start behaving the way it would on a tablet when the phone is connected to a monitor or a suitable [[docking station]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Guide to Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps|url=https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/xaml/dn894631.aspx|website=[[MSDN|Windows Dev Center]]|publisher=[[Microsoft]]|access-date=31 July 2015}}</ref>

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==Security==

Traditional Windows applications generally have the power to use and change their ecosystem however they want to. Windows [[user account]] rights, [[User Account Control]] and [[antivirus software]] attempt to keep this ability in check and notify the user when the app tries to use it, possibly for malicious purposes. Metro-style apps, however, are [[sandboxed]] and cannot permanently change a Windows ecosystem. They need permission to access hardware devices such as [[webcam|webcams]], [[microphone]]s or their [[file system]] which is restricted to user folders, such as [[My Documents]]. Microsoft further moderates these programs and may remove them from the Windows Store if they are discovered to have security or privacy issues.<ref>{{cite web |title=Microsoft talks Windows Store features, Metro app sandboxing for Windows 8 developers |url=https://www.theverge.com/2012/5/17/3026590/microsoft-windows-8-developers-windows-store-sandboxing |work=[[The Verge]] |publisher=[[Vox Media]] |date=17 May 2012 |access-date=12 January 2013 |first=Chris |last=Ziegler}}</ref><ref name=bi-windows8>{{cite web |last=Rosoff |first=Matt |title=Here's Everything You Wanted To Know About Microsoft's Upcoming iPad Killers |url=http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-02-09/tech/31040510_1_steven-sinofsky-pcs-microsoft-first |work=[[Business Insider]] |date=9 February 2012 |access-date=12 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122030754/http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-02-09/tech/31040510_1_steven-sinofsky-pcs-microsoft-first |archive-date=22 January 2013 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

==See also==