Windows Phone Development - Getting Started

linkedin.com/in/srikanthnair about.me/srikanthnair@SrikanthNair  sri@srikanthnair.com
WINDOWS PHONE
DEVELOPMENT
GETTING STARTED

WHY WINDOWS PHONE?
• Though the smartphone market is dominated by Android and iOS, Windows
Phone has made its presence known and people are beginning to take
notice.
• Windows Phone market share is growing, slowly but surely.
• The Windows Phone app Store is still young and users are hungry for new apps!
• If you are willing to create quality apps that engage your users, you are
certain to succeed!
• Visit http://phone.windowsstore.com/the-opportunity to learn more!

FUNDAMENTALS
• Assumes that you are already familiar with C# programming
• C# newbie? Check out C# Fundamentals: Development for Absolute
Beginners on Channel 9 - http://channel9.msdn.com/Series/C-Sharp-
Fundamentals-Development-for-Absolute-Beginners. It’s FREE!
• Around the web
• Visual C# .NET Programming (Home & Learn) -
http://www.homeandlearn.co.uk/csharp/csharp.html
• C# Corner - http://www.c-sharpcorner.com/beginners/

TOOLS
• Before you get started, it’s best to download and install all the tools required.
• Follow this link to download and install Express 2012 for Windows Phone
http://www.visualstudio.com/en-us/products/visual-studio-express-vs.aspx
• Please note that if you have a copy of Visual Studio Professional or Ultimate
(2012/2013), you don’t need to install the above.
• If you are a student, please be sure to check out DreamSpark
(https://www.dreamspark.com)
• You don’t need a developer account to learn Windows Phone app
development, but will need one to publish apps into the Store.
• You can test your app in the emulator, but a physical Windows Phone device
is always ideal.

WINDOWS PHONE APP STUDIO
If Visual Studio seems daunting, I strongly encourage you to use App Studio!
• With Windows Phone App Studio, Microsoft has made it possible for anyone to go from
idea to app in the shortest possible time!
• The App Studio allows you to build a basic app and then, if you want to add advanced
features, you can easily generate the source code to continue working in Visual Studio!
• The App Studio also allows you to create a Windows 8 version of your app!
• Check out http://appstudio.windowsphone.com for more information!

IN THE BEGINNING...
• There are plenty of materials online, but I suggest you start with the following.
• Windows Phone 8 Development for Absolute Beginners -
http://channel9.msdn.com/Series/Windows-Phone-8-Development-for-Absolute-
Beginners
• Building Apps for Windows Phone 8 Jump Start -
http://channel9.msdn.com/Series/Building-Apps-for-Windows-Phone-8-Jump-Start
• Getting started developing apps for Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 -
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-
us/library/windowsphone/develop/jj714071(v=vs.105).aspx
• Nokia also has a collection of great resources, though they mostly focus on
developing apps for the Nokia Lumia -
http://developer.nokia.com/resources/library/Lumia/index.html

LEARN BY CODING
• You can read all you want and watch as many videos as you like, but until you
start coding, you won’t gain the right level of understanding needed to create
your own apps!
• These C# samples from Microsoft will help you gain a solid understanding of the
various aspects of a Windows Phone and how to access them in an app -
http://snair.me/1isKOaN
• Go through the code samples and its accompanying tutorial/walkthrough to get
the most out of them.
• I went through many of these samples to help me get started and was able to
create my first app based on that knowledge.
• Too many choices to pick from? Microsoft suggests “How to create your first app for
Windows Phone” -
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/windowsphone/develop/ff402526(v=vs.105).aspx

PLEASE LEARN MVVM
• MVVM is a design pattern where we separate the User Interface (View) from the data
(Model) that feeds the UI. The View Model ties the two together. MVVM is not a
requirement but is meant to help us create better apps.
• These should help you get started.
• Implementing the Model-View-ViewModel pattern in a Windows Phone app -
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-
us/library/windowsphone/develop/gg521153(v=vs.105).aspx
• Model-View-ViewModel Sample -
http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/wpapps/Model-View-ViewModel-Sample-
8cb92fd9
• Plans to develop apps for Windows 8.1? You can reuse your Model and View Model
from your Windows Phone app, leaving only the View for the Windows 8.1 app!
• MVVM Light and MVVMCross are two popular MVVM frameworks that you can use
to build apps based on MVVM.

QUESTIONS? NEED HELP? REACH OUT!
• This basic presentation is only meant to help you get started with Windows Phone
development and as such, I am sure you will have many questions.
• One of the most amazing things about Windows Phone, is the community. Whether you
are a user or developer, help is not far away.
• If you need a hand, please feel free to reach out to me. If I am unable to help you for
whatever reason, I’ll make sure to point you in the right direction.
• Don’t let questions or doubts or anything of that sort, stop you from moving forward!

THANK YOU
• I hope this presentation has encouraged you and given you some direction to get
started with Windows Phone development!
• If you do end up creating a Windows Phone app and publish it to the Windows Phone
Store, do let me know.
• I wish you all the best!

Windows Phone Development - Getting Started

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