Windows Phone 8 Application Development Essentials

A practical guide to creating a Windows Phone 8 application using C#, XAML, and MVVM

Overview

• Learn how to design fast and fluid apps that users will love
• Packed with examples and illustrations that help you understand how to make high quality software
• Build applications using the modern MVVM pattern

In Detail

Windows Phone 8 replaces Windows Phone 7 devices with the Windows NT kernel found on many Windows 8 components. Windows 8 will give you more options to develop better and more visually appealing PC and Tablet applications.

A practical guide that will show you how you how to create testable MVVM applications keeping in mind the best UI practices. You will learn how to integrate peripheral sensors and social portals like Facebook and Twitter into your applications. This book shows the advantages of using modern patterns instead of the traditional way of programming.

Starting with a Windows Phone UI description, the guide then takes you through the world of fast and fluid design guidelines. After that, you will be shown the beauty of C# and MVVM advantages, finishing with clear descriptions of mobile-application integration with peripherals and social media. Clear and well-described examples throughout will help you become a WP8 developer.

You will also learn how to test your applications using Unit Test cut dependencies in your methods using Mocks, and use the newest features of C# such as asynchronous methods. If you are more of a designer than a developer, then there is also an explanation on how to create a consistent look and feel for Windows Phone applications.

What you will learn from this book

• Create a consistent UI for Windows Phone
• Explore built-in and custom controls
• Plan and schedule work on applications
• Use XAML and C# in Windows Phone applications
• Set up automatic tests for mobile applications
• Implement data and command binding
• Utilise storage in mobile applications
• Develop applications with multitask support
• Integrate with social media

Approach

A mini-tutorial full of code examples and strategies to give you plenty of options when building your own applications for Windows Phone 8.

Who this book is written for

This book is ideal if you are a developers who wants to get into mobile development. Some C# background may be useful for a complete understanding.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: XAML in Windows Phone
Chapter 2: App Design – Best Practices
Chapter 3: Building a Windows Phone 8 Application using MVVM
Chapter 4: Integrating with Windows Phone
Chapter 5: Integrating with Twitter and Facebook