In the previous post in this series, we talked about using the Windows Bridge for iOS to create Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps that can run on Windows 10 devices using existing Objective-C code. This post focuses on getting Xcode and iOS developers familiar with the Visual Studio IDE, whether starting from scratch or using existing code from a source repository, such as GitHub.
Modern IDEs, especially those for app development, are becoming very similar. While each may have its own nuances and intricate IDE features, they will all generally offer the same key functionalities. There will be a way to load projects and solutions, lay out controls visually, work with code, and debug with some level of emulation. As a result, once you learn the basics of one IDE, you’ll find you can pretty easily transfer that knowledge to the others.
It is no different moving between Xcode and Visual Studio. In fact, the team at the One Dev Minute blog on Channel 9 put together an excellent summary video that quickly shows a feature-for-feature comparison when putting together a sample app, though it shows older versions of Visual Studio and Xcode.
The first step in working with any IDE is loading up a project. In Visual Studio (click here to get the free Visual Studio 2015 Community edition), the steps are basically the same as starting a project in Xcode. Just point to File →New → Project.
In this case, we’ll pick a project template from a list of installed templates, set the application and solution name, and select the directory where the files will be stored:
After clicking OK, the template creates a runnable UWP app that compiles and runs but contains no UI or data. We selected the Blank App template above. As with all templates, this will create the minimal required files needed for creating an app:
- Packages, libraries, frameworks, and references needed for the app to run
- A manifest file (appxmanifest) that describes your app (its title, description, start page, et cetera) and lists all the files that your app contains
- Code files for your app
- Set of logo images to display in the start menu
- Windows Store app image
- A temporary key file (.pfx) for signing and deploying your app during development
- Splash screen
- XAML (xaml) page to get you started coding your UI
Note: If this is the first UWP app you’ve created with Visual Studio, you will need to set your device to “Developer Mode” in order to run and build applications. In fact, you’ll get the prompt whether or not your device is in developer mode.
With the project loaded into Visual Studio, let’s explore some of the main windows in the IDE.
Note: The following assumes you’re using the default window layout in Visual Studio. If you change the default layout, you can reset it in the Window menu by using the Reset Window Layout command (in the toolbar, click Window → Reset Window Layout.
The first thing you will notice is the code window. This window is where you will work directly with the code files used in your application. The code window is tabbed. Every file you open starts a new tab. If you have too many tabs open to be displayed across the top of the window, you can use the drop down arrow on the right to navigate between files.
reference: visualstudio
Post A Comment: