In recent years, there have been spirited efforts by tech companies to come up with cross-platform products. These are products or tools that can run on multiple platforms. Microsoft has not been left behind. It developed an API known as Universal Windows Platform (UWP). This is an API that was created to help developers create homogeneous applications for Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile, Xbox One and Hololens.
The importance of UWP in the modern programming world cannot be underestimated. As a programmer, you should put some efforts to familiarize yourself with this API. Here are some solid reasons why programmers should learn UWP application development.
1. Allows developers to define the lifecycle of an application
With UWP you can easily define the entire lifecycle of an application. Developers, designers, administrators, and other stakeholders can have full control over different cycles of software development.
The API allows all the players to control how the application is to be deployed, updated, installed and even uninstalled. It also gives developers powers to manage resources, control the runtime of the application, design the data model and even to avail the application on the Windows Store from where it will be updated and downloaded by the final consumers.
2. Allows programmers to develop adaptive applications.
First of all, what is an adaptive application? This is a software that is capable of changing its behavior or even codes in order to meet a particular set of parameters in a given environment. The parameters can be screen size, processor speed, among others. It is the opposite of responsive applications which focus on the screen size.
UWP allows developers to build Windows 10 applications that can change their behaviors depending on the specifications of the devices. In order to achieve this goal, Microsoft had to blend different Windows OS into a single version that can work on different devices.
The adaptive nature of UWP is because of the View Model System. This system creates a total distinction between the application logic and the user interface. This helps a developer to focus on the key functionalities of an application instead of just focusing on the interface.
3. UWP uses different languages
When it comes to the programming languages, UWP does not have any limits. It allows programmers to develop an application using different programming languages.
Some of the languages that you can use on this API include C#, Visual C++, Visual Basic, and JavaScript. Using these languages, you will be able to create applications that will deliver seamless user experience.
4. Reduce software development time
As a programmer, you don’t want to stay with a project for long. You should complete it within the stipulated time. UWP can reduce the time that is required to develop a functional Windows 10 application.
Given that the API allows programmers to control the development cycle, a big chunk of your work will have been removed. The adaptive nature of this API means that you will not waste time struggling to build several applications for different platforms. One application is enough. You will utilize this extra time to refine the functionalities of an application that you are building.
From this article, you can easily tell that the benefits of UWP for application development cannot be underrated. As a developer, you should put some efforts into learning how to use this amazing API. You will be in a good position to build applications that meet the divergent needs of consumers.
The benefits of UWP go beyond the application development stage. Software administrators and the consumers will also feel some effects by using products that have been developed using this API.
So, what is the future of UWP? The future of this API definitely looks bright. It is something that is expected to improve the life of programmers by a big margin. To make things easier, Microsoft released the UWP Bridges toolkits. The purpose of these toolkits is to allow integration between UWP and other platforms. You should also take note that this API can only run on Windows 10. It is not compatible with Windows 7.