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Here is a compact yet deep technical explanation about how
Windows 8 fits with prior versions and other Microsoft products and competitors.
Related topics elsewhere on this same website (WilsonMar.com):
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Heavy Lifting: How Version Components Relate to Each Other
The Windows 8 launch fanfare Oct 29, 2012 was confusing for many because
Microsoft added several new dimensions to the Windows brand name.
Before version 8, there were different editions of Windows with various features,
called Basic, Professional, Enterprise, etc.
But there was similarity in the Windows user interface (UI)
within Desktop executables
built using Windows Presentation Foundation
running under C# or VB under .NET.
But with version 8, it seems Microsoft wants consumers to think conceptually of Windows like Santa Claus,
of being all things to all people - one UI from large screens to tiny hand-held devices.
But such grand thinking is confusing to understand the whole ecosystem
around the operating systems.
Samsung decided not to release WinRT tablets based on this confusion.
TIP:
Ironically,
to fully grasp all the technologies involved,
one now has to mentally remove the Windows brand name.
Desktop Executables Run by Pro Edition Only
The title Pro (for Professional) has a more substantial meaning that it did before Windows 8.
Windows 8 Pro is different from Windows RT (Run-Time) down to the silicon chip design powering the devices.
The Windows 8 Pro edition requires the more powerful Intel architecture to run
the desktop executables users have been running on Windows 7 and prior versions of Windows desktop operating systems.
No Desktop Executables for WinRT on ARM Chips
What is new is WinRT using the smaller and more power-efficient Qualcomm chip
also inside Apple and Android devices as well as Windows Phone 7 and 8.
Qualcomm chips are not powerful enough to run desktop executables designed for more powerful Intel chips,
so that keeps WinRT from supporting legacy Windows executables.
Regardless, it is impressive that Microsoft is trying to pull off providing the same
programming interface to two completely different chip architectures.
It's like one rider standing on top of two galloping horses at the same time.
Apple has not been able to pull that off.
Windows Surface 3 tablet ditched RT.
No Hybrid HTML5 Apps, only Native Apps in Windows App Store
The Windows App Store introduced with WinRT
is limited to only native apps, unlike Apple iTunes and Android Play stores,
which also allow hybrid apps to be listed.
Microsoft is not allowing apps hybrid apps which exist in the shell just to have an icon on the desktop.
When invoked, hybrid apps immediately brings up an internet browser to
display JavaScript (so the same script can be written once for use on many brands of devices).
This, I think, is one reason for the hundreds of thousands of apps count difference between the
Windows Apps Store vs. Google Play and Apple iTunes.
But this one decision by Microsoft has a big effect on the perception of an inadequate number of apps.
It's also questionable whether Android and Apple count app names which were registered but not actually made available as actual apps.
The store adds Support for in-app purchases, with
a "wallet" for linking credit cards and storing loyalty cards.
Metro UI Above, Changes Below
The most visible aspect of the Windows 8 launch in 2012
was the square tile look and feel (what has was first called Modern, then Metro,
and now simply Windows UI),
That look was introduced when Windows Phone 7 first went at the end of October 2010.
So one would think that apps created for Windows 7 would work on Windows Phone 8 which has a similar look and feel.
But apprearance belie more significant differences under the display.
Windows Phone 8 Devices an Improvement
Windows 8 hopefully will overcome reluctance to Windows Phone 7's within enterprises due to
lack of on-device encryption,
lack of support for complex-password policies,
lack of VPN, and
unpopular design in Microsoft Office on the device.
Windows Phone 8 comes with an edition of Microsoft Office.
Unlike Windows Phone 7 devices,
some Windows Phone 8 devices can have a wider 16:9
screen aspect ratio shown on big screen HD movie houses.
Windows Phone 7 had to be hard wired to Zune software on the desktop to transfer files.
Windows Phone 8 don't need that, plus get over-the-air OS updates.
Windows Phone 8 has NFC (near-field communication) capability to read tags on
business cards, posters, menus to
like share URLs among NFC devices,
what Microsoft calls NFC for consumers Tap + Share.
Add a secure SIM card carriers control to enable mobile payments.
Windows 8 App Store for the Same Kernel
Deep down, all Windows 8 editions and Windows Phone 8 share the same multi-core kernel
and hardware drivers
(for NTFS file system, threading, networking, proximity sensor, graphics support, multimedia, location,
and in-app purchases)
that were improvements over Windows 7 desktop OS.
This is why Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 development must occur on a Windows 8 machine,
and not on a Windows 7 desktop.
Internally, Windows Phone runs a subset of the run-time adopted from WinRT, which was written in C++
and "projected" into C#, VB.NET, and C++.
Phone-specific additions to Windows Phone 8 Runtime (not available on Windows 8 desktop and tablet editions) include:
- Speech synthesis and recognition
- Windows.Phone.PersonalInformation
- LockScreen and LockScreenManager
But one has to really work to figure out commonalities and work out what goes where
such as architecting to an MVVM (Model, View, ViewModel) design pattern.
Code sharing is done at among different project for each platform, not one code base for multiple platforms.
Same Windows Phone Store, but Different OS Kernel
Like Apple and Android apps stores which carries in the same store apps for both tablets and phones of various editions,
the
Windows Phone Store (http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store)
carries apps for both Windows Phone 8 and 7 devices.
This is deceiving because Windows Phone 7 and 8 have a different operating system kernel
inside.
So drivers in a Windows Phone 8 are basically not compatible with drivers under Windows Phone 7.
There is binary app incompatibility.
This is why WP 7 apps not re-compiled for WP8 run in Quirks Mode on WP 8 devices.
Some behaviours cannot be quirked.
Example of incompatibilities requiring quirks mode:
Assembly.GetType property method searches for the specified type in mscorlib.dll as well as in the assembly on which it is called on WP OS 7.1,
but on WP8, it searches for the specified type only in the assembly on which it is called.
When WP 7 app source is re-compiled into WP 8 apps, those apps then reference WP 8 drivers.
The .NET API for WP8 includes all types and APIs from Wndows Phone OS 7.1.
New namespaces added to WP8 include:
- Microsoft.Phone.Wallet
- Microsoft.Phone.Tasks.ShareMediaTask
- Microsoft.Phone.Tasks.MapsTask
- Microsoft.Phone.Storage.ExternalStorage
- Microsoft.Phone.Networking.Voip
Windows Phone 7 Devices at a Dead End
Windows Phone 7 devices can NOT upgrade to the Windows Phone 8 operating system.
This is even though hardware is being sold.
Microsoft's Support Lifecycle page says
Windows Phone 7.8 will receive security updates 9 September 2014.
Windows Phone 8 will sunset on 8 July 2014 (before 7.8 sunset).
Pressing the Windows button in the middle brings the user to the
main menu in Microsoft's "hub and spoke" design.
The Windows Phone 8 back button (at the lower left corner of the device)
intereprets a long press holding down to flip among multiple tasks.
Windows Phone 7.5 devices were codenamed Mango during development until release in May 2011.
It replaced Windows Phone 7.0 devices.
Windows Phone SDK 7.8 in early 2013 adds resizable Live Tiles and new themes at the UI level.
Windows Phone SDK 7.11 Update (code named Tango)
to Windows Phone SDK 7.1 enables weaker hardware (such as 800 Mhz Nokia Lumia 610)
in China and other emerging markets.
Each app has up to 90 MB of the 256MB RAM, but swaps after 60 MB are used.
To opt out of installing on such devices, the app's WinAppManiffext.xml file should
contain:
<Deployment AppPlatformVersion="7.1">
<App> ...
<Requirements>
<Requirement Name="ID_REQ_MEMORY_90">
</Requirements>
This lack of upgradability is frustrating to Windows Phone 7 device owners.
After all, Apple iPhones can be upgraded.
But many Android phone cannot be upgraded.
Much of the dead-end in Windows Phones was inevitable, and planned.
For faster performance,
.NET 3.0 was burned into Windows Phone 7 ROM chips.
Windows 8 use the newer .NET 4.5 software machine,
also burned into the WinPhone 8 device ROM along with IE10.
WinJS for Windows Store Apps Only, not Windows Phones
Windows 8 Store Apps can be created in either the more familiar C# or VB coding
referring to XAML screen definitions or
the NEW WinJS (Windows JavaScript) library
referenced from within variations of HTML5 referring to CSS3 screen definitions.
Apps for Windows Phone 8 devices cannot be
built using WinJS>.
Internet Explorer 10 on all editions of Windows 8 supports a subset of HTML5.
Even though JavaScript is used,
Windows 8 apps are essentially like native
iPhone/iPad apps on Apple's iTunes store and native Android apps on the Google Play store.
Within Windows 8, JavaScript apps are compiled into Microsoft ByteCode before execution,
just like apps written in C#.
This optimization significantly improves start-up and ongoing execution times,
and takes advantage of accelerations by graphic chips.
The Windows 8 WinJS library covers functionality similiar to
the
Windows.UI.Xaml.Controls namespaces in the Windows Runtime
exposed using API metadata format (Windows.winmd)
similar to that used by the .NET framework (Ecma-335).
XAML (Silverlight) Base to Code for Both Windows Phone 7 and 8
The most commonality in code base for programming Windows Phone 7 and 8
is leveraging
C# coding using XAML>
also previously used for programming Silverlight
web apps.
Visual Studio desktop development tools are also used.
Microsoft Store
XBox versions
XBox One released Oct. 2013 (codenamed "Durango") does not run programs from XBox 360.
XBox consoles have been in a separate world, largely because it runs programs from the stand-alone
Microsoft Store.com
offering mainly games and consoles powered by Nvidia chips
and developed using the .NET Framework Class Library in XNA Game Studio (which
was extended to develop .NET (managed) apps manipulating
low-level graphics on Windows Phone 7).
Alas, native XNA coding
with Windows 8 is no longer an option for game development.
The alternative now is hard-core C++ coding referencing DirectX 11.1 integrated into the Windows 8 SDK.
Microsoft's strategy is to shun indie game developers with its
$10,000/year membership in
XBLA (XBox Live Arcade)
and limited promotion of
XBLIG (Xbox Live Indie Games).
So
XNA developers were forced to extend their assets by recompiling XNA 4 C# code using
MonoGame which then feeds into
SharpDX to provide an API to Windows 8 DirectX.
This approach enables games to be not just in the Windows 8 Store, but also
iOS, Android, Mac OS X, and Linux PlayStation Suites.
ARTICLES:
Windows 8 game developers use C++ using DirectX 11.
Alex Kipman, the visionary behind the Kinect sensor also designed the
Microsoft HoloLens.
The Kinect SDK initially supported development in WPF and C++ with DirectX.
But it has grown to support other development platforms:
Related Topics
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