Susan IbachTechnical Evangelist
EaselJS is a JavaScript library that provides an API that will be familiar to Flash developers to make it easier to work with canvas.
HTML5 is supported in Internet Explorer 9 and higher, and other modern web browsers. You can build native apps for Windows 8 with HTML5. The great thing about this broad uptake of HTML5 is more and more resources to help game developers make the move to HTML5 and JavaScript.
EaselJS is a JavaScript library that contains a number of classes for working with Canvas. These APIs will be familiar to Flash developers.
Best of all you can download it, find documentation, and examples all right here
Other developers are already exploring EaselJS and have created posts and videos to help you get started.
The resources are there and waiting! Check it out! Then build a game, find out how to publish your game to Windows 8 and tell me when you do so I can try it out! You might even want to enter your game in Imagine Cup.
Here are a few examples you can explore to see what the APIs will do for you so you can start drooling, I mean coding!
This week’s interview features Three Red Cubes a team of students from Ryerson University who built an application called WayTwoGood.
Could you briefly describe your application/game?
WayTwoGood is built to deliver aggregated daily deals from multiple websites. By using Windows 8 APIs the application makes it easy to find great deals across many major cities in North America.
Did you use .NET and Silverlight, HTML and Java, or DirectX and C++
We used .Net and Silverlight. Since the app is very presentation-oriented and data-intensive, we used our experience of building Windows Phone apps to create a polished and rich app.
What was your banging your head against a wall moment?
While applying the Windows 8 development methods, it took us a little while to understand how the different visual states worked and to create them. This is a major feature on Windows 8 and we wanted to make sure our app took advantage of the different view states.
Did you ever solve that issue?
By going through the default sample and understanding how the LayoutAwarePage class (provided in the sample) handled Snapped, Filled, Portrait and Landscape views, we were able to incorporate that into our app.
If you had to build this same app again from scratch, what would you do differently?
Having understood the different visual states, if we were designing it from scratch, we would be more forward thinking about the different elements and controls we created for the app. Making the process of creating a fully compatible Windows 8 app a breeze.
Any nice surprises?
- The huge amount of code we reused from the Windows Phone version of the app was very surprising and welcome.
- The “async, await, Task” pattern of Windows 8 development was very easy to adopt and move away from event-driven approach. This made our app very efficient and provided a great, fluid user experience.
Did you leverage the mobile platform?
We built the app to be completely compatible with different screen resolutions, orientations and visual states. Because Windows 8 will be on many different devices of different form-factors we wanted to make sure our app provided a great, uniform experience.
Did you leverage touch?
The application provides full support for touch. The Windows 8 APIs make it really easy to provide user interactions through both keyboard-mouse and touch.
Did you have a favourite Windows 8 feature?
It’s really difficult to choose between the Windows 8 API contracts and “async, await, Task.” Without either of them our application would have been very different.
What is one thing you think you did really well in this application?
The application is really responsive thanks to the “async, await, Task” model of programming that’s taken centre stage in Windows 8 development.
Are you publishing your application/game?
Yes we’ve already published the app and is being featured on the Marketplace since last month. Download it from the Marketplace here:
Did you fail certification? If so what caused you to fail, and how did you fix it?
We failed certification the first time we submitted the app because of how we had structured navigation and data loading, which was causing the app to show slow performance on first run. We fixed it by creating an overlay which disappeared as content was being downloaded, once again, by virtue of “async, await, Task” calls.
Where can I learn more about your app/game?
Visit on our website at http://threeredcubes.com/ and check out all our projects. If you’re in Toronto, you can always visit our office and say hi.
Who developed this application?
We’re a team of Ryerson University students who have a start-up called Three Red Cubes and we’re working out of Ryerson’s Digital Media Zone.
Don’t forget to create your account in the Windows 8 store, reserve your app name, and get your app out there. For information about how to create your account and resources on how to get coding check out our Windows 8 resources page
You probably know that Windows 8 is available October 26th, but what don’t you know?
Both versions allow people to download apps from the store (so everyone with Windows 8 can download your Windows store apps.) Windows RT runs just the new Windows 8 Store apps, and there are Windows 8 apps for Office. Windows 8 runs the new apps, and also allows you to run all the apps you’ve been running on Windows 7. I like the simple way this blog by Eric Nelson explains the difference. But here’s the official explanation as well.
You can launch an app by hitting the Windows key and typing the name of the app to launch. You can also use Windows+X to bring up the start menu. More great keyboard shortcuts here
The Microsoft Surface is getting some great reviews, here’s a review from Wired. But if it’s not what you are looking for, there are a lot of manufacturers releasing awesome Windows 8 and Windows RT devices. Tablet? Hybrid? touch laptops? Find the device that is right for you.
Just like the Windows Phone store, the Windows Store offers free accounts to students through the DreamSpark program. Instructions on how to create that account are here.
This means I no longer have to have Windows Server running on a laptop in dual boot so I can use Hyper-V virtual machines to set up different developer environments.
It’s on the charms, under devices.
When you buy Windows 8 (not Windows RT), you still get the desktop which you know already so the apps you’ve been running on Windows 7 run on Windows 8 as well. So, if you are used to Windows XP or Windows 7, you won’t find it difficult to transition to Windows 8.
Most of what you’ve heard has been about consumer features like video, Skype, Xbox and Music. But Windows 8 is for business too. There is actually a Windows 8 for business website where you can find out more.
Canada has amazing developers, and already their apps are starting to appear in the Windows store. Tetes a Claques, Tou.tv, games from Sad Cat, WayTwoGood, to name a few. Will yours be next, find out how to get started.
A lot of people ask me how well Windows 8 will run on their existing laptops. I installed it on my laptop which was my Windows 7 machine. It boots up faster.
Be a part of Windows 8, build a cool app, get it published, get some help building your app, join us at one of the upcoming WOWZapp events on November 9-11th in Canada, part of a worldwide Windows hackathon! Our main WOWZapp site will be in Vancouver, but there are students organizing WOWZapp events for students across the country. Register today!
The Microsoft Human Resources team has put together some webinars to help you understand some of the opportunities available!
Some of the more common questions I get when I am on campus and talking to students are around job opportunities. Microsoft Canada does hire co-op students and new graduates, but, Microsoft Canada does not have a lot of technical positions. The Gaming studios in British Columbia hire interns and graduates, but aside from that most of the technical positions are based out of Redmond, Washington. The good news is that many of these positions are filled by Canadian students! To find the list of current job opportunities from Microsoft corporate visit the student section of the careers website. If you are looking for Microsoft Canada intern opportunities check the Canadian Microsoft student jobs site.
Sometimes it’s hard to gauge what a job entails from a job posting, so the Microsoft HR team has put together a series of free webinars to help you find out more about the types of positions available. This a great chance to find out more about what it’s like to work at Microsoft. Details on all the upcoming webinars can be found here. Times are probably PST.
Friday, October 12, 2012 4:30-6:30 Software Testing in Your Career
Thursday, November 01, 2012 6pm-7pm Demystifying the Microsoft Program Manager Role
Tuesday, November 06, 2012 12pm-1pm Demystifying the Microsoft Program Manager Role
Monday, December 03, 2012 11:30am-1pm The Insiders View on Windows 8
Tuesday, December 11, 2012 4:30pm-6pm The Insiders View on Windows 8
Microsoft has been listed as a top employer in Canada and Worldwide, come find out why!
If you’ve already built an iOS app, what do you need to know to build a Windows 8 app?
The Windows Store site has added some great resources to help iOS developers create Windows 8 store apps.
You’ll find Resources for iOS developers that includes all kinds of tips to help you get started
So what are you waiting for to start coding? Don’t forget students can create Windows Store accounts for free, and you’ve got the Developer Movement to reward you for your published apps. Get coding Canada!