Windows 8 Apps with HTML5 and JavaScript Unleashed

by Walther, Stephen

• ISBN13: 9780672336058
• ISBN10: 0672336057
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-11-20
• Publisher: Sams Publishing

Summary

Millions of web developers are already fluent with JavaScript and HTML: With Windows 8 and Metro, Microsoft is about to empower all these developers to build fully-functional next-generation Windows applications. In this book, multiple best-selling Microsoft web development author Stephen Walther shows them exactly how to leverage this remarkable new opportunity. This comprehensive, in-depth guide covers everything web developers need to know to get the job done. Walther thoroughly explains the unique advantages of Metro applications, and demonstrates how to use Microsoft's fully array of new JavaScript technologies to build them - including JavaScript templates, controls, data binding, and the entire new Windows Library for JavaScript (WinJS). From accessing the Windows Runtime to distributing applications through Microsoft's new App Store, this book brings together all the knowledge needed to build successful production software. From start to finish, readers will find the same exceptionally insightful coverage and practical code that made Walther's "ASP.NET Unleashed" the top-selling ASP.NET book of all time.

Author Biography

Formerly a Senior Program Manager at Microsoft, Stephen Walther now runs his own consulting and training company, www.SuperexpertTraining.com. He flies to companies and provides hands-on training on building Windows Store apps.

Stephen was completing his Ph.D. at MIT and teaching classes on metaphysics at MIT and Harvard when he abruptly realized that there is no money in metaphysics. He dropped out to help found two successful Internet startups. He created the Collegescape website, a website used by more than 200 colleges including Stanford, Harvard, and MIT for online college applications (sold to ETS). He also was a founder of CityAuction, which was one of the first and largest auction websites (sold to CitySearch).

Table of Contents

Introduction     1

1 Building Windows Store Apps     5

What Is a Windows Store App?      5

Microsoft Design Style Principles     6

Common Features of Windows Store Apps     8

Creating Your First Windows Store App     13

Creating the Visual Studio Project     13

Declaring App Capabilities     15

Creating the HTML Page     16

Creating the Style Sheet     17

Creating the JavaScript File    

Running the App     20

Elements of a Windows Store App     21

JavaScript     21

HTML5     21

Cascading Style Sheets 3     22

Windows Runtime     22

Windows Library for JavaScript     23

What about jQuery?      23

Building Windows Store Apps with Visual Studio     26

Windows Store App Project Templates     26

Running a Windows Store App     34

Debugging a Windows Store App     35

Using the Visual Studio JavaScript Console Window     35

Setting Breakpoints     37

Using the DOM Explorer     37

Publishing to the Windows Store     38

Register as a Windows Developer     38

Submitting Your App     39

Passing App Certification     41

Summary     42

2 WinJS Fundamentals     45

Namespaces, Modules, and Classes     45

Using Namespaces     46

Using the Module Pattern     48

Using Classes     51

Asynchronous Programming with Promises     56

Using Promises     57

Using then() versus done()      58

Creating Promises    

Creating a Timeout Promise     61

Canceling Promises     62

Composing Promises     63

Retrieving DOM Elements with Query Selectors     63

Performing Queries with the WinJS.Utilities.query() Method     64

Retrieving a Single Element with the WinJS.Utilities.id() Method     66

Using the WinJS.Utilities.children() Method     67

Working with the QueryCollection Class     68

Performing Ajax Calls with the xhr Function     69

Specifying Different Response Types     72

Customizing the Properties of the XmlHttpRequest Object     73

Summary     75

3 Observables, Bindings, and Templates     77

Understanding Observables     77

Creating an Observable     78

Creating Observable Listeners     79

Coalescing Notifications     81

Bypassing Notifications     82

Working with the WinJS.Binding.List Object     83

Creating an Observable Collection of Observables     86

Understanding Declarative Data Binding     86

Declarative Data Binding and Observables     89

Capturing the Contents of an HTML Form     91

Declarative Data Binding and WinJS Controls     94

Declarative Data Binding and Binding Converters     96

Understanding Templates     100

Creating an Imperative Template     100

Creating a Declarative Template     103

Applying a Template with a Query Selector     104

Creating External Templates     106

Summary     108

4 Using WinJS Controls     109

Introduction to WinJS Controls     109

Creating a WinJS Control Declaratively     111

Creating Controls Imperatively     113

Setting Control Options     114

Retrieving Controls from an HTML Document     115

Using the Tooltip Control     116

Using the contentElement Property     117

Styling a Tooltip     117

Using the ToggleSwitch Control     118

Determining the State of a ToggleSwitch     118

Using the Rating Control     120

Customizing the Ratings     121

Submitting a Rating     121

Using the DatePicker Control     123

Formatting the Year, Month, and Date     124

Displaying Only Years, Months, or Days     126

Capturing the Selected Date     127

Using the TimePicker Control     128

Getting and Setting the Current Time     130

Formatting the Hour, Minute, and Period     131

Using the FlipView Control     132

Displaying Page Numbers     135

Creating Custom FlipView Buttons     137

Summary     139

5 Creating Forms     141

Using HTML5 Form Validation     141

Using the required Attribute     142

Using the pattern Attribute     142

Performing Custom Validation     143

Customizing the Validation Error Style     144

Resetting a Form     146

Using HTML5 Input Elements    

Labeling Form Fields     148

Entering a Number     149

Entering a Value from a Range of Values     151

Entering Email Addresses, URLs, Telephone Numbers, and Search Terms     151

Entering a Value from a List of Values     153

Selecting Files     154

Creating a Rich Text Editor     155

Displaying Progress     156

Summary     158

6 Menus and Flyouts     161

Using the Flyout Control     161

Using the Menu Control     163

Using the AppBar Control     167

Creating a Simple App Bar     168

Using App Bar Commands     170

Showing Contextual Commands     173

Configuring App Settings     175

Creating About Page Settings.      176

Creating Personal Settings     178

Displaying Windows Dialogs     182

Summary     184

7 Using the ListView Control     185

Introduction to the ListView Control     185

Using List Layout versus Grid Layout     190

Preventing Overlapping ListView Items     193

Selecting Items in a ListView Control     197

Creating a Master/Detail View     198

Selecting Multiple Items     202

Sorting Items in a ListView Control     204

Filtering Items in a ListView Control     206

Grouping Items in a ListView Control     208

Switching Views with Semantic Zoom     211

Switching a ListView Template Dynamically     216

Loading ListView Items Incrementally     219

Summary     221

8 Creating Data Sources     223

Creating Custom Data Sources     223

Creating the Data Source Class     224

Creating a Data Adapter     224

Implementing the getCount() Method     225

Implementing the itemsFromIndex() Method     225

Implementing the insertAtEnd() Method     227

Implementing the remove() Method     227

Implementing the change() Method     228

Handling Errors     228

Implementing the setNotificationHandler() Method     229

Creating a File Data Source     230

Using the File Data Source     231

Creating a Web Service Data Source     236

Creating the Data Source     236

Creating the Web Service     237

Using the Web Service Data Source     240

Creating an IndexedDB Data Source     241

Overview of IndexedDB     241

Using the IndexedDB Data Source     245

Summary     252

9 App Events and States     253

App Events     253

Handling the Activated Event     254

Handling the Error Event     255

Deferring Events with Promises     256

Creating Custom Events     257

Suspending, Terminating, and Resuming an App     257

Detecting When an App Is Suspended and Terminated     258

Detecting the Previous Execution State     258

Testing Application State with Visual Studio     259

Storing State with Session State     260

Application View States     61

Snapped, Filled, Portrait, and Landscape     261

Using Media Queries     264

Using the JavaScript mediaMatch Method     266

Defining a Viewport     267

Summary     270

10 Page Fragments and Navigation     273

Using the HtmlControl Control     273

Creating a Page Control     276

Creating Multipage Apps     280

Creating a Navigation App     280

Understanding the Navigation App default.html Page     281

Adding New Page Controls to a Navigation App     283

Navigating to Another Page     285

Understanding the Navigation API     286

Understanding the PageControlNavigator Control     287

Understanding Navigation State     287

Summary     291

11 Using the Live Connect API     293

Installing the Live SDK     294

Adding a Reference to the Live SDK     294

Registering Your App     294

Initializing the Live Connect SDK     296

Specifying Different Scopes     296

Authenticating a User     299

Using WL.login()      299

Using the SignIn Control     300

Authentication Events     302

Passing an Authentication Token to a Web Service     303

Sending the Authentication Token from a Windows Store App     303

Verifying the Authentication Token in a Web Service     306

Retrieving the User ID     308

Retrieving Basic User Information     309

Uploading and Downloading Files from SkyDrive     311

Listing SkyDrive Folders and Files     312

Downloading Files from SkyDrive     314

Uploading Files to SkyDrive     316

Summary     318

12 Graphics and Games     319

Overview of the Game     320

Creating the Game Tiles     321

Playing the Game Sounds     322

Creating the Game Canvas     323

Capturing User Interaction     325

Creating the Update Loop     327

Creating the Render Loop     329

Summary     331

Index     333