Windows UI Library

Last updated

WinUI 3
Other namesWindows UI Library, WinUI, UWP XAML, WinRT XAML
Developer(s) Microsoft
Initial releaseSeptember 2011;13 years ago (2011-09)
Stable release
1.6.3 / November 19, 2024;9 days ago (2024-11-19)
Preview release
1.6.0-preview2 / November 19, 2024;9 days ago (2024-11-19)
Repository
Written in C++, C#
Operating system Microsoft Windows [1]
Platform Intel x86 32-bit, x86-64 and ARM
Type Application framework
License MIT License after 2018-12-04; [2] Freeware before
Website aka.ms/windev OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Windows UI Library (WinUI codenamed "Jupiter", [3] [4] and also known as UWP XAML and WinRT XAML) is a user interface API that is part of the Windows Runtime programming model that forms the backbone of Universal Windows Platform apps (formerly known as Metro-style or Immersive) for the Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 and Windows Phone 8.1 operating systems. It enables declaring user interfaces using Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML) technology.

Contents

WinUI is one of the multiple UI frameworks provided built-in for the Windows Runtime; the others being HTML5 (e.g., via WinJS) and DirectX.

WinUI 2 is an extension library for UWP XAML containing controls and styling that match the Windows 11 design language. It is shipped through NuGet and is distinct from the UWP XAML framework, which provides the actual rendering engine; though, they may be treated as synonyms.

WinUI 3 decouples WinRT XAML from the operating system as a separate package to be updated quickly and make new features work on older versions of Windows. [5] It is part of Windows App SDK (codenamed "Project Reunion"), a Microsoft effort to reconcile the Windows desktop (Win32) and the UWP low IL app model.

Windows Phone

Up to Windows Phone 8.0 WinRT XAML was not supported and XAML applications were based on Silverlight XAML and deployed in XAP format.

In Windows Phone 8.1 WinRT XAML is available along with improved Windows Runtime support. This convergence between platforms enable Universal apps that can target both Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 while sharing most of the code, including user interface. The Windows Phone 8.1 is still capable of running Silverlight XAML apps and new features and API were also added to this too (called Silverlight 8.1 [6] )

WinUI is related to Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and Silverlight (WPF/E)—similar XAML-based UI frameworks used for desktop applications and portable applications respectively. WinUI uses a lot of the same names for its APIs as both of these older technologies—especially Silverlight, but its use is limited to the Windows (specifically Windows 8 and later) as with WPF. The major difference is that WPF and Silverlight are written in C# and require using .NET languages such as C# or Visual Basic, while WinRT XAML is part of the Windows Runtime, written in C++ and available to native code, and has tools for development, with C++/CX or C++/WinRT.

See also

Related Research Articles

Extensible Application Markup Language is a declarative XML-based language developed by Microsoft for initializing structured values and objects. It is available under Microsoft's Open Specification Promise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows Forms</span> Graphical user interface software library

Windows Forms (WinForms) is a free and open-source graphical (GUI) class library included as a part of Microsoft .NET, .NET Framework or Mono, providing a platform to write client applications for desktop, laptop, and tablet PCs. While it is seen as a replacement for the earlier and more complex C++ based Microsoft Foundation Class Library, it does not offer a comparable paradigm and only acts as a platform for the user interface tier in a multi-tier solution.

Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) is a free and open-source user interface framework for Windows-based desktop applications. WPF applications are based in .NET, and are primarily developed using C# and XAML.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microsoft Silverlight</span> Application framework for writing and running rich Internet applications

Microsoft Silverlight is a discontinued application framework designed for writing and running rich internet applications, similar to Adobe's runtime, Adobe Flash. While early versions of Silverlight focused on streaming media, later versions supported multimedia, graphics, and animation, and gave support to developers for CLI languages and development tools. Silverlight was one of the two application development platforms for Windows Phone, but web pages using Silverlight did not run on the Windows Phone or Windows Mobile versions of Internet Explorer, as there was no Silverlight plugin for Internet Explorer on those platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.NET Framework</span> Software platform developed by Microsoft

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Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps are applications that can be used across all compatible Microsoft Windows devices. They are primarily purchased and downloaded via the Microsoft Store, Microsoft's digital application storefront.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WinJS</span> Open-source JavaScript library

The Windows Library for JavaScript is an open-source JavaScript library developed by Microsoft. It has been designed with the primary goal of easing development of Windows Store apps for Windows 8 and Windows 10, as well as Windows Phone apps for Windows Phone 8.1, Windows 10 Mobile and Xbox One applications using HTML5 and JavaScript, as an alternative to using WinRT XAML and C#, VB.NET or C++ (CX).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">.NET</span> Software platform developed by Microsoft

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Universal Windows Platform (UWP) is a computing platform created by Microsoft and introduced in Windows 10. The purpose of this platform is to help develop universal apps that run on Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile (discontinued), Windows 11, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and HoloLens without the need to be rewritten for each. It supports Windows app development using C++, C#, VB.NET, and XAML. The API is implemented in C++, and supported in C++, VB.NET, C#, F# and JavaScript. Designed as an extension to the Windows Runtime (WinRT) platform introduced in Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8, UWP allows developers to create apps that will potentially run on multiple types of devices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fluent Design System</span> Design system created by Microsoft in 2017

Fluent Design System, officially unveiled as Microsoft Fluent Design System, is a design language developed in 2017 by Microsoft. Fluent Design is a revamp of Microsoft Design Language 2 that includes guidelines for the designs and interactions used within software designed for all Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices and platforms. The system is based on five key components: light, depth, motion, material, and scale. The new design language includes more prominent use of motion, depth, and translucency effects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uno Platform</span>

Uno Platform is an open source cross-platform graphical user interface that allows WinUI and Universal Windows Platform (UWP) - based code to run on iOS, macOS, Linux, Android, and WebAssembly. Uno Platform is released under the Apache 2.0 license.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windows App SDK</span> Software development kit from Microsoft

Windows App SDK is a software development kit (SDK) from Microsoft that provides a unified set of APIs and components that can be used to develop desktop applications for both Windows 11 and Windows 10 version 1809 and later. The purpose of this project is to offer a decoupled implementation of capabilities which were previously tightly-coupled to the UWP app model. Windows App SDK allows native Win32 (USER32/GDI32) or .NET (WPF/WinForms) developers alike a path forward to enhance their apps with modern features.

OpenSilver is an open-source framework designed to facilitate the development of rich internet applications (RIAs) using C# and XAML. It was developed as a successor to Microsoft Silverlight, enabling developers to migrate existing Silverlight applications to the web without rewriting their codebase. This framework is built on current web standards, including HTML5, CSS3, and WebAssembly, ensuring broad compatibility across modern web browsers regardless of the operating system without requiring plugins.

References

  1. ↑ "WinUI Overview". Windows app development. Microsoft Docs . October 13, 2015. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  2. ↑ Gallo, Kevin (December 4, 2018). "Announcing Open Source of WPF, Windows Forms, and WinUI at Microsoft Connect(); 2018". Windows Developer. Windows Blogs. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
  3. ↑ Nixon, Jerry (June 20, 2012). "Windows 8: 15 More Reasons why I choose XAML over HTML5". Jerry Nixon blog. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  4. ↑ Nixon, Jerry; Heuer, Tim (January 24, 2013). "XAML and Windows 8 App Development". DevRadio. Channel 9 . Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  5. ↑ Ramos, Miguel (July 7, 2020). "A deep-dive into WinUI 3 in desktop apps". Windows Developer. Windows Blogs. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Windows Phone Silverlight 8.1 apps". Windows 8 development. Microsoft Docs . May 20, 2016. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
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