Diary of a Windows developer

• Mar 19, 2014 in Windows Phone

  Windows Phone 8 Development Succinctly: free ebook for developers

  I’m happy to announce that, last week, Syncfusion, a popular company among developers for their great suites of controls, has released my new book titled Windows Phone 8 Development Succinctly. It’s a digital free e-book and, in 243 pages, it covers most of the important concepts to develop a Windows Phone application, from the basic ones (like the XAML, the application lifecycle, etc.) to the most advanced ones (like background tasks, geolocalization and speech APIs).

  Here is a quick recap of the chapters:

  1. Introduction
     • The User Interface: Basic XAML Concepts
       • Core Concepts
         • Data Access: Storage
           • Data Access: Network
             • Integrating with the Hardware
               • Integrating with the Operating System
                 • Multimedia Applications
                   • Live Apps: Tiles, Notifications, and Multitasking
                     • Distributing the Application: Localization, the Windows Phone Store, and In-App Purchases</ol> The book is distributed by Syncfusion for free, you just have to register and then you’ll be able to download it both in PDF and Kindle format. I hope that the book can be a great resource both for new developers, that want to start learning the basic Windows Phone concepts, and for already skilled developers, that can use the book as a reference for all the APIs and features offered by the platform.

                     So don’t waste anymore time and head to http://www.syncfusion.com/resources/techportal/ebooks/windowsphone8 to register and download your free copy!

                      

                     

• Jan 7, 2014 in Windows Phone

  New GDR3 emulators for Windows Phone Developers

  A few days ago Microsoft has finally released a new set of emulators that are aligned with the latest Windows Phone update, GDR3, which is available to developers since a while and that it’s going to be released soon for all the consumers. One of the most important additions is a new emulator image for the new resolution introduced with GDR3, which is 1080p (1080×1920). But there’s an important thing to highlight: resolution and screen size are two different parameters! If a device is using the 1080p resolution, it doesn’t mean that it has a big screen. Take, as example, the Lumia 1320: it features the same resolution of other devices on the market (720p), like the HTC 8X, but it offers a much bigger screen (6 inches).

  This means that knowing the device’s resolution isn’t enough: if you want to adapt your application to devices with big screens (by showing, for example, more information), you need to know the real size of the screen. All the emulators included in the SDK simulates a standard device: you can notice, in fact, that the 1080p emulator offers the standard interface with two columns of tiles, while devices like the Lumia 1520 and Lumia 1320 offers three columns of tiles.

  And what if you want to optimize your app for bigger screens and you don’t have a real device to play with? Rudy Huyn, the developer behind many famous apps like 6tag or 6sec, has created a simple class that can be used to “fake” the big screen, so that you can test your apps using one of the standard emulators.

  Here are two articles that you’ll find useful to adapt your applications:

  • http://developer.nokia.com/Community/Wiki/Simulate_1080p_windows_phone_emulator it’s the article by Rudy that explains how to create and use the fake class to simulate large screen devices
    • http://blogs.windows.com/windows_phone/b/wpdev/archive/2013/11/22/taking-advantage-of-large-screen-windows-phones.aspx it’s the article by the Windows Phone team that offers some great tips on how you can adapt your application to take advantage of the bigger screens.</ul> Happy coding!
• Jan 2, 2014 in MVP

  MVP for another year!

  For me the first day of the year is always a special day: not only because it’s a day full of hope for the things that are going to come during the year, but also because it’s the day in which, since 2011, my MVP status expires. If you’re not familiar with the MVP, it’s an award gifted by Microsoft to the community leaders for their passion and enthusiasm in sharing their knowledge about Microsoft technologies (in my case, about Windows Phone development). It’s not a “one time” award: you have to earn it every year and to prove that you still deserve it. For me, this time of the year is 1st January: and I’m really happy to say that Microsoft has confirmed his trust in me and renewed my award also for 2014!

  2013 has been a crazy year for me as an MVP: 2 summits, the release of my first book, the Windows Phone Week organization, the Italian webinar series with Nokia and much much more. There are so many people to thank for this great year! The first one is, for sure, my wife Angela, that keeps supporting me, even when my activities steal some of the time that we can spend together. Then, in random order:

  • Lorenzo Barbieri, which is not only a friend but he’s also the best supporter (together with the DPE department) of the Windows Phone activities that we organize with the community.
  • Daniele Pagani, Luca De Bernardi and Frangino Lucarini, which are part of the Italian Nokia team that are doing an amazing job in supporting the Italian Windows Phone developers and our activities as Nokia Champions.
  • Desiree Lockwood, the referral for our activities as Windows Phone Development MVPs. She’s an amazing person and she’s doing a terrific job. Without her, the Windows Phone Week (and many other activities) would have been just a crazy idea.
  • The Windows Phone Development’s MVP family (with a special mention to Joost Van Schaik): they’re the living proof that being part of the MVP family doesn’t mean just connecting with great professionals, but also that you can find and meet great friends, even if they live far away from you.
  • Ugo Lattanzi: if today I have the pleasure to be part of the MVP family it’s totally his fault He’s the one that, 5 years ago, made me discover the community world and conviced me to open a blog and to do my first speech about Windows Phone. Everything started right there
  • Roberto Freato and the DotNetLombardia crew, which accepted me as part of the community and involved (and keep involving me) in all their activities.
  • Funambol and my team: I’ve joined the company more than 1 year ago and it has been one of the best things that happened in my life. I met many special people and friends and I love the way the company keeps supporting my community activites. I’m really proud to be part of it!

  But, of course, my biggest thank goes to all the developers and communities out there, which keeps supporting and believing in me. I’m looking forward to keep working with you in 2014!

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