Microsoft has announced its Windows 10 WinRT API Pack, which lets developers of WPF and WinForm apps quickly access Windows functionality. Among other things, they can quickly tie in Windows AI, Machine Learning, Geolocation, and Bluetooth.
To access the APIs, developers can simply add the NuGet to their project via the NuGet Package Manager console. They can then choose to target contracts for Windows 10 1803, 1809, and 1903.
Microsoft has provided an example of a project using the NuGet packages on GitHub. The page contains detailed documentation, as well as explanations of the example app’s various features:
- “WindowsXamlHost: Adds built-in or custom UWP controls to the User Interface (UI) of WPF or Windows Forms desktop application.
- WebView: Uses the Microsoft Edge rendering engine to show web content.
- WebViewCompatible: Provides a version of WebView that is compatible with more OS versions. This control uses the Microsoft Edge rendering engine to show web content on Windows 10 version 1803 and later, and the Internet Explorer rendering engine to show web content on earlier versions of Windows 10, Windows 8.x, and Windows 7.
- InkCanvas/InkToolbar:Provide a surface and related toolbars for Windows Ink-based user interaction in your Windows Forms or WPF desktop application.
- MediaPlayerElement: Embeds a view that streams and renders media content such as video in your Windows Forms or WPF desktop application.
- MapControls: Enables a symbolic or photorealistic map in your Windows Forms or WPF desktop application.”
The release coincides with the launch of .NET Core 3.0 last week. It came with the rollout of Microsoft’s latest ASP.NET Core, which lets devs building web apps with C#.
