Is it possible to migrate a JavaScript UWP application from Visual studio 2015 to 2017

Rajesh Sethumadhavan 1

As we migrate into Azure, we plan to implement Continuous Integration(CI) and Continuous Delivery (CD) using Azure pipelines for our application components. Basically, there are two types of projects available – JavaScript UWP Application and Asp.Net application based on DNN framework. Both are developed using Visual studio 2015.
It was mentioned in Microsoft documentation, that Microsoft will be removing support of Azure pipelines that is hosted using Visual studio 2015. It is recommended to migrate from Visual studio 2015 to 2017. So we migrated Asp.net application into VS 2017 and implemented CI/CD. But we could not migrate JavaScript UWP application as we face lot of challenges.

Richard Zhang-MSFT 6,936 Reputation points

2020-05-05T02:09:15.59+00:00

Hello, you said that the migration has encountered challenges. What does the challenge mean? Is Visual Studio 2017 unable to open the old version of the project?
Rajesh Sethumadhavan 1 Reputation point

2020-05-05T07:46:44.497+00:00

Hello Richard,
Thanks for reaching out.

Actual problem is Windows 8.1 store app (now commonly called as universal apps) created in VS 2015 is not loading/opening in VS 2017. It was mentioned in few forums that VS2017 doesn't support Windows Phone 8.x or Windows 8.x applications.

Reference:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/42796586/can-windows-phone-8-1-or-10-applications-be-created-in-visual-studio-2017/42801161

Your thoughts please!

Regards,
Rajesh S
Richard Zhang-MSFT 6,936 Reputation points

2020-05-05T07:57:21.463+00:00

This is correct. In fact, the Windows 8.1 apps are not the UWP apps we are talking about, although they are similar. Due to huge changes in the system, some of the original APIs are no longer available. You may consider referring to this document to modify your project file, but it is recommended to remake your application on the Windows 10 platform, which will avoid some exceptions caused by platform differences.
Rajesh Sethumadhavan 1 Reputation point

2020-05-05T08:06:28.417+00:00

Many thanks for your swift response.

1) From the documentation that you shared, Can I assume that we will need to migrate Windows 8.1 store app into UWP in VS 2015 first, and then open/migrate into VS 2017?

2) Windows store app is JavaScript based (not C#), so does the same documentation is still applicable?

Thanks in Advance.
Rajesh S
Richard Zhang-MSFT 6,936 Reputation points

2020-05-05T08:29:47.37+00:00

The document does not provide the migration method of the Javascript project. Although the method provided in the document only involves modifying the project file, the Javascript project is run on the local wwahost.exe, and the migration of the Javascript project may not be suitable for normal situations. You can try to create a new Javascript UWP project in Visual Studio 2017 and copy your existing code into it.
Rajesh Sethumadhavan 1 Reputation point

2020-05-05T08:34:28.573+00:00

Thank you so much for all your assistance Richard. I would get back to you after trying out the suggested option.

Regards,
Rajesh S
Richard Zhang-MSFT 6,936 Reputation points

2020-05-05T08:37:54.893+00:00

Ok, but it should be noted that changes in the development platform may cause the API you used to be no longer available. If you encounter this kind of problem, you need to query the API corresponding to Windows 10.
Rajesh Sethumadhavan 1 Reputation point

2020-05-05T08:51:18.937+00:00

Sure. Noted on this.

Regards,
Rajesh S
Richard Zhang-MSFT 6,936 Reputation points

2020-05-08T02:04:52.587+00:00

Hi Rajesh, have you migrated your application? If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
Rajesh Sethumadhavan 1 Reputation point

2020-05-08T06:39:35.357+00:00

Hi Richard,
I haven't started yet. I would let you once there is progress from my side.
``Thanks for reaching out.

Regards,
Rajesh S
Richard Zhang-MSFT 6,936 Reputation points

2020-05-12T02:50:10.677+00:00

Hello Rajesh, hope you are well. This reply is to let you know that we are still paying attention to this question and hope to help you. If you encounter problems during the migration, you can always contact us.
Rajesh Sethumadhavan 1 Reputation point

2020-05-12T10:04:11.23+00:00

Hi Richard,
As advised, tried creating new UWP app in VS 2017 and copied files from existing code. It compiled successfully. However while running the application, the style part is not applied/loading properly.

Steps followed:
Open VS 2017 -> New Project -> JavaScript -> Windows Universal -> Blank App (Universal Windows)

Please let me know what I am missing here.

As a side note, it was mentioned in Microsoft documentation that:

"Projects for Windows Store 8.1 and 8.0 are not supported in Visual Studio 2019. To maintain these apps, continue to use Visual Studio 2015".

Reference:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/porting/port-migrate-and-upgrade-visual-studio-projects?view=vs-2019

Your thoughts please!

Thanks,
Rajesh S
Richard Zhang-MSFT 6,936 Reputation points

2020-05-13T05:41:49.773+00:00

Hello, the style part you said was not loaded correctly. Is there no style applied, or some styles are different from the performance in the browser? If it is the former, please check whether the style file is correctly referenced (probably due to the path). If it is the latter, this may be related to the browser. In the JS-UWP application of Windows 10, it is rendered by the Edge browser (UWP) kernel, and the performance of some styles may be different from other browsers.

In addition, Visual Studio 2019 no longer supports the use of Javascript to build UWP projects. If you want to develop a Win8 application, you need to use VS 2015, if you have migrated to UWP, you are developing for Win10, you can use VS 2017 to build your application.

Thanks
Rajesh Sethumadhavan 1 Reputation point

2020-05-14T10:11:51.837+00:00

Hello Richard - While we try out this, can you confirm is it possible to develop an application based on Xamarin that will be supported in both Windows and Mac desktops? If not, what could be the other possible ways?

Thanks,
Rajesh S
Richard Zhang-MSFT 6,936 Reputation points

2020-05-15T05:52:14.157+00:00

Hello, the Xamarin.Forms documentation explains this. It runs on UWP in Windows and still needs Windows 10 support. In addition, the community also provides WPF support, and Mac OS is also supported. Xamarin.Forms is a great cross-platform framework, but whether it can meet your needs still requires you to judge according to the specific situation.
Rajesh Sethumadhavan 1 Reputation point

2020-05-15T06:02:05.863+00:00

Thanks Richard for your time and all your valuable support.

Much appreciated.

Regards,
Rajesh S