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Developing foreground applications

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Learn about the languages that are supported on Windows 10 IoT Core as well as the UWP and non-UWP app types that are supported on IoT Core.

Note

Visual Studio will generate a cryptic error when deploying to a RS5 (or RS4 with OpenSSH enabled) IoT image unless a SDK from RS4 or greater is installed that Visual Studio can access.

Application Types

Universal Windows Platform (UWP) Apps

IoT Core is a UWP-centric OS and UWP apps are its primary app type.

Universal Windows Platform (UWP) is a common app platform across all version of Windows 10, including Windows 10 IoT Core. UWP is an evolution of Windows Runtime (WinRT). You can find more information and an overview to UWP here.

Visual Studio is the primary tool for writing UWP apps for IoT Core and in general. You can find a detailed listing of the compatibility requirements for Visual Studio here.

Traditional UWP Apps

UWP apps just work on IoT Core, just as they do on other Windows 10 editions. A simple, blank Xaml app in Visual Studio will properly deploy to your IoT Core device just as it would on a phone or Windows 10 PC. All of the standard UWP languages and project templates are fully supported on IoT Core.

There are a few additions to the traditional UWP app-model to support IoT scenarios and any UWP app that takes advantage of them will need the corresponding information added to their manifest. In particular, the "iot" namespace needs to be added to the manifest of these standard UWP apps.

Inside the <Package> attribute of the manifest, you need to define the iot xmlns and add it to the IgnorableNamespaces list. The final xml should look like this:

<Package
  xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/appx/manifest/foundation/windows10"
  xmlns:mp="http://schemas.microsoft.com/appx/2014/phone/manifest"
  xmlns:uap="http://schemas.microsoft.com/appx/manifest/uap/windows10"
  xmlns:iot="http://schemas.microsoft.com/appx/manifest/iot/windows10"
  IgnorableNamespaces="uap mp iot">

Background Apps

In addition to the traditional UI apps, IoT Core has added a new UWP app type called "Background Applications". These applications do not have a UI component, but instead have a class that implements the "IBackgroundTask" interface. They then register that class as a "StartupTask" to run at system boot. Since they are still UWP apps, they have access to the same set of APIs and are supported from the same language. The only difference is that there is no UI entry point.

Each type of IBackgroundTask gets its own resource policy. This is usually restrictive to improve battery life and machine resources on devices where these background apps are secondary components of foreground UI apps. On IoT devices, Background Apps are often the primary function of the device and so these StartupTasks get a resource policy that mirrors foreground UI apps on other devices.

The following sample shows the code necessary to build a C# Background App that blinks an LED:

namespace BlinkyHeadlessCS
{
    public sealed class StartupTask : IBackgroundTask
    {
        BackgroundTaskDeferral deferral;
        private GpioPinValue value = GpioPinValue.High;
        private const int LED_PIN = 5;
        private GpioPin pin;
        private ThreadPoolTimer timer;

        public void Run(IBackgroundTaskInstance taskInstance)        {
            deferral = taskInstance.GetDeferral();
            InitGPIO();
            timer = ThreadPoolTimer.CreatePeriodicTimer(Timer_Tick, TimeSpan.FromMilliseconds(500));

        }
        private void InitGPIO()
        {
            pin = GpioController.GetDefault().OpenPin(LED_PIN);
            pin.Write(GpioPinValue.High);
            pin.SetDriveMode(GpioPinDriveMode.Output);
        }

        private void Timer_Tick(ThreadPoolTimer timer)
        {
            value = (value == GpioPinValue.High) ? GpioPinValue.Low : GpioPinValue.High;
            pin.Write(value);
        }
    }
}

You can find in-depth information on Background apps here.

Non-UWP Apps

IoT Core supports certain traditional Win32 app types such as Win32 Console Apps and NT Services. These apps are built and run the same way as on Windows 10 Desktop. Additionally, there is an IoT Core C++ Console project template to make it easy to build such apps using Visual Studio.

There are two main limitations on these non-UWP applications:

  1. No legacy Win32 UI support: IoT Core does not contain APIs to create classic (HWND) Windows. Legacy methods such as CreateWindow() and CreateWindowEx() or any other methods that deal with Windows handles (HWNDs) are not available. Subsequently, frameworks that depend on such APIs including MFC, Windows Forms and WPF, are not supported on IoT Core
  2. C++ Apps Only: Currently, only C++ is supported for developing Win32 apps on IoT Core.

Programming Languages

IoT Core supports a wide range of programming languages.

In-Box languages

Traditional UWP languages ship with support in Visual Studio by default. All of the In-Box languages support both UI and Background Applications

  • Languages
    • C#
    • C++
    • JavaScript
    • Visual Basic

Arduino Wiring

Arduino Wiring requires the download of the "Windows IoT Core Project Templates" from the Visual Studio Tools->Extensions and Updates manager. Arduino Wiring supports only Background Applications. You can also build Windows Runtime Components using C#, C++, or Visual Basic and then reference those libraries from any other language.

C# and Visual Basic (VB)

C# and VB are both supported as UWP apps and have access to the portion of the .NET Framework available to UWP applications. They support UI apps built with Xaml as well as Background Apps. You can also build Windows Runtime Components that can be used from other supported languages.

Samples:

JavaScript

You can use JavaScript to build both UI and Background Apps. The UI apps work the same way they do on all UWP editions. The Background Apps are new for IoT Core but are simple. The following sample code shows the output of the JS New Project Template:

// The Background Application template is documented at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=533884&clcid=0x409
(function () {
    "use strict";

    // TODO: Insert code here for the startup task

})();

C++

With C++ you can build Xaml or DirectX UI apps, as well as UWP Background projects and non-UI Win32 apps.

Samples:

Note

For those who are planning to write their app in C++, you'll need to check the UWP C++ checkbox upon downloading.

C++ for Visual Studio

?### Arduino Wiring

With Arduino Wiring support you can build apps in Arduino Wiring for many popular components and peripherals in the IoT ecosystem.

Our Arduino Wiring Project Guide provides full instructions on how to get set up to build these apps. The samples copied and linked below will help you get started building your own. You can even build WinRT components in Arduino that can then be used from other languages.

Blinky Sample Code The full sample code and docs are available on our samples page and you can find the full code below:

void setup()
{
    // put your setup code here, to run once:

    pinMode(GPIO5, OUTPUT);
}

void loop()
{
    // put your main code here, to run repeatedly:

    digitalWrite(GPIO5, LOW);
    delay(500);
    digitalWrite(GPIO5, HIGH);
    delay(500);
}