Platform basics

[ This article is for Windows 8.x and Windows Phone 8.x developers writing Windows Runtime apps. If you’re developing for Windows 10, see the latest documentation ]

Learn about the platform and understand concepts that are fundamental to Windows Store apps.

In this section

Topic	Description
Guide to Universal Windows Platform Apps	Learn about the Universal Windows Platform, which provides a common API and adaptive UI controls for building apps that run on multiple devices using a single code base.
App capability declarations	Learn about the user resources that apps cannot access by default and the capabilities required to access them.
App contracts and extensions	Learn about the Windows app contracts and extensions and how they let your app connect your users to the people, devices, and services they want.
App resources and localization	Learn how to design Windows Runtime apps so that their resources can be independently maintained and localized, and also customized for different scaling factors, accessibility options, and other user and machine contexts.
App lifecycle	Learn about the app lifecycle of a Windows Store app, from the time it is deployed through its removal. By working with the system to suspend and resume your app appropriately, you ensure that your customer has the best possible experience.
App packages and deployment	Learn about the packaging and deployment of Windows Store apps. As a developer, you don't write routines to install or uninstall your app. Instead, you create a package manifest and package your app. Windows uses information in the package manifest to install apps on a per-user basis, and ensure that all traces of an app are gone when the user removes it.
App and user data	Learn about how Windows helps you retain and manage app data, like runtime state, user preferences, and other settings.
App data storage	Learn how Windows Store apps use app data stores for settings and files that are specific to each app and user, and see how the system preserves the contents of these data stores when the user installs an update to your app and removes the contents of these data stores completely and cleanly when your app is uninstalled.
Indexed database	Learn about the features and limitations of IndexedDB in Windows apps using JavaScript.
File access and permissions	Learn how apps can access certain file system locations by default. Apps can also access additional locations through the file picker, or by declaring capabilities.