Windows Phone 7, as you know, is Microsoft’s new Smartphone OS. One of the most exciting things about Windows Phone 7 is that it features a third-party application platform based on existing Microsoft technologies and tools; technologies and tools that are free, easy, and fun to use. You can use these tools to build applications that are relevant not only for the phone, but also for the desktop PC, Xbox 360, and the Web.
In this article, we’ll introduce you to these tools and technologies as we build a relatively basic game using Visual Studio 2010 and Silverlight. We’ll demonstrate how easy it is to install the tools and create compelling phone applications. If you're new to Silverlight, you might want to visit the Silverlight learning site at http://silverlight.net/learn. If you're familiar with Silverlight or its predecessor, Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), you’ll feel right at home.
Meet the Tools
If you’re anything like us, you hate how complicated it can be to set up your computer to write software for a specific platform. Historically, in Windows Mobile, setup was painful; first you’d have to purchase Visual Studio Professional (more than $800) and go through its lengthy installation. Then you’d have to download an SDK, a follow on DTK, and one or multiple device emulator images to test your application against different languages. Often, this could add up to eight or nine different packages to download and install, in the correct order.
With Windows Phone, all you need to download is a small stub installation bootstrap application. This setup application will detect and determine what you have installed on your machine and download and install only what you need. In the current release, the complete tool chain is free. Included in the installation are the following components:
- Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone (your IDE)
- Microsoft Expression Blend 4 for Windows Phone
- .NET Framework reference assemblies for Windows Phone, both Silverlight and XNA Framework
- The Windows Phone Emulator, which includes a complete version of the Windows Phone OS that you can use to test and debug your applications
- The Windows Phone Registration tool, which allows you to unlock a hardware device for development purposes
To start, visit the App Hub at http://create.msdn.com. App Hub (Figure 1) is a single online destination for the Windows Phone developer. At App Hub, you’ll be able to download the tools and find all the official developer educational materials published by Microsoft. You also can register with the Windows Phone Marketplace so that you can publish your application to the world.