book
Microsoft today announced a free PDF-based, preview version of Programming Windows 8 Apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, which should be of interest to anyone who wants to learn to develop Windows 8 apps using web technologies. The Preview edition of this week contains the first four chapters of what will eventually be an 18 chapter eBook.
“This book is about writing Metro style apps for Windows 8 using HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript,” the introductory blog post notes. “Our primary focus will be on applying these web technologies within the Windows 8 platform, where there are unique considerations, and not on exploring the details of those web technologies themselves. For the most part, then, I'm assuming that you're already at least somewhat conversant with these standards. We will cover some of the more salient areas like the CSS grid, which is central to app layout, but otherwise I trust that you're capable of finding appropriate references for everything else.”
It includes the following content:
Chapter 1 The Life Story of a Metro Style App: Platform Characteristics of Windows 8
Chapter 2 Quickstart
Chapter 3 App Anatomy and Page Navigation
Chapter 4 Controls, Control Styling, and Basic Data Binding
And the following chapters will be present in the final version of the book:
Chapter 5 Collections and Collection Controls
Chapter 6 Layout
Chapter 7 Metro Style Commanding UI
Chapter 8 State, Settings, Files, and Documents
Chapter 9 Input and Sensors
Chapter 10 Media
Chapter 11 Purposeful Animations
Chapter 12 Contracts
Chapter 13 Tiles, Notifications, the Lock Screen, and Background Tasks
Chapter 14 Networking
Chapter 15 Devices and Printing
Chapter 16 Extensions
Chapter 17 Apps for Everyone: Localization, Accessibility, and the Windows Store
Chapter 18 Services
The blog notes that a Second Preview version of the eBook will ship this summer and will contain 8 to 12 chapters. And then the final version will ship in the fall.