What are Windows Phone apps programmed in?

[jalb]

And would WP be a good place for a beginner to start, if so inclined?

 

[Jay Bennett]

The bulk of the programming is in C# (which is a lot like Java if you know any other languages). You create the user interfaces in XAML which has similarities to the HTML markup language.

Honestly yes I'd day it would be a great place to start, it's pretty easy to understand and pick up, as a developer I picked it up in about a week so I imagine a beginner could learn in 3-4 weeks. Obviously that's only for the basics, the advanced stuff may take longer.

I've actually been thinking about writing some beginners guides after I finish my finals, if there's enough interest for me to put some time in I'd gladly publish something?

 

[enahs555]

As I said previously, all my numerous apps (link to em: WP7applist - Windows Phone 7 apps news, reviews, deals, price drops not sure why some are listed multiple times) I started learning to program in January just to make apps on WP7
.
Yes, my apps are fairly simple and slowly getting more complex. But I have devoted ~2 hours a night the first 10 days when learning, and then another 5 hours at most a week on making apps.

Each app was really just something new I was learning for fun. So most of them are really just ideas I came up with while learning something new, to test my self.
I have all the material in my head now to make much more complicated apps now, just not the time or desire (want a really good idea).

I first learned with this video series:
Windows Phone 7 Development for Absolute Beginners | Channel 9

And random internet searching for help with C#

 

[jalb]

I've actually been thinking about writing some beginners guides after I finish my finals, if there's enough interest for me to put some time in I'd gladly publish something?

I am definitely interested. That would be awesome.

I started learning to program in January just to make apps on WP7
.
Yes, my apps are fairly simple and slowly getting more complex. But I have devoted ~2 hours a night the first 10 days when learning, and then another 5 hours at most a week on making apps.

That is very encouraging, thank you.

 

[jalb]

And oh, hey! You're Grocery Total - I totally used that last weekend.

 

[1jaxstate1]

I'd buy too!

The bulk of the programming is in C# (which is a lot like Java if you know any other languages). You create the user interfaces in XAML which has similarities to the HTML markup language.

Honestly yes I'd day it would be a great place to start, it's pretty easy to understand and pick up, as a developer I picked it up in about a week so I imagine a beginner could learn in 3-4 weeks. Obviously that's only for the basics, the advanced stuff may take longer.

I've actually been thinking about writing some beginners guides after I finish my finals, if there's enough interest for me to put some time in I'd gladly publish something?

 

[enahs555]

And oh, hey! You're Grocery Total - I totally used that last weekend.

Yeah. It is common knowledge that most people seem to do a lot of grocery shopping on the weekend, and the ad revenue/ad displays clearly demonstrates that! After a little while longer I am gonna collect the data and post it on the internet just for curiosity sake about peoples shopping habit and maybe it will lead to thoughts/discussion on what else the platform can be used for; in regards to interesting statistics.

Sunday usually makes me more then M-F combined. Saturday is a pretty big day too. There was of course a very large spike around Easter and I am expecting this weekend to be a big one as well.


The only downside is, that the category it is in does not really pay very well for adds. So for instance my Meteor Show program, which is getting 100X less usage is actually making more money because the ads pay better! Easy Animator is getting about ~80% usage right now as of Grocery Total while making nearly double.

 

[jalb]

Yeah. It is common knowledge that most people seem to do a lot of grocery shopping on the weekend, and the ad revenue/ad displays clearly demonstrates that! After a little while longer I am gonna collect the data and post it on the internet just for curiosity sake about peoples shopping habit and maybe it will lead to thoughts/discussion on what else the platform can be used for; in regards to interesting statistics.

That would be awesome. I was thinking while I was using it for shopping how cool it would be if you could scan an item and input the price, and somehow see if the price had increased or decreased for that store, in that area.

 

[jeffa00]

Learn WP7 Development

And would WP be a good place for a beginner to start, if so inclined?

Microsoft often hosts free events to jumpstart your development on WP7.

Check out this link for upcoming ones: MSDN Events | Live Events for Developers

Most of the events listed are Azure or HTML 5, but there are still some WP7 ones on the list.

Also, don't overlook local user groups. Welcome to INETA has a list of Microsoft related developers groups. I run a group near Atlanta (GGMUG Home Page), and we have had a number of WP7 topics.

Don't miss App Hub - windows phone and xbox live indie games development either. It is the home of their phone and xbox developer tools and training.

There are really two tracks for developing for WP7: Silverlight and XNA. Silverlight is the one that uses XAML (the HTML-ish + C# one mentioned in an earlier post) and XNA is primarily for game development (C# alone). Most non-game apps fall under the Silverlight path. Some games can be done in Silverlight, but XNA is really geared towards low-level access to graphics and sound.

Hope that helps.

jeffa

 

[jeffa00]

Oh, also do a search for Code Camps in your area. We have one coming up in Atlanta at the end of June and it will likely have an entire track devoted to WP7 development. I can't say enough about Code Camps. They are free, full-day events that offer a huge variety of sessions on lots of topics.

jeffa

 

[jeffa00]

One more developer link: Community Megaphone

This is a site that shows lots of developer events. They also have a twitter feed. I just saw a WP7 Mango For Devs presentation listed for Tampa and realized I had left this site off the list...