Setting Up a Microsoft Surface Development Environment

When you develop Microsoft Surface applications, you can work directly on a Microsoft Surface unit or you can work on a separate workstation:

• On a unit, you can use the Microsoft Surface SDK to develop and test Microsoft Surface applications directly.
  
  You can run the unit in two modes. In administrator mode, you can access all of the Windows Vista functionality. In contrast, user mode demonstrates how the unit appears in a commercial venue. That is, the unit suppresses the Windows Vista user interface, automatically starts required applications, and makes sure that those applications are restarted if they need to. Typically, you develop applications in administrator mode.
  
  
• On a separate workstation, you can install the Microsoft Surface SDK and use the Surface Simulator tool to simulate a Microsoft Surface test environment. You can then use one or more mice to simulate contacts on a Microsoft Surface unit. Surface Simulator runs the Surface Shell and the applications that you develop. However, there are differences between Surface Simulator and an actual unit. For example, cameras are not available in Surface Simulator. If you write an application that uses raw camera input, you cannot test it by using Surface Simulator.
  
  

To set up your development environment, see one of the following sections:

• Developing Microsoft Surface Applications on a Microsoft Surface Unit
  
  
• Developing Microsoft Surface Applications on a Separate Workstation
  
  

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