MSDN Flash - Volume 17, Number 14: July 15, 2013

Top Stories

Modern Apps: Mastering Controls and Settings in Windows Store Apps Built with JavaScript
Learn how to take advantage of Windows Library for JavaScript controls to create great user experiences in Windows Store apps by presenting data to users regardless of their device.

Jump Start July 17 - Building Windows Store Apps for iOS Developers
iOS, Android, Symbian, and desktop developers will want to join this Jump Start to learn how to develop and monetize apps for the Windows Store. Multiple samples and numerous demos show how to develop Windows Store apps for non-Windows phones. Register here.

Your Featured Content

How Microsoft's Next-Gen Compiler Project Can Improve Your Code
One of the best tools .NET developers can use to analyze their code is the compiler. Until recently they couldn't use that hard-won knowledge because the C# and VB compilers don't provide APIs. This changes with the Microsoft Roslyn project, a set of compiler APIs.

APIMASH - Earthquake and Messier Sky Object API Starter Kit for Windows Store Apps (Part 2)
In this DevRadio episode, Brian Hitney demos for us the Messier Sky Object Explorer and Earthquake Starter Kits for your Windows 8 apps. Tune in as he walks us through both APIs and show us how easy it is get started building for Windows 8. Check out all the APIMASH Starter Kits.

Practical Azure with Jim O'Neil - Windows Azure Marketplace
The Windows Azure Marketplace provides a platform on which third parties can host services and data sets for sale and consumption by others. The DataMarket provides developers an awesome opportunity to incorporate curated data sets from organizations like Zillow, UNESCO, and Dun and Bradstreet into your own applications.

LeadBolt a mobile app discovery, advertising and monetization network
Through the largest range of traditional and high-performance ad formats, LeadBolt delivers industry leading results to developers wanting to have their app discovered by users and increase their downloads.

Leveraging Windows 8 Features with MVVM
Brent Edwards explores how to let an application use cool Windows 8 features and still keep the presentation layer unit-test friendly.

Cutting Edge: Creating Mobile-Optimized Views in ASP.NET MVC 4
Learn how to use server-side logic to offer up the best display for a given device, incorporating a new feature of ASP.NET MVC 4 called display modes.

Windows Azure Insider: Meter and Autoscale Multi-Tenant Applications in Windows Azure
In the second of a two-part series, Bruno Terkaly and Ricardo Villalobos continue their discussion of multi-tenant architecture by exploring metering and autoscaling of resources.

Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse with HTML5 and SVG, Part 4: Dynamic SVG and Path Animation
In this, the final part of the series, JavaScript will again be used, this time to throw the human a tether of hope in the form of shopping malls and rednecks. Will it be enough? Stay tuned until the end, when JavaScript is also used to calculate the human's odds of survival and then to set the prediction meter by sniffing the browser's actual SVG capabilities and acting accordingly.

PayPal Windows Store App Checkout SDK
Integrate a PayPal checkout flow into your Windows Store apps. The SDK is based on Mobile Express Checkout (MEC), which offers an in-flow checkout experience in a reduced-display mode. You can integrate the PayPal Checkout SDK into your applications using either C# or JavaScript.

Code vs. Drag and Drop for GameMaker: Studio from YoYo Games
Michael Palermo and Russell Kay, CTO at YoYo Games discuss the two major ways to develop games using GamerMaker - coding vs. drag and drop (DnD). Tune in as they shed a little light on both techniques and dispel some misconceptions about DnD and mixing and matching while developing.

Missed the Game On virtual event? It's now available online.
Learn more about how to build a Windows 8 game using GameMaker: Studio from YoYo Games. Easy-to-follow walkthroughs will have you publishing your game to the Windows Store in no time. Take a look.

Agile Planning and Development - Visual Studio 2012 Partner Webcast Event Schedule
Agile processes accommodate change. See how our top ALM partners address agile practices throughout the app lifecycle to help customers of all sizes and scopes to harness change rather than struggle against it.

Create a Windows Phone 8 Company Hub App
One of the new features of Windows Phone 8 is the ability to create company hub apps that are responsible for installing and updating your company's apps on a device without having to go through the store or use a mobile device management solution. This article explores what it takes to create and deploy company hub apps to your user base.

Data Points: Behavior-Driven Design with SpecFlow
Julie Lerman demonstrates how behavior-driven development focuses on building up logic and tests around user stories, helping to ensure that your software actually meets the required specifications.

DirectX Factor: Simulating an Analog Synthesizer
Charles Petzold creates a digital simulation of a small 1970s-era analog synthesizer using XAudio2 audio effects.

Build Modern Business Productivity Apps with Visual Studio LightSwitch
The latest version of Visual Studio LightSwitch adds support for touch-based user interfaces and HTML5 and JavaScript, while hooking into SharePoint 2013 and Office 365 for better business integration.

Build for Both Windows 8 and Windows Phone
Learn to use Visual Studio to build Windows Store apps, desktop apps, mobile apps, ASP.NET web apps, and XML web services. You will find training covering C# and XAML, HTML5 and JavaScript, and material to help you adopt the application lifecycle management (ALM) features in Visual Studio.