Introduction to Windows UI (WinUI)

Welcome to the official Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) guide for Windows UI (WinUI). This document provides an overview of WinUI, its core concepts, benefits, and how to get started building modern, native Windows applications.

What is WinUI?

WinUI is the native platform UI framework for building modern Windows applications. It provides a consistent, high-performance, and visually appealing user experience across the Windows ecosystem. WinUI is the evolution of XAML-based UI development for Windows, built on the Windows App SDK.

Key characteristics of WinUI include:

Modern Design: Built with Fluent Design principles, offering rich animations, depth, and intuitive interactions.
Performance: Optimized for speed and responsiveness, leveraging the power of native Windows APIs.
Consistency: Ensures a uniform look and feel across different Windows versions and device types.
Extensibility: Allows developers to create custom controls and tailor the UI to their specific needs.
Accessibility: Designed with accessibility in mind, making your applications usable by everyone.

Why Choose WinUI?

WinUI empowers developers to create applications that feel truly native to Windows, offering:

Access to the latest Windows features and platform capabilities.
A rich set of pre-built controls and components.
Tools and workflows that integrate seamlessly with Visual Studio.
A thriving community and extensive documentation for support.

Getting Started with WinUI

To begin developing with WinUI, you'll need the following:

Visual Studio: Install the latest version of Visual Studio with the "Universal Windows Platform development" workload.
Windows App SDK: This is the foundational technology for WinUI. It includes the WinUI libraries and necessary runtime components.
Project Templates: Visual Studio provides project templates specifically for WinUI applications (e.g., Blank App, Class Library).

Creating Your First WinUI App

Here's a simplified example of a basic WinUI XAML structure:

                
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
    <title>My WinUI App</title>
</head>
<body>
    <Page xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
          xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
          xmlns:controls="using:Microsoft.UI.Xaml.Controls">

        <StackPanel HorizontalAlignment="Center" VerticalAlignment="Center" Spacing="10">
            <TextBlock Text="Hello, WinUI!" FontSize="24"/>
            <Button Content="Click Me" Click="MyButton_Click"/>
        </StackPanel>

    </Page>
</body>
</html>
                
            

And the corresponding C# code-behind:

                
using Microsoft.UI.Xaml;
using Microsoft.UI.Xaml.Controls;

namespace MyWinUIApp
{
    public sealed partial class MainPage : Page
    {
        public MainPage()
        {
            this.InitializeComponent();
        }

        private void MyButton_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
        {
            // TODO: Add button click logic here
            var dialog = new ContentDialog
            {
                Title = "Button Clicked",
                Content = "You clicked the button!",
                CloseButtonText = "Ok"
            };
            dialog.ShowAsync();
        }
    }
}
                
            

Key WinUI Components

WinUI offers a comprehensive set of components for building rich UIs:

Controls: A vast library of UI elements like Button, TextBox, ListView, GridView, and more.
Layout Panels: Tools to arrange your controls, such as StackPanel, Grid, RelativePanel, and Canvas.
Data Binding: A powerful mechanism to connect your UI elements to your data.
Styling & Templating: Customize the appearance and behavior of controls using XAML styles and control templates.
Navigation: Implement seamless navigation between different views in your application.

Resources

Dive deeper into WinUI development with these valuable resources:

Further Exploration:

For detailed information on specific controls, properties, and events, please refer to the UWP API Reference and the WinUI API Reference.