CODEWITHSUNDEEP
windows-runtimewindows-store-apps
Gbps
Gbps

Reputation: 867

Why does the managed version of WinRT not include access to the .NET API?

Recently I began working in WinRT for Windows Store Apps (and the upcoming Windows 10 Universal Apps) using C#. After working in .NET for awhile previously, I was excited to work with .NET on mobile devices, only to find that WinRT did not feel like home at all.

Constantly I find myself having to search for alternatives to certain classes that I'm familiar with in .NET since often they're not the same or even implemented in WinRT. I figure that the lack of implementation derives from the fact that WinRT at its core is unmanaged, even though the CLR binds to it from managed code.

My question is: What is stopping Microsoft from allowing developers to import and use all of the familiar .NET classes from managed code, even with WinRT running from behind? I know it's not a limitation of the device because my Surface Pro can run desktop .NET apps just fine and the Mono project has succeeded in porting almost the entire .NET API to devices of every kind.

Thanks for your input!

Upvotes: 1

Views: 172

Answers (1)

Peter Torr
Peter Torr

Reputation: 12019

This is a big topic but there are three basic reasons why you don't get the full .NET API from a Windows Store app.

  1. The APIs don't fit on smaller devices like phones. Since the purpose of the Universal Windows Platform is to have apps that can run everywhere, it can't include APIs that are too resource-intensive (disk, memory, CPU, etc.) to run on smaller devices. (Note that even if the managed API appears to be small, it might have a dependency on a large underlying Win32 API).
  2. The APIs aren't compatible with the Store app model. Many APIs that require permissions not granted to Store apps fall into this category, as do APIs that would enable apps to do "unwanted" things to your machine (the degree of "unwantedness" is subjective).
  3. The APIs are deprecated or there are newer alternatives. This was the case with a lot of APIs in Windows 8, where things like file-system access and network sockets were blocked from Store apps because there were newer WinRT equivalents.

Note that Microsoft is always open to re-evaluating whether a specific API should be included or not. For example, Windows 10 brings back many APIs that were banned from Windows 8.1 (such as System.IO and System.Net.Sockets) and has expanded the capabilities granted to apps. You can file feedback via the Windows Feedback app or on UserVoice if you want additional APIs brought back (adding detailed justification never hurts).

Upvotes: 3

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