Using Visual Studio to build Universal XAML Apps

The post says Visual Studio Update 2 RC adds features for building universal XAML and HTML apps that run on both Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1. It also points readers to a blog post or a Build talk for more detail.

Reading notes

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• New project templates provide the basic structure and configuration needed to share code and content across universal apps in C#, C++, and JavaScript.
• Existing Windows 8.1 apps can use the Add Windows Phone 8.1 command to add a Windows Phone 8.1 project and a shared project, and the reverse is also available.
• A universal app is made of a Windows Store project, a Windows Phone project, and a Shared project, with the platform projects producing the .appx packages.
• The Shared project holds content used by both platforms, supports item types such as .cs, xaml, .xml, .png, and .resw, and does not produce a binary output on its own.
• Shared code can use #if and #endif directives, and Visual Studio defines conditional compilation constants for C# and C++ to separate platform-specific code.
• In a Shared project, the project context switcher changes the active target and affects IntelliSense in the editor.
• The debug target dropdown can switch startup projects and lists the projects in the solution that can be deployed to a device or emulator or simulator.
• Code can be shared across universal apps with class libraries; for C# and Visual Basic, the post says Portable Class Libraries now support Windows Runtime and XAML for Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1.
• For C++, new Class Library project templates under Universal Apps can be used with shared projects to share code between Windows 8.1 and Windows Phone 8.1 class libraries.