The section on form elements discusses the "new values for the type attribute are introduced to the <input> element." A table is used to display the various types (examples include tel, email, and search) with descriptions. There is discussion on these input types along with how to add validation to the input types.
Like the first chapter, Chapter 2 focuses mostly on a general web concept, in this case Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). Sarieddine states that CSS is responsible for "defining the layout, the positioning, and the styling" of HTML elements such as those covered in the first chapter.
Chapter 2 does cover some Microsoft/Windows-specific items. Specifically, the chapter introduces the Grid layout and the Flexbox layout. The author explains that these have -ms prefixes because they are currently specific to Microsoft (Windows 8/Internet Explorer 10), but that they are moving through the W3C standardization process.
The fourth chapter also discusses languages other than HTML5/CSS3 that can be used to develop Windows Store apps. It then moves onto covering development using Visual Studio templates. Several pages are devoted to discussion on using these standard templates and there are several illustrations of applying Visual Studio in this development.Chapter 5: Binding Data to the App
Chapter 5's coverage of formatting and displaying data introduces "the most famous controls" of ListView and FlipView and then focuses on
ListView. This portion of the chapter then moves on to illustrate use of WinJS templates (WinJS.Binding.Template). The final topic of Chapter 5 is sorting and filtering data and more example code is used here for illustration.
Chapter 6 also introduces semantic zoom, described on the Guidelines for Semantic Zoom page as "a touch-optimized technique used by Windows Store apps in Windows 8 for presenting and navigating large sets of related data or content within a single view." Sarieddine describes semantic zoom as a technique "used by Windows Store apps for presenting—in a single view—two levels of detail for large sets of related content while providing quicker navigation." There are several pages of code illustrations and explanatory text on incorporating semantic zoom in the Windows 8 application.Chapter 7: Making the App Live with Tiles and Notifications
Chapter 8 is focused on authentication in a Windows 8 app. The chapter discusses use of the Windows 8 SDK and "a set of APIs" that "allow Windows Store apps to enable single sign on with Microsoft accounts and to integrate with info in Microsoft SkyDrive, Outlook.com, and Windows Live Messenger."
The eighth chapter's coverage includes discussion of open standards supported by Live Connect: OAuth 2.0, REST, and JSON. The chapter also covers reserving an app name on the Windows store, working with Visual Studio 2012 for Windows 8, and working with Live SDK downloads.Chapter 9: Adding Menus and Commands
The first step in the process of submitting a Windows app to the Windows Store for certification was covered in the chapter on authentication (Chapter 8) and this chapter picks up where that left off. Steps covered in this chapter include providing the application name, setting the "selling details," adding services, setting age and rating certifications, specifying cryptography and encryption used by the app, uploading app packages generated with Visual Studio, adding app description and other metadata about the app, and notes to testers evaluating app for Windows Store.
The chapter moves from coverage of the Windows App submission process using Windows Store Dashboard to using Visual Studio's embedded Windows Store support. Of particular interest in this section is coverage of how to use Visual Studio to package a Windows 8 app so that the "package is consistent with all the app-specific and developer-specific details that the Store requires."
The final chapter has a "Summary" section, but the final paragraph of that chapter is actually a summary of the entire book. A potential purchaser of this book could read this final paragraph on page 158 to get a quick overview of what the book covers.Targeted Audience
Here are some additional references related to this book including other reviews of this book.
- Rami Sarieddine's (Author's) Blog: My Book is Out