Move from WPF and Microsoft Silverlight to WinRT

[This article is for Windows 8.x and Windows Phone 8.x developers writing Windows Runtime apps. If you’re developing for Windows 10, see the latest documentation]

Purpose

In this section we'll list some of the resources that are useful guidance for migrating an existing Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) or Microsoft Silverlight app to a Windows Store app.

In this section

Topic	Description
Windows Phone Silverlight 8.1 apps	What's new in Windows Phone 8.1 for Silverlight developers.
Migrating Silverlight or WPF XAML/code to a Windows Store app	A feature-by-feature guide to the high-level differences you should be aware of when migrating the code and the XAML from your original WPF or Silverlight app. Includes guidance on redesigning your UI, migrating to a new app model, and so on.
Microsoft .NET for Windows Store apps overview	A guide to the profile considerations for the .NET Framework APIs, as used for a Windows Store app. Includes a list of the namespaces and types that are available to a Windows Store app.
.NET Framework Support for Windows Store apps and Windows Runtime	A topic that's part of the .NET documentation on MSDN that you might also find useful, although it's not as comprehensive as .NET for Windows Store apps overview.

 

Developer audience

The info throughout this section is intended for developers who have created WPF or Silverlight apps, and who want to create similar Windows Store apps.

A WPF app or a Silverlight app can be written in C# or Microsoft Visual Basic for code, and XAML for UI definitions. Windows Store apps can be created using these same code languages and XAML for UI. The shared languages provide a substantial head start towards creating a similar app as a Windows Store app.

Note  A WPF app can also be written using C++/CLI, but that programming model doesn't use XAML for the UI. It's possible to migrate code from C++/CLI to Visual C++ component extensions (C++/CX) as supported in a Windows Store app, but guidance for this migration path is not included here.

 

Here are some other resources that can help you find the Windows Store app documentation for specific feature areas or tasks:

• Roadmap for Windows Runtime apps using C# or Visual Basic
• Roadmap for Windows Runtime apps using C++
• Roadmap for Windows Store apps using DirectX and C++

Run-time requirements

To successfully start creating Windows Store apps, you'll need the following at a minimum:

• Windows 8.1 and Microsoft Visual Studio 2013. To get them, see the Windows 8.1 for Developers page.
• A developer license for Windows 8.1. To get one, see Develop apps by using Visual Studio 2013.
• A Windows Store developer account. To get one, go to the Windows Store Dashboard and follow the on-screen directions.

Related topics

For everyone

Move from Windows Phone Silverlight to WinRT

Meet Windows Store apps

Windows Store app development: the basics

Windows 8 Product Guide for Developers

Windows 8.1 Feature Guide for Developers

For developers

Develop apps by using Visual Studio 2013

Windows Dev Camps