Microsoft has released the Windows 7 Release Candidate Training Kit for developers that “ncludes presentations, hands-on labs, and demos designed to help you learn how to build applications that shine on Windows 7″. The training kit comes as a 43 Megabytes downloadable executable that will automatically extract and launch the contents in Internet Explorer on the local computer system.
This content is based on Windows 7 RC and provides an early peak to our final training. This training kit is designed to help you learn how to build applications that shine on Windows 7 by utilizing key features such as:
- Taskbar
- Libraries
- Multi Touch
- Sensors and Location
- Ribbon
- Trigger Start Services, Instrumentation and ETW
- Application Comparability
Working with Windows 7 Taskbar
Windows 7 Taskbar is a differentiating opportunity that allows application to shine on the Windows 7 platform. The Taskbar is a revolution of Windows launch surfaces that is the result of many years of their evolution. The new taskbar streamlines many end-user scenarios including: Launching applications, Switching between running applications and windows within a single application, Managing recent/frequent user destinations, Accessing common application tasks, Reporting progress and status notifications through the taskbar button, and Controlling the application without leaving the taskbar thumbnail. It is the end-user’s primary point-of-contact for initiating and managing activities, and as such the integration of new taskbar features into modern Windows 7 applications is a critically important goal.
Intro to Windows 7 Multi Touch
Windows 7 features improved touch and gesture support that empowers developers to quickly and easily create unique application experiences that go beyond simple mouse pointing, clicking, and dragging. The new multi-touch APIs support rich gestures, such as pan, zoom, and rotate. The Windows 7 Multi-Touch Platform also provides raw touch data inputs and advance manipulation and interties. This module explains the basics of Windows 7 multi-touch and its APIs.
Windows 7 Sensor and Location Platform
Windows 7 has changed how developers use sensors. The Sensor and Location Platform includes native support for sensors, expanded by a new development platform for working with sensors, including location sensors such as GPS devices. Built on the Sensor platform, the new Windows Location APIs enable application developers to access the user’s physical location information. This module explains what the Sensor and Location Platform is and how to work with its APIs.
Windows 7 Ribbon
Windows 7 incorporates the Ribbon interface introduced in Office 2007 throughout the operating system, enabling improved user interface development on the platform. This means that developers can eliminate much of the drudgery of Win32 UI development and deliver a rich, graphical, animated, and highly familiar user interface by using a markup-based UI and a small, high-performance, native code runtime. The Ribbon control helps developers improve usability by exposing your application’s most frequently accessed features directly to end users. The Ribbon makes it easier for end users to find and use application features because functionality is more visible, resulting in greater productivity. This module shows the different aspects of the Windows 7 Ribbon and provides a guide on how to incorporate the Windows 7 Ribbon into existing applications.
Background Processes, Services, and Tasks
Services and background processes have tremendous influence on the overall performance of the system, and therefore the applications. If we could cut down on the total number of services, we could reduce the total power consumption and increase the overall stability of the system. The Windows 7 Service Control Manager has been extended so that a service can be automatically started and stopped when a specific system event, or trigger, occurs on the system. Trigger-start capabilities remove the need for services to start up automatically at computer startup and then poll or wait for an event to occur. This module explains the different options available to developers for configuring and using trigger-start services.
Using Instrumentation and Performance
Windows 7 includes new Event Tracing for Windows (ETW) capabilities that developers can take advantage of during the development process to optimize application performance. Instrumentation has always been part of Windows, but Windows 7 includes new ETW underlying technology that makes the task of including instrumentation in your application a whole lot easier. This module describes the different options for using instrumentation in Windows including the new ETW.
Windows 7 Application Compatibility
Windows 7 is built on top of Windows Vista, which means if your application does not work or if it has some issues when running on Windows Vista, most probably it will have similar issues running on Windows 7. This module is a short overview of the top major issues regarding Windows 7 compatibility, including Data Redirection, Service Isolation, Version Checking, and High DPI.
