Part 1: Series Introduction

where's the c++ based introduction? :(

Really good to know. Thank you!

Awesome!

wow thank you so much
:)

Why no VB???

what is the better language? C++ or C#? I am really looking forward to making an app for the windows store

thank you, very helpful content

@windev: /bows ... that's quite a feat!

@Zawl: Well, personally I never think in terms of "better".  Are you already adept at C++ or more comfortable with C# including syntax, tools, concepts, etc?  That's how I would decide.  I'm not sure there's a great technology reason to choose one or the other -- they both utilize WinRT.  (I could be wrong.)

@Gijs: There's no VB version of the Contoso Cookbook HOL, so the team decided -- instead of writing that Lab ourselves -- to just use what's already there.  My personal comments here: While I began with VB, I haven't seen a lot of docs / videos / articles / books using VB for Win8 or other recent technologies.  Increasingly, it feels to me *personally* like C# would be a good investment.

Bob, fantastic introduction! I've downloaded the Camp in a Box, and am looking very forward to jumping in. Keep up the great work!

Very good, I was surfing in channel 9 looking for a good documentation about XAML and C#.

thank you Bob, I am continue

The URL seems correct but when you get on the site, you get automatically redirected to the general Visual Studio site, where they actually only show the paid Visual Studio editions. You have to use the search function to be able to download the Express edition, it's like their hiding it.

Any idea why is that? Are they planning to remove express edition altogether ?

Bob,
your like sesame street for our community. thank you for existing!

@rad: Microsoft continues to support the Express Editions with the latest release of Visual Studio 2012.  This URL should *always* point to the latest versions:

http://microsoft.com/express

... and there's always bing.com  

@jms429: Hmm... thanks?  

As you said in this first lect that one will get error on "callisto" i removed it first and installed as shown in video but then i got a following error. Please let me know how to resolve it ? And i am using Express edition of VS 2012 for windows 8 and running release preview of windows 8.

Warning 1: Because this call is not awaited, execution of the current method continues before the call is completed. Consider applying the 'await' operator to the result of the call. File:C:\Win8CS\Demos\02 - ContosoCookbook XAML\Source\ContosoCookbook\App.xaml.cs Line no.:138 ContosoCookbook

Error 2:The type or namespace name 'WindowCreatedEventArgs' could not be found (are you missing a using directive or an assembly reference?) File:C:\Win8CS\Demos\02 - ContosoCookbook XAML\Source\ContosoCookbook\App.xaml.cs line no:284 ContosoCookbook

Error 3:'Windows.UI.Xaml.Application' does not contain a definition for 'OnWindowCreated' File:C:\Win8CS\Demos\02 - ContosoCookbook XAML\Source\ContosoCookbook\App.xaml.cs line no.:288 contosoCookbook

@Nishant: The first is just a warning, and can be ignored.  The second two errors are worrisome.  Just to be clear, you're talking about these lines of code (App.xaml.xs, lines 284 and 288 respectively), correct?

        protected override void OnWindowCreated(WindowCreatedEventArgsargs)
        {
            _dispatcher=args.Window.Dispatcher;


            base.OnWindowCreated(args);
        }

I don't believe this is related to Callisto.  This may be due to some changes made to the Contoso Cookbook example after this series of videos was recorded.  I would recommend this ... don't worry about this specific error -- I was merely illustrating the kinds of things you'll learn. Follow along with the labs and the videos from this point on and by building it from scratch, we will avoid (or isolate) the problems.

Thank You sir. And yes i was talking about about those line of codes.
And again thank you for providing us with such great series.

Great video series as always, Bob Tabor. I'am lifetime member of LearnVisualStudio and TrainingSpot, and your videos are the best learning resource to start building knowledge around Microsoft technologies. Thanks from Mexico.

hi I'm unable to get a developers license , don't know what the problem is .I get the following error http://i49.tinypic.com/2vtt6ro.png any solution ?

@anish: Check this out:

http://connect.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/feedback/details/727734/unable-to-get-developer-licence-for-windows-8-consumer-preview

I think what works the best is near the bottom ... "just keep hitting retry".

hello bob during practicing i am not able to get windows strore in new projects.

i am using VS2012 on window7 ultimate.


plese help me

@ashish mangla: Yeah, that was the first of four requirements I discussed in the video ... you must use Windows 8 to create Windows 8 apps.  Good luck!

thanks sir

I'm getting error on line number 125. It says that 'NullReferenceException' was unhandled by the user code. Also some warning of 'not awaited'. Please help.

@Nibir: Can you paste in a few lines of code in and around line 125?

re: not awaited warning ... yes, that's fine.  You can ignore those warnings.  Purely informational and not needed in this case.

Sorry I forgot to mention it. It's in App.xaml.cs

if (profile.GetNetworkConnectivityLevel() == NetworkConnectivityLevel.InternetAccess).

It shows that

'NullReferenceException' was unhandled by the user code

'Object reference not set to an instance of an object.'

@Nibir: Set a breakpoint on that line and hover over the profile object.  I'm guessing the issue is somewhere above these lines of code, perhaps even in another method that executes prior to this method.

More importantly, I would recommend that you not worry about this.  My only point of loading it up in this video was to show you the functionality you'll create in the rest of the series.  If you followed the steps I took exactly (you saw me take them!) it should work.  If it doesn't then you may want to start over, watch what I do closely, and try it again ... or just begin in Lesson 2 and we can take it line by line and build it together.  

Thank you sir.

I set a breakpoint on that line and it stops saying no source available.

I'm not sure whether it's my internet connection problem or not, but my connection is working fine.

hello bob ,i am starting with the c# tutorials first but in the 2nd part you showed to build and console app in new project but in visual studio 2012 the option is not there..which option should i go for....???

@BobTabor
hello bob ,i am starting with the c# tutorials first but in the 2nd part you showed to build and console app in new project but in visual studio 2012 the option is not there..which option should i go for....???

@vishu: Hi Vishu, if you want to create a Console application, you'll need a different version of Visual Studio Express, namely Visual Studio Express for Windows Desktop:

http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/eng/products/visual-studio-express-for-windows-desktop

As you know, this series uses Visual Studio Express for Windows 8.  A bit confusing, but basically the "for Windows 8" is exclusively used for building Windows Store apps.  Hope that helps.

i am  very sad that why did not i find this website earlier

i am very excited about this free tutorial

Why is the video quality so horrible in full screen, no matter what video format I use. This is usually the case with other VS videos also.

@Ahmad Pirani: Please do this ... RIGHT-CLICK on the "High Quality MP4" link to the right of the video player, selected "Save As ..." and save the file to your desktop or preferred folder.  Once it's on your desktop, you should be able to watch in high def 1280x720 with crystal-clear clarity.

I am having several red line error in recipedatasource when I am adding recipidatasource.Also sampledatasource does not changing.

In setproperty,OnProperty change.
It says that ContosoBoook.Data.RecipeDataGroup doesnot contain definition for setproperty etc ....Please help needed

@Ghazanfar Khan: I'm assuming that you're trying to do what I do and open up the completed version of the Contoso Cookbook and run it?  Is that correct?  If so, I really encourage you to not worry ... please just watch the features of the Contoso Cookbook that we'll build together in the remainder of this video series.  We'll build the entire application from beginning to end.  I only opened up the finished version to show you what we'll build.  Don't let the fact that you can't open it and get it working discourage you.

If you really do want to try and get it working, you'll need to send me more details.  What did you do?  What did you try?  Which lines of code are throwing compilation errors?  Copy and paste the lines of code along with the explanations I asked for.  Honestly, I really encourage you to just stop this, watch the rest of the video, and start fresh in the next video by building a brand new project from scratch.  Hope that helps!

I vote for that!

Oct 26, 2012 at 11:57 AM

where's the c++ based introduction?

@Sqandr: According to this post:

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/jennifer/archive/2012/05/24/do-you-want-the-contoso-cookbook-and-other-windows-dev-camp-content.aspx

... and Jaime's tweet:

https://twitter.com/jaimerodriguez/status/203565184793583616

... there *is* a C++ version of the Contoso Cookbook.  However, I haven't looked for it myself in the .zip files on this page:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29854

Here's what I would say ... if you want that kind of training, Microsoft will definitely get it to you. HOWEVER you have to know where to post those types of requests.  The Channel9 / Microsoft staff doesn't monitor these threads as closely as I do ... you will need to get their attention by using the "Feedback" link in the footer of this page.  That gets to the right people and they will talk about it.  Also, directing that feedback to the people (above) via Twitter or Email (I'm not posting someone else's email here, but it's not hard to find) will get it noticed faster as well.  

I'm sure there are lots of great C++ instructors out there, but I'm not one of them.  I've never touched C++ and probably never will ... just too much to learn in the managed / C# world to stretch out beyond that.  Best wishes!

Does I use sampldatasource instead of recipedatasource ?

I solved Thanks Sir

The direction part displaying half when I run the app in local machine .It works fine in simulator but direction part cutting in local machine any suggestion..

Hi Bob - What hardware and software do you use to make your awesome videos? I would like to make videos like this for my team.

@Niner991576: I have a pretty complicated setup.  I think Camtasia is what most screen casters prefer.  Good luck!

Thought ya might like see'n how me and my pup are sharing in the learning experience:

@flazer: Aw, very cool.  Black lab?  Later in this series, you'll meet MY puppy, Katie who helps me demo how to record video.    

http://channel9.msdn.com/Series/Windows-Store-apps-for-Absolute-Beginners-with-C-/Part-23-Enabling-your-app-to-Record-Video

how come we don't have this on learnvisualtudio.net been waiting for u to treat it

hey Bob!

Thanks for the great lessons!

I'm absolutely new to any programming language. but recently I've gone through your series for learning Visual Basic Fundamentals. I'm almost through it.

I want to begin with your series for developing windows 8 apps using C# but the language that I am now familiar with is VB. Can I start with the series without learning C# or is it necessary for me to go through the C# fundamentals series even if I know VB?

I have all the resources that you said are needed to start developing Windows 8 apps, including Visual Studio Ultimate 2012, Windows 8 pro.

@styx13: You can certainly try.  However, when it comes time to write code (and we will write a lot of it) unfortunately you'll be on your own.  To my knowledge, at the moment there's no VB version of the Hands on Labs that I'm basing this series on aimed at VB developers.  I would say this ... since you're pliable (you're just finishing learning VB through the fundamentals series) perhaps you should try C# instead.  A little investment now will give you a lot of benefit in the .NET world going forward.  Many books and examples on MSDN and Channel9 assume C# knowledge.  You might find that you prefer C# over VB, even if it appears to look a little intimidating (and that's only because no one has explained / demonstrated that it's no harder than VB).  Hope that helps a little!

Thanks Bob.

I'll certainly start getting my hands dirty with C# now. I've already downloaded the whole C# fundamentals series and source code and I'm going to start with it right now.

I would like to ask you one more thing. During and after the series lessons are there any exercises that I can follow to become proficient in writing code? because I'm not from computer science background and I know very little about softwares and applications(only enough for me to use them)

Even during your VB lessons I tried my best to follow and learn all the concepts but couldn't figure it out by myself how and where to apply all those concepts.

@styx13: re: "During and after the series lessons are there any exercises that I can follow to become proficient in writing code?" .. that is a core feature of what I offer on MY website: http://www.LearnVisualStudio.NET ... please check it out!

I found this very much helpful for me.I am going through all your videos and articles.A very thanks to you for going this great job.

WoW always Amazing MR.Tabor

Can you add subtitles for all the videos?
i come from another country, and i just have understood 50% of each video! :D
Thank you, sir! :D

How to play audio file in suspended mode also when the app is suspended it should continue playing . It works fine when when app is onscreen but when i'am suspending it it stops why? and how to solve it?

@Ghazanfar: You probably found this already by searching around ... but just in case you didn't, this is what you want:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/apps/hh700367.aspx

Hi Bob,
Thank you for the wonderful videos :)
I am new to the world of programing but I'm very interested in becoming one.
I watched your C# fundamental series and understood everything.
You recommend continuing with this series yet I'm having a very hard time following through.
It feels like a big leap somehow.
Also I thought that a better knowledge of c# would be needed to become a store app developer.
Would further learning c# be helpful?
I don't just want to know how to create my own apps but rather maybe get a job as a programmer.
What would you advise? And if only a fundamental understanding of c# and learning this series is enough, how do you suggest I make it easier to understand this series?
Sorry for the long comment :/

@Elicegreen: Thank you for the nice post and I totally understand your questions / concerns.  Let me address a few of them ...

"Also I thought that a better knowledge of c# would be needed to become a store app developer.  Would further learning c# be helpful?"

First, don't get discouraged ... admittedly, there are aspects of this that will seem very challenging.  (1) You don't need to know everything to get started (!!!), and (2) most of the C# specific things you'll encounter in this lesson have been covered in the C# Fundamentals series.  The challenge is that:

-- There's other things that are introduced here that probably deserve an entire series of their own, like XAML and the Windows Runtime ... a series in isolation with smaller examples, not trying to build an entire app right away OR not trying to follow a hands-on lab.  We probably could have / should have started there, but Channel9 and Microsoft had a ton of that content already and we wanted to do something different.  Maybe we missed the mark a little.

-- There's a lot of code to wade through.  At some point, there's no getting around the fact that programs will have a lot of code.  Not only do you need to be able to WRITE code, but (and no one is talking about this) you also need to be able to READ code.  I'm convinced the more you stare at a problem the more sense it will make.  If it's any consolation, I spent a week just walking through this Grid App Template, building my own examples until I developed a mental model.  There's no substitute for focused deep thinking.

More learning (especially in regards to software development  is ALWAYS helpful.  I have been a student of software development for nearly 20 years and I still learn new things every day.  I set aside large portions of my work time and personal life to learning.  HAVING SAID THAT ... let me emphasize that you don't need to know a lot before you get started.  Get started now, have a goal in mind, make lots of mistakes (that's GOOD!!!  We encourage making mistakes! ... you know, as long as you learn from them.)  Having a project to build will push you in new directions you may not learn simply by following some course.

I'd be remiss if I didn't say that -- if you feel like you need more training in C# with homework examples and such -- I have a 22 hour C# training series (plus other important stuff) on my own personal website.  In fact, there's a lot there that you may find helpful.

"I don't just want to know how to create my own apps but rather maybe get a job as a programmer."  

Ah ... now that's an entirely different matter.  This is MY opinion alone ... but most employers are not yet looking for Windows Store App developers ... at least, not yet.  They're looking for a whole different skill set around .NET and C#.  You need to decide ... will I primarily focus on becoming a web developer or a desktop / device developer?  Beyond the presentation (web or desktop / device) you'll need to learn about persistence (like, into databases) and writing business logic, and at a higher level, you'll want to learn about the fundamentals of application architecture.

I'm living proof that you can become gainfully employed as a self-taught programmer.  You can teach yourself, but you'll need to be dedicated, self-motivated, and you'll need to get into the practice of spending nights and weekends -- any spare time -- teaching yourself what you need to know.  At the end of the day, we're all self-taught ... no one can cram information into your brain.  You'll need to do some hard thinking / work.  "That's why they pay you the big bucks."  Not many people (relatively speaking) are willing to do that.

Feel free to followup this conversation.  I'd love to help whatever way I can.  Again, don't get discouraged.  You can't learn it all in a day / week / month or even year!  But that shouldn't stop you from trying.

Best wishes!!!

Thank you so much for such a detailed response!

I'm glad I asked this because now I realized that I could've focused on the wrong subjects.

It's great to know that someone as professional as you (you must be really good in order to teach it to others) is also a self-taught programmer. It makes me so much more optimistic about succeeding in this.

I was looking on your site and saw you had that core c# course you mentioned. I am going to subscribe to your site. Do you teach the other subjects I would need to learn to become a programmer (and hopefully get hired as one)? 

If so, would you be able to help me in making a studying plan?

I am very motivated to succeed in this. And willing to put all the time and effort. The only thing I feel that I really need and currently lack is some guidance. 

Thank you so much again. On top of being a great teacher (and programmer I'm sure) you are a great guy!

Sincerely, 

Elice.

@BobTabor:I'm not sure if you're busy or you just missed my last post.

Drawing you attention to it just in case

Can't find anything that has to do with NuGet Package Manager when right-clicking ".NET for Windows Store apps".

@Elicegreen: Sorry!  I was finishing up another series for Microsoft.  I just now have been able to go through and answer about 200 messages.    The path is relatively straight forward and I would be happy to walk you through it should you want to move in this direction.  Please email me personally at: bob at learn visual studio dot net

@Niner627428: Hi again!  I'm assuming you got past this ... but if you didn't, a bit more information would help me help you.  Could you reference the spot in the video where you're running into trouble.  Admittedly, I think Visual Studio has been updated twice (!!!) since this video was produced just 3.5 months ago, so there might be something different now.  Calling my attention to it would help me determine if there's something I need to add / remove to the instructions.  Thanks!

Thank You Sir ...

Thanks Was Waiting For such a great tutorial from a long time .... I will try to complete this one .. because i don't have an internet connection because my parents are already paying my tuition and clg fees .I don't wanna burden them with more.. I take time to visit cyber cafe's and watch your videos and take down notes so I can do it when i reach home .. And I had a question for you just out of topic ..What are that blue lights blinking behind you ??? There are certainly distracting me ??

@Amey023: Sorry for the distraction ... it's a binary clock.  Bonus points if you can tell me what time of the day I recorded this video.  

sir how we can increase or decrease number of tiles in groupItemPage. thnx

i also want to know that what should i include in apps documentation as i am developing app for my Computer Science degree, plz mention list of uml diagrams which should be included in doc. 

@Shadab: In an effort to keep this thread relevant, I would encourage you to check out Lesson 13 where I discuss the Grid App Template.  Ultimately, it's set in the StandardStyles.xaml ... you change the number of tiles by changing the size and other properties of the Grid.

@ShadabHashmi: So, you paid all that money to get a CompSci degree and they haven't talked about documentation?  Hmm... If I were you, I would complain to your instructors.  To answer your question, in reality -- in the real world -- "it depends".  Some organizations are very formal and require everything to be documented a certain way.  Other organizations (I would venture to say *most* organizations) have no real sense of documentation.  

Ultimately, the CODE is the documentation.  It's the model of the business.  Everything else tries to keep up with the code, but fails because it's hard -- nay, impossible -- to keep them in sync.  Honestly, unit tests and code cleanliness are the best and only real documentation that matter.  The unit tests will be sufficient training for new developers to come up to speed on the functionality of each method and class.  Everything else is just an approximation of what's in the source code.  I expect that some would reject that, but I speak truth on this matter.  

wow... i m very glad to see ur response ... i watched ur videos on youtube and now we are having 1 to 1 interaction ... really owsm  

in SE course we studied about documentation and diagrams, but i feel that win 8 apps are different as compare to desktop database application, in which we build documentation consisting of objective, scope, etc then DLR, DFDs, Normalization, Use Case, state diagram, etc ... i was jst thinking of myself about documentation of contosocookbook. bcoz it doesn't have database so normalization can not be there, 

its dfd would be very limited, all use cases will almost same ... so thts why i was confused, 

@ShadabHashmi: Yeah, I'm sure someone out there is still using UML for design.  Search for the term "Big Design Up Front" ... it's an "anti-pattern" meaning that we've gone down that road as a industry and it's not the solution some originally touted.  The industry as a whole has moved past Big Design Up Front (i.e., a bunch of UML and docs that no one actually uses ... a time waste) to a more agile approach.  That's not to say there are not pockets of resistance out there ... some hold on to the past like a security blanket.  But they have to answer to themselves and their team and their employer: what value is this?  What value does it add?  The prevalent thinking now is that it doesn't do a lot for you in the end.  Hope that helps!

Hi Bob, I think this series are the best way to start for all beginners in programming. Im mexican, Im learning about C# and Windows Store Apps. keep doing that great job :D

@Jose Molina: Thanks Jose!  Good luck as you work through this series.

plllz ans my query at part 15 its urgent plzz

@codingquery: Answered.  Hope it helps.

wow...........its awesome

great stuff

Guys does anyone of you know about creating an API key validator ? I really need information about it because i have to create a building blocks.

@karabo: Is this a project for a class or something?  I'm not familiar with that exact terminology ... can you describe the functionality you want to build?

accredito

it was really very helpful to me....
thanks bob...

Just for anyone else who might hit this.. I downloaded campinabox, it asked me what I wanted to open the .htm in.. I thought to myself (normally I would do Internet explorer, but seeing we are coding in VS2012, I think I should pick that...  Then I sat for 5 minutes wondering why I got a code data page rather then the website... DuHHH!!!   Go with your instincts and assign it to IE or whatever your preferred browser happens to be..

Glad I finally found this series Bob..  I saw a portion of it in the LearnVS website, then have been searching for it.. Glad it is a free series as I feared I would need to pay for it, but was willing to (If I ever found it)  as I love your teaching style..