Developing an app for the Windows Store calls for skill with not only the code itself, but also with the design of the user interface. We had all experienced downloading a Windows 8 app with high hopes of its success, but instead received disappointment when we see that the developer simply did not invest enough time in the UI. With Windows 8.1 Microsoft had added a new control to the tool bags of developers to help remedy some of the past interface development woes that may have been experienced.
You will notice that upon launching your favorite Windows 8.1 application, that it is split into different sections as you scroll side to side. One of the issues of these “hubs” that you first say in Windows 8 when interacting with an application was that they were usually only designed to hold one type of content at a time. Content can vary from simple text to pictures to high definition video. Developers of the past have tried to remedy this limitation by using certain hub controls for various types of data, but it just was not doing the job.
After the Microsoft development team received feedback from developers, they decided to create a new control that works with various types of data sources. Microsoft had introduced the new hub with the launch of Windows 8.1 and it allowed developers to handle lists, text, videos, links, and images, all in one convenient package.
As a Windows 8.1 user, this means that applications are better able to present the data you are searching for; it allows developers to forego the need to split up their content into various hubs simply because the proper control is not available. Microsoft had improved the backend for developers, but you, the users, are currently reaping the benefits of the new development control as it has become implemented. In fact, it is the control that our current Windows Phone Central app for Windows 8.1 uses on the front page!
You can head over to the official Windows App Builder Blog to find out more details about the control and how to implement it into your latest app.
Are you a Windows 8.1 developer – have you been using the heterogeneous data hub?
Source: Microsoft
