<s>
Universal	B-Device
Windows	I-Device
Platform	I-Device
(	O
UWP	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
computing	B-Device
platform	I-Device
created	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
and	O
first	O
introduced	O
in	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
purpose	O
of	O
this	O
platform	O
is	O
to	O
help	O
develop	O
universal	O
apps	O
that	O
run	O
on	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
,	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
Mobile	I-Operating_System
(	O
discontinued	O
)	O
,	O
Windows	B-Application
11	I-Application
,	O
Xbox	B-Device
One	I-Device
,	O
Xbox	B-Device
Series	I-Device
X/S	I-Device
,	O
and	O
HoloLens	B-General_Concept
without	O
the	O
need	O
to	O
be	O
rewritten	O
for	O
each	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
supports	O
Windows	B-Application
app	I-Application
development	O
using	O
C++	B-Language
,	O
C#	B-Application
,	O
VB.NET	B-Language
,	O
and	O
XAML	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
API	B-Application
is	O
implemented	O
in	O
C++	B-Language
,	O
and	O
supported	O
in	O
C++	B-Language
,	O
VB.NET	B-Language
,	O
C#	B-Application
,	O
F#	B-Operating_System
and	O
JavaScript	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Designed	O
as	O
an	O
extension	O
to	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
Runtime	O
(	O
WinRT	O
)	O
platform	O
first	O
introduced	O
in	O
Windows	B-Device
Server	I-Device
2012	I-Device
and	O
Windows	B-Application
8	I-Application
,	O
UWP	O
allows	O
developers	O
to	O
create	O
apps	O
that	O
will	O
potentially	O
run	O
on	O
multiple	O
types	O
of	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
's	O
solution	O
for	O
other	O
platforms	B-Device
is	O
.NET	B-Application
MAUI	I-Application
(	O
previously	O
"	O
Xamarin.Forms	O
"	O
)	O
,	O
an	O
open-source	B-Application
API	B-Application
created	O
by	O
Xamarin	B-Application
,	O
a	O
Microsoft	O
subsidiary	O
since	O
2016	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Community	O
solutions	O
also	O
exist	O
for	O
non-targeted	O
platforms	B-Device
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Uno	B-Application
Platform	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
UWP	O
is	O
a	O
part	O
of	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
,	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
Mobile	I-Operating_System
and	O
Windows	B-Application
11	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
UWP	O
apps	O
do	O
not	O
run	O
on	O
earlier	O
Windows	B-Application
versions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Older	O
Metro-style	O
apps	O
for	O
Windows	B-Device
8.1	I-Device
,	O
Windows	B-Protocol
Phone	I-Protocol
8.1	I-Protocol
,	O
or	O
for	O
both	O
(	O
universal	O
8.1	B-Device
)	O
need	O
modifications	O
to	O
migrate	O
to	O
UWP	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
Windows	B-Application
platform	O
features	O
in	O
later	O
versions	O
have	O
been	O
exclusive	O
to	O
UWP	O
and	O
software	O
specifically	O
packaged	O
for	O
it	O
,	O
and	O
are	O
not	O
usable	O
in	O
other	O
architectures	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
existing	O
WinAPI	B-Library
,	O
WPF	B-Device
,	O
and	O
Windows	B-Application
Forms	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
as	O
of	O
2019	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
has	O
taken	O
steps	O
to	O
increase	O
the	O
parity	O
between	O
these	O
application	B-Device
platforms	I-Device
and	O
make	O
UWP	O
features	O
usable	O
inside	O
non-UWP	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
introduced	O
XAML	B-Device
Islands	O
(	O
a	O
method	O
for	O
embedding	O
UWP	O
controls	O
and	O
widgets	O
into	O
non-UWP	O
software	O
)	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
May	O
2019	O
update	O
,	O
and	O
stated	O
that	O
it	O
would	O
also	O
allow	O
UWP	O
functions	O
and	O
Windows	B-Application
Runtime	O
components	O
to	O
be	O
invoked	O
within	O
non-packaged	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
UWP	O
Bridges	O
translate	O
calls	O
in	O
other	O
application	B-Application
programming	I-Application
interfaces	I-Application
(	O
APIs	B-Application
)	O
to	O
the	O
UWP	O
interface	O
,	O
so	O
that	O
applications	O
written	O
in	O
these	O
APIs	B-Application
would	O
run	O
on	O
UWP	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
bridges	O
are	O
announced	O
during	O
the	O
2015	B-Application
Build	I-Application
keynote	O
for	O
Android	B-Application
and	O
iOS	B-Application
apps	O
to	O
be	O
ported	O
to	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
Mobile	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
,	O
Microsoft	O
maintains	O
support	O
for	O
bridges	O
for	O
Windows	B-Application
desktop	O
apps	O
,	O
progressive	B-Application
web	I-Application
apps	I-Application
,	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Silverlight	I-Application
,	O
and	O
iOS	B-Application
's	O
Cocoa	B-Operating_System
Touch	I-Operating_System
API	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	B-Application
Bridge	O
for	O
iOS	B-Application
(	O
codenamed	O
"	O
Islandwood	O
"	O
)	O
is	O
an	O
open-source	B-Application
middleware	B-General_Concept
toolkit	O
that	O
allows	O
iOS	B-Application
apps	O
developed	O
in	O
Objective-C	B-Language
to	O
be	O
ported	O
to	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
by	O
using	O
Visual	O
Studio	O
2015	O
to	O
convert	O
the	O
Xcode	B-Operating_System
project	O
into	O
a	O
Visual	O
Studio	O
project	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
early	O
build	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
Bridge	O
for	O
iOS	B-Application
was	O
released	O
as	O
open-source	B-Application
software	I-Application
under	O
the	B-License
MIT	I-License
License	I-License
on	O
August	O
6	O
,	O
2015	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
Android	B-Application
version	O
was	O
in	O
closed	O
beta	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
"	O
WinObjC	O
"	O
project	O
is	O
open	O
source	O
on	O
GitHub	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
contains	O
code	O
from	O
various	O
existing	O
implementations	O
of	O
Cocoa	B-Operating_System
Touch	I-Operating_System
like	O
Cocotron	O
and	O
GNUstep	B-Application
as	O
well	O
as	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
own	O
code	O
that	O
implements	O
iOS	B-Application
frameworks	O
using	O
UWP	O
methods	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
uses	O
a	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
LLVM	B-Application
clang	O
compiler	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	B-Application
Bridge	O
for	O
Android	B-Application
(	O
codenamed	O
"	O
Astoria	O
"	O
)	O
was	O
a	O
runtime	O
environment	O
that	O
would	O
allow	O
for	O
Android	B-Application
apps	O
written	O
in	O
Java	B-Language
or	O
C++	B-Language
to	O
run	O
on	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
Mobile	I-Operating_System
and	O
published	O
to	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Store	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kevin	O
Gallo	O
,	O
technical	O
lead	O
of	O
Windows	B-Application
Developer	O
Platform	O
,	O
explained	O
that	O
the	O
layer	O
contained	O
some	O
limitations	O
:	O
Google	O
Mobile	O
Services	O
and	O
certain	O
core	O
APIs	B-Application
are	O
not	O
available	O
,	O
and	O
apps	O
that	O
have	O
"	O
deep	O
integration	O
into	O
background	O
tasks	O
"	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
messaging	O
software	O
,	O
would	O
not	O
run	O
well	O
in	O
this	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2016	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
announced	O
that	O
it	O
had	O
ceased	O
development	O
on	O
Windows	B-Application
Bridge	O
for	O
Android	B-Application
,	O
citing	O
redundancies	O
due	O
to	O
iOS	B-Application
already	O
being	O
a	O
primary	O
platform	O
for	O
multi-platform	O
development	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
Windows	B-Application
Bridge	O
for	O
iOS	B-Application
produced	O
native	O
code	O
and	O
did	O
not	O
require	O
an	O
OS-level	O
emulator	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
encouraged	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
C#	B-Application
for	O
multi-platform	O
app	O
development	O
using	O
tools	O
from	O
Xamarin	B-Application
,	O
which	O
they	O
had	O
acquired	O
prior	O
to	O
the	O
announcement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2021	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
allowed	O
Windows	B-Application
11	I-Application
to	O
run	O
Android	B-Application
apps	O
with	O
an	O
OS-level	O
emulator	O
and	O
allowed	O
apps	O
to	O
be	O
installed	O
in	O
the	O
store	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
UWP	O
provides	O
an	O
application	O
model	O
based	O
upon	O
its	O
CoreApplication	B-Device
class	O
and	O
the	O
Windows	B-Application
Runtime	O
(	O
WinRT	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Universal	O
Windows	B-Application
apps	I-Application
that	O
are	O
created	O
using	O
the	O
UWP	O
no	O
longer	O
indicate	O
having	O
been	O
written	O
for	O
a	O
specific	O
OS	O
in	O
their	O
manifest	O
build	O
;	O
instead	O
,	O
they	O
target	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
device	O
families	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
PC	O
,	O
smartphone	O
,	O
tablet	O
,	O
or	O
Xbox	B-Device
One	I-Device
,	O
using	O
Universal	B-Device
Windows	I-Device
Platform	I-Device
Bridges	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
universal	O
app	O
running	O
on	O
a	O
smartphone	O
may	O
start	O
behaving	O
the	O
way	O
it	O
would	O
if	O
it	O
were	O
running	O
on	O
a	O
PC	O
when	O
the	O
phone	O
is	O
connected	O
to	O
a	O
desktop	O
computer	O
or	O
a	O
suitable	O
docking	B-Device
station	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
UWP	O
will	O
only	O
support	O
DirectX	B-Application
11.1	O
or	O
later	O
,	O
so	O
games	O
built	O
on	O
older	O
DirectX	B-Application
versions	O
will	O
not	O
work	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
Build	O
2016	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
Xbox	B-Device
division	O
head	O
Phil	O
Spencer	O
announced	O
that	O
the	O
company	O
was	O
attempting	O
to	O
address	O
issues	O
which	O
would	O
improve	O
the	O
viability	O
of	O
UWP	O
for	O
PC	O
games	O
,	O
stating	O
that	O
Microsoft	O
was	O
"	O
committed	O
to	O
ensuring	O
we	O
meet	O
or	O
exceed	O
the	O
performance	O
expectations	O
of	O
full-screen	O
games	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
additional	O
features	O
including	O
support	O
for	O
overlays	O
,	O
modding	O
,	O
and	O
more.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Epic	O
Games	O
founder	O
Tim	O
Sweeney	O
criticized	O
UWP	O
for	O
being	O
a	O
walled	B-Application
garden	I-Application
,	O
since	O
by	O
default	O
UWP	O
software	O
may	O
only	O
be	O
published	O
and	O
installed	O
via	O
Windows	B-Application
Store	I-Application
,	O
requiring	O
changes	O
in	O
system	O
settings	O
to	O
enable	O
the	O
installation	O
of	O
external	O
software	O
(	O
similarly	O
to	O
Android	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sweeney	O
characterized	O
these	O
moves	O
as	O
"	O
the	O
most	O
aggressive	O
move	O
Microsoft	O
has	O
ever	O
made	O
"	O
in	O
attempting	O
to	O
transform	O
PCs	O
into	O
a	O
closed	B-Application
platform	I-Application
,	O
and	O
felt	O
that	O
these	O
moves	O
were	O
meant	O
to	O
put	O
third-party	O
games	O
storefronts	O
such	O
as	O
Steam	B-Application
at	O
a	O
disadvantage	O
as	O
Microsoft	O
is	O
"	O
curtailing	O
users	O
 '	O
freedom	O
to	O
install	O
full-featured	O
PC	O
software	O
and	O
subverting	O
the	O
rights	O
of	O
developers	O
and	O
publishers	O
to	O
maintain	O
a	O
direct	O
relationship	O
with	O
their	O
customers	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Windows	B-Application
VP	O
Kevin	O
Gallo	O
addressed	O
Sweeney	O
's	O
concerns	O
,	O
stating	O
that	O
"	O
in	O
the	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
November	O
Update	O
,	O
we	O
enabled	O
people	O
to	O
easily	O
side-load	B-Protocol
apps	O
by	O
default	O
,	O
with	O
no	O
UX	O
required	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
We	O
want	O
to	O
make	O
Windows	B-Application
the	O
best	O
development	O
platform	O
regardless	O
of	O
technologies	O
used	O
,	O
and	O
offer	O
tools	O
to	O
help	O
developers	O
with	O
existing	O
code	O
bases	O
of	O
HTML/JavaScript	O
,	O
.NET	B-Application
and	O
Win32	B-Library
,	O
C++	B-Language
and	O
Objective-C	B-Language
bring	O
their	O
code	O
to	O
Windows	B-Application
,	O
and	O
integrate	O
UWP	O
capabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
Xamarin	B-Application
,	O
UWP	O
developers	O
can	O
not	O
only	O
reach	O
all	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
devices	O
,	O
but	O
they	O
can	O
now	O
use	O
a	O
large	O
percentage	O
of	O
their	O
C#	B-Application
code	O
to	O
deliver	O
a	O
fully	O
native	O
mobile	O
app	O
experiences	O
for	O
iOS	B-Application
and	O
Android.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
also	O
discussed	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
relationships	O
with	O
third-party	O
developers	O
and	O
distributors	O
such	O
as	O
Steam	B-Application
,	O
considering	O
the	O
service	O
to	O
be	O
"	O
a	O
critical	O
part	O
of	O
gaming	O
's	O
success	O
on	O
Windows	B-Application
"	O
and	O
stating	O
that	O
Microsoft	O
planned	O
to	O
continue	O
releasing	O
games	O
through	O
the	O
platform	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
its	O
own	O
,	O
but	O
that	O
"	O
There	O
's	O
going	O
to	O
be	O
areas	O
where	O
we	O
cooperate	O
and	O
there	O
's	O
going	O
to	O
be	O
areas	O
where	O
we	O
compete	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
May	O
30	O
,	O
2019	O
,	O
Microsoft	O
announced	O
that	O
it	O
would	O
support	O
distribution	O
of	O
Win32	B-Library
games	O
on	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Store	I-Application
;	O
Spencer	O
(	O
who	O
had	O
since	O
been	O
promoted	O
to	O
head	O
of	O
all	O
games	O
operations	O
at	O
Microsoft	O
,	O
reporting	O
directly	O
to	O
CEO	O
Satya	O
Nadella	O
)	O
explained	O
that	O
developers	O
preferred	O
the	O
architecture	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
it	O
"allow[s]	O
for	O
the	O
customization	O
and	O
control	O
[	O
developers	O
and	O
players ]	O
come	O
to	O
expect	O
from	O
the	O
open	O
Windows	B-Application
gaming	O
ecosystem.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
also	O
announced	O
that	O
future	O
Xbox	B-Device
Game	O
Studios	O
releases	O
on	O
Windows	B-Application
would	O
be	O
made	O
available	O
on	O
third-party	O
storefronts	O
such	O
as	O
Steam	B-Application
,	O
rather	O
than	O
be	O
exclusive	O
to	O
Microsoft	B-Application
Store	I-Application
.	O
</s>
