Database Users

Opinions needed - windows adb wrapper in the works

Thanks for taking a look at it. Hopefully soon I'll have much more going on in it.
v0.1a
adb cmd shell integration
ability to script adb commands
ability to save and edit scripts
local adb, no need to download the sdk
requires:
windows xp+
.net framework 3.5
instructions:
unzip
plug in phone
run adbwin.exe
that's it, not much more to it
any ideas, thoughts, constructive criticism would be great
again, thanks for taking a look
in the future I'd like to implement possibly a drag-drop interface for adb shell ls / push / pull, etc like a file manager

Us Linux guys never get any love.. hmm
Love the idea though, keep it up.

Excellent work, can't wait to see what else is in store for this... Posted a link on the AC forum...

i've been trying to do something like this for linux users, i am just afraid that if we release a nice little GUI for any of the operating systems in order to use adb we'll have more people with messed up phones. personally i prefer to work in the terminal, i set mine to green on black to remember the old days(before my time).

tubaking182 said:
i've been trying to do something like this for linux users, i am just afraid that if we release a nice little GUI for any of the operating systems in order to use adb we'll have more people with messed up phones. personally i prefer to work in the terminal, i set mine to green on black to remember the old days(before my time).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True I think terminal is just easy to use for everything.

tubaking182 said:
i've been trying to do something like this for linux users, i am just afraid that if we release a nice little GUI for any of the operating systems in order to use adb we'll have more people with messed up phones. personally i prefer to work in the terminal, i set mine to green on black to remember the old days(before my time).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, but a properly built GUI would save a lot of time on daily chores like typing adb push path path. could have programmed a java version, but I am not sure if I would spend more time drawing the window or implementing the logic...

This is a great idea. I'd pay for a license.

N1/Android command line hacking sites?

Are there any sites or forums that are heavy on N1/Android command line discussion? I don't mean simple "how-to use the command line" stuff, but sites where people are working to port Linux shell utilities, creating scripts or figuring out new tricks for the N1/Android shell?
For example, there was a discussion here about rescanning the sdcard for new media and people posted apps that could do it. My first reaction was that, instead of using an app, there's probably a way to do it with a one-liner script and run it from GScript with a single click. I didn't look into it, and I'm sure there's no interest in that particular question, but are there any geeks out there who like figuring out things like that?
There are a few command line related threads here and my googling indicates there are a few at other boards from time to time, but for the most part, they're lost in the mix.

[Q] What debug and log tools are available?

Hi,
I'm interested to know which debugging/logging tools are available.
I'd like to get more information about the processes at startup, and specially logs of the CPU usage by each application over a period of time.
I've been searching for some time and the only I've found are the old Htc Test applications, but can't get what I want.
Noted that HTC devices have a builtin debug tool (debuglog.dll). Anyone knows how to use it?
Also found the following the following post describing the HTCDiagDriver and the possibility to analyze the device using QUALCOMM eXtensible Diagnostic Monitor.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=12624471&postcount=2
Anyone uses it?

Global debuglog can be enabled via DebugTool.exe (available in Htc Test Applications). It depends on debuglog.dll, yeah. Read manual, it works quite well.
Then, if you want to get log for selected app, launch it via IDA.
Also we have CeLog available, I will post needed launchers soon. I can hardly call it useful as we have retail/ship SYS builds. The only useful purpose for us is page faults chart.
EDIT: CeLog attached.

Some of the builds come with the Perfman package. That s.o.b. will really slow down your device, though, and it creates a massive log file, which I could never find the tools to analyze. I think celog does it, though, which is pretty sweet.
The htc debugger works better. You just change one of the debug flags and reset, and the device starts writing the log file. It doesn't slow down the device nearly as much as perfman. I think celog may work on that log file, too. You can royally eff up your device with that tool, though, if you mess with the radio flags. It's pretty cool how it writes to flash memory. Too bad you can't change other things with it like the page pool size.

ultrashot said:
Also we have CeLog available, I will post needed launchers soon. I can hardly call it useful as we have retail/ship SYS builds. The only useful purpose for us is page faults chart.
EDIT: CeLog attached.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have been playing with the tool on my Tornado and observed the following (usage related):
Use it while the device is disconnected from PC. The overhead of repllog.exe (connected to ActiveSync on XP PC) and syncing is just filling your log. For my installation (no further MS Mobile development tools on the PC) kerneltracker.exe does not connect to the device anyway.
Though obvious, the files CeLog*.exe have to run on the device, so copy them to a convenient place there.
The CeLogAttach.exe seems to start the kernel logging and it slows down the device (kind of obvious). There is no way to stop this logging. Something like CeLogDetach would be needed, if it exists, to restore the state before CeLogAttach.exe was run.
The CeLogFlush.exe will flush the existing log but also immediately start the logging again.
The CeLogStopFlush.exe does just what the name tells - it stops the flush to file of the (still ongoing) logging.
After transfering the celog.clg file (from \Release\ directory of the device) it can be opened in kerneltracker.exe. Then you see all the kernelactivities logged and aligned per process/thread on a zoom-able timeline (10ms - 10s) including the labels of the logged primitives. With event filtering you can sort out what you are not interested in. Here you may need advice on what to look after when you want to hunt down a certain device behaviour.
I have checked for page-faults, Virtual Memory related actions (Allocate, Copy, Free) and also Module actions (load, free) to get a clue if and how modules and paging (or better said: the use of the Page-Pool) is correlated. Nothing eye-striking coming up here, but it may just be for the unknowing observer like myself.
@ultrashot: I could not find anything I would call a "page faults chart" - where is that - or what is that?
Looking further: If I change certain device properties (like increase the pagepool or playing with OSB advanced options) I fear that the logged information here is just far too detailed for a useful compare. For that you would have to create identical conditions for the action under scrutiny - something that cannot be done with a disconnected device.
So I have to admit that all objective compare of such tuning and tweaking is far above my head and I just have to join the many that make more or less clever assumptions trusting on their model of actions in their heads. I hope that the better knowing heads continue to spread their wisdom without only telling RTFM or guide with LMGTFY (which can help if the results really point to right places).

tobbbie said:
@ultrashot: I could not find anything I would call a "page faults chart" - where is that - or what is that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use Event filter->Miscellaneous->Page fault.
I am not too advanced user of this tool. If we had builds with extra celog instrumentation, we could have take much more from this tool. However, there are some articles in the internets about celog, so anyone who wants to be get more info may just try to google it. I don't want

ultrashot said:
Use Event filter->Miscellaneous->Page fault.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is what I did already when telling about the items I cared below. Page faults are however part of generic virtual memory management and they do also apply for any normal loaded executables. As you know I seek for traces of module related paging and the use of the page-pool.
So it will stay with the trial and error and side-by-side compare with two devices having different settings. Not a big thing doing that...

Some interesting articles on MSDN regarding the paging pool (aka "pagepool"):
Kernel Blog article explaining the fundamentals (highly recommended): http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ce_base/archive/2008/01/19/paging-and-the-windows-ce-paging-pool.aspx
Pagepool Variable explained and simple methods to measure impact: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa451041.aspx
-> this is what kitchentools are patching in the kernel
Then some more backup on virtual memory - just to complete on that:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ce_base/archive/2006/10/30/what-is-virtual-memory.aspx
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/hegenderfer/archive/2007/08/31/slaying-the-virtual-memory-monster.aspx
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/hegenderfer...aying-the-virtual-memory-monster-part-ii.aspx
And to get back to the debug tools topic of this thread, linked form the first article an introduction to the Remote Kernel Tracker to explain what you can actually see there (and why you cannot see certain things as we have shipped ROM builds and not profiling builds to deal with): http://blogs.msdn.com/b/sloh/archive/2005/05/17/introduction-to-remote-kernel-tracker.aspx
Great insight if you want to get a glimpse of how Windows CE operates under the hood.

...reading a little deeper in the MSDN articles, Sue Loh mentions there when talking about the paging pool size determination:
The best tool I know is that readlog.exe will print you a page fault report if you turn on the “verbose” and “summary” options. If you get multiple faults on the same pages, your pool may be too small (you may also be unloading and re-loading the same module, ejecting its pages from memory, so look for module load events in the log too). If you don’t get many repeats, your pool may be bigger than you need.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To avoid dealing with a full setup of the Mobile Development toolsets, could any one (ultrashot - you have been so helpful - could you??) post that mentioned "readlog" tool? If there is something like "CeLogDetach.exe", please add it too.
BTW: you may notice that the paging pool is a central part of the Windows CE memory management when it comes to running executable code from "memory mapped files" (as Sue Loh calls them). In my understanding these are simply what we know as "modules".
A lot of tweaking strategies go around that when building ROMs with OSBuilder. There are several ways how to avoid or optimize the use of the paging pool for certain or all modules in OSB. I think these options deserve an own thread and I am not sure if the one OSB thread we have should be cluttered with discussing this.

don't have any of those.

[HELP] Analysis tools that detect common bugs in Android app development

I am looking for analysis tools specific for Android app development!
I have found many tools online that are not specific for Android, only for Java, either free or commercial, like the famous FindBugs but it is not interprocedural so for example it loses several bad NullPointerExceptions that may occur at runtime! Other tools (like CheckStyle) perform just a syntax check that sometimes is not so powerful, and other tools are not suitable for Android app development
What are, among the available tools, those that you prefer and really use?
What kind of properties do these tools check?
What kind of bugs do these tools detect and remove (among the most common errors that an Android developer may do)?
Please help me with sharing your experiences and suggestions, thanks!

Nobody uses any tool for detecting bugs?

What kind of bugs are you specifically looking for? Solving NullPointers is hard to do automatically, it'll probably just show you where the error is and what it is.
And the emulator/logcat does that, too...

bassie1995 said:
What kind of bugs are you specifically looking for? Solving NullPointers is hard to do automatically, it'll probably just show you where the error is and what it is.
And the emulator/logcat does that, too...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would like to detect the most common errors that may happen during Android app development, like NullPointerExceptions, ClassCastExceptions, OutOfMemory Errors, and so on... but with tools like FindBugs that don't need to execute the app first.

subtask said:
I would like to detect the most common errors that may happen during Android app development, like NullPointerExceptions, ClassCastExceptions, OutOfMemory Errors, and so on... but with tools like FindBugs that don't need to execute the app first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think that's really possible, it would have to be able to reason about and come up with the behaviour of your code like a human... Computers need to run it. The easiest thing you'll get right now is an explanation of what went wrong where, I think...

bassie1995 said:
I don't think that's really possible, it would have to be able to reason about and come up with the behaviour of your code like a human... Computers need to run it. The easiest thing you'll get right now is an explanation of what went wrong where, I think...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you run FindBugs in your source code, it is able to detect many things, like potential NullPointerExceptions, before running your app...but unfortunately it is not powerful enough to detect interprocedural NullPointerExceptions...that's the reason I am looking for something different...

subtask said:
If you run FindBugs in your source code, it is able to detect many things, like potential NullPointerExceptions, before running your app...but unfortunately it is not powerful enough to detect interprocedural NullPointerExceptions...that's the reason I am looking for something different...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, that's what I meant. Anyhow, I don't know about anything like it .

The Android SDK provides some API for automatic testing.
You will need to create a test project which checks the functions you want to achieve.
This can be used to ensure that your app is still working correctly after adding new features.

Hi
"static analysis tools" is probably the term you want to be using when looking for these sort of tools, the wikipedia page give a good selection to be going on with http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tools_for_static_code_analysis
Although I would add that if you're getting a lot of these sort of errors then you probably need to work on your own code writing skills and take the time to understand how and when these sort of issues occur rather than just relying on a plethora of tools which keep you dumb to what's going on! You'll benefit from it in the long run

One thing you might give a try is JetBrains Android Studio. It seems to have a decent static analysis tool which is the same used for ReSharper with Visual Studio.

Try Lint, it comes with ADT,
with Eclipse you can right click your project, ans under android tools you will see something like check lint errors
It will create lots of errors, which are just recomendations, you can simply delete those errors.
Tapatalked... just Tapatalked...

If you're mainly looking for a way to detect NPEs then IntelliJ/Android Studio comes with NPE (and other exceptions) detection. It's based on a new set of annotations implemented in the latest SDK and is very accurate, much better than Eclipse's code analysis.
But honestly, the best tool to find bugs remains Logcat imo, it's verbose enough to find-out the origin of most bugs.

C++: open file for writing in the LocalStorage

Hi guys, could you tell me how to open file for writing in the phone app LocalStorage for the non-unlocked handset (regular app for store)?
Code below doesn't work
Code:
FILE *tmp;
auto tmpPath = Windows::Storage::ApplicationData::Current->LocalFolder->Path + "\\tmp.txt";
auto tmpErr = _wfopen_s(&tmp, tmpPath->Data(), L"w");
Any suggestions?

Try looking though msdn articles. I found it somewhere in there. But I have forgotten it now.
Sent from Board Express on my Nokia Lumia 1020. Best phone ever!!
Note to noobs: DON'T PM ME WITH QUESTIONS. POST IN THE FORUMS. THAT'S WHAT THEY ARE HERE FOR!

@wcomhelp, please keep your rtfm advices for yourself, OK? I'm not a noob and of course I've searched msdn, google, codeplex, github etc. and so on before posting here. If you don't know how, much better be silent (like others who read this post but have no idea what I'm talking about)
I've tried a few possible methods including ugly "MS-way" with task & lambda syntax (see below) but nothing worked as it should be (code below works if no file exist and fails if file already exist - CreationCollisionOption::ReplaceExisting options is not worked/not implemented/buggy/billgates_knows_only ).
Code:
auto folder = Windows::Storage::ApplicationData::Current->LocalFolder;
Concurrency::task<Windows::Storage::StorageFile^> createFileOp(
folder->CreateFileAsync(CONFIG_FILE_NAME, Windows::Storage::CreationCollisionOption::ReplaceExisting));
createFileOp.then([=](Windows::Storage::StorageFile^ file)
{
return file->OpenAsync(Windows::Storage::FileAccessMode::ReadWrite);
})
.then([=](Windows::Storage::Streams::IRandomAccessStream^ stream)
{
auto outputStream = stream->GetOutputStreamAt(0);
auto dataWriter = ref new Windows::Storage::Streams::DataWriter(outputStream);
// data save code skipped
return dataWriter->StoreAsync();
})
.wait();
BTW, I've used workaround, to save ported C++ app data to the LocalSettings instead of text file (as it was in original code).

"Doesn't work" doesn't give us a lot to go on, troubleshooting-wise. Can you tell us what error you get?
Only thing I see in the code that looks a little weird is that the
Code:
"\\tmp.txt"
part isn't explicitly a wide-character string, but I'd expect string concatenation to take care of that.
Also, out of curiosity, why libc functions instead of Win32? Obviously, the code you're writing here isn't intended for much portability...

@GoodDayToDie, there is no error code at all - standard POSIX functions returns NULL FILE, the ::GetLastError() also return 0.
I'm porting old C-style app to WinRT platform and don't care about portability (but the first post code - just a simplified example, nothing more).
POSIX (libc) functions works pretty well for reading only but not for writing - that's the problem...
As I said before, I resolved my issue by workaround but still curious why the POSIX calls fails for file writing in the app storage.

buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh
No need for lambdas
https://paoloseverini.wordpress.com/2014/04/22/async-await-in-c/
You may also want to rethink your strategy
You can't create files at arbitrary locations, so your method is kinda redundant. All the locations you are allowed to create and read files to/from are available through KnowFolders and ApplicationData classes. These return StorageFolders which in turn can create files with CreateFileAsync (used for both creating and opening existing files) and get files with GetFilesAsync ( I recommend against this one though) and similar methods.

@mcosmin222, could you please re-read my posts one more time? I'm not trying to create files at "arbitrary locations"; I wanna create/write simple text file at the app's local storage (which one should be available for reading/writing). And the problem not in the lambdas or task usage (yes, it looks ugly but it works as it supposed to be).
Could you provide a working example instead of words? And I'll be glad to say you "thanks a lot"; can't say now...

sensboston said:
@mcosmin222, could you please re-read my posts one more time? I'm not trying to create files at "arbitrary locations"; I wanna create/write simple text file at the app's local storage (which one should be available for reading/writing). And the main problem not in the task (async execution).
Could you provide a working example instead of words? And I'll be glad to say you "thanks a lot"; can't say now...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sure, just gimmie a few hours till I can get near a compiler that is capable of doing that

Of course, no rush at all, take your time. It's not a showstopper for me now (actually, my workaround with AppSettings is more preferable way - at least for universal app and roaming settings) but the issue still has an "academic interest" and maybe will be useful in the next projects for porting old C/C++ code to WinRT.

sensboston said:
Of course, no rush at all, take your time. It's not a showstopper for me now (actually, my workaround with AppSettings is more preferable way - at least for universal app and roaming settings) but the issue still has an "academic interest" and maybe will be useful in the next projects for porting old C/C++ code to WinRT.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hi
in vs 2015
#include <pplawait.h>
Something of the like should work
Code:
WriteSomeFile() __resumable
{
auto local = ApplicationData::Current->LocalFolder;
auto file = __await local->CreateFileAsync("some file", CreationCollisionOption::eek:penIfExists);
__await FileIO::WriteTextAsync(file, "this is some text");
}
However, as of right now, in VS 2015 RC, you have a host of limitations when dealing with this, but I do not believe this will be of any issue to you.
Code:
Cannot use Windows Runtime (WinRT) types in the signature of resumable function and resumable function cannot be a member function in a WinRT class. (This is fixed, but didn't make it in time for RC release)
We may give a wrong diagnostic if return statement appears in resumable function prior to seeing an await expression or yield statement. (Workaround: restructure your code so that the first return happens after yield or await)
Compiling code with resumable functions may result in compilation errors or bad codegen if compiled with /ZI flag (Edit and Continue debugging)
Parameters of a resumable function may not be visible while debugging
Please see this link for additional details
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/vcblog/archive/2015/04/29/more-about-resumable-functions-in-c.aspx
you should also note that this works with native, standard C++ types.

@mcosmin222, looks like unbuffered writing works (i.e. without streams) fine but it still not an answer for my initial question
I'm curious why the standard POSIX libc writing operations are not working on the app's local storage (but reading from files works fine). Actually, it's all about porting old C/C++ code for WinRT; of course for the new app it's not a problem but re-writing old code to FileIO should be a huge pain in the ass. What I did: I've "mechanically" changed all libc formatted outputs from file to string, and use LocalSettings class (actually it's XML file) to store that string (I'm planning also change LocalSettings to RoamingSettings, to provide settings consistency between WP & desktop app).
P.S. <pplawait.h> is not available in my VS 2015 (release pro version) so I've tested by using lambda pattern.

OK, first things first, LIBC != POSIX! The POSIX way to do this would be to call the open() function and get back an int as an "fd" (file descriptor), which is of course not implemented on Windows Phone because Windows Phone is not a POSIX platform (you might find the Windows compatibility functions _open() and _wopen(), but I doubt it). You are attempting to use the standard C library functions, which are portable but implement kind of a lowest common denominator of functionality and are generally slightly slower than native APIs because they go through a portability wrapper.
Second, sorry to be all RTFM on you but you should really Read The Manual (or manpage, or, since this is Windows, the MSDN page)! Libc APIs set errno (include errno.h) and use different error values than Windows system error codes (or HRESULT codes, or NTSTATUS codes, or...). Error reporting in C is a mess. If you were calling CreateFile(), you would check GetLastError(), but since you're calling _wfopen(), you check errno (not a function).

@GoodDayToDie, _wfopen_s returns 0 (i.e. "no error") but tmp pointer receives also 0 (NULL) Could you explain why libc file functions are working for reading (at the app installation & local data folders of course) but not for writing? Any logical ("msdn based") explanation? Or you just... don't know, heh?

sensboston said:
@GoodDayToDie, _wfopen_s returns 0 (i.e. "no error") but tmp pointer receives also 0 (NULL) Could you explain why libc file functions are working for reading (at the app installation & local data folders of course) but not for writing? Any logical ("msdn based") explanation? Or you just... don't know, heh?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LIBC functions will most likely work just in debug mode. The moment you try to publish the app it will fail. You can do lots of crazy stuff on your developer device with basic C functions, but if you try publishing, it won't pass the marketplace verification.
Most C APIs are simply not supported, since they do not comply with the sandbox environment of the Windows Runtime.
The code I gave you is tested with VS 2015 RC. You should be able to include <pplawait.h> just fine, if you are targeting toolchains newer than November 2013.

mcosmin222 said:
The moment you try to publish the app it will fail. You can do lots of crazy stuff on your developer device with basic C functions, but if you try publishing, it won't pass the marketplace verification.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm... Are you sure or it's just your assumption? My app is still under development but (just for test!) I've made store app package for WP and it passed local store verification I also uploaded package to the store (via browser) and it also passed. I don't have time to create all tiles and fill all fields to complete beta-submission (actually, I don't know how to mark app as beta in the new dashboard) but for me it looks like app don't have any problem and will pass store certification easily. And you may be sure - it uses A LOT of libc calls 'cause originally it was written for Linux (or kind of UX system)

sensboston said:
Hmm... Are you sure or it's just your assumption? My app is still under development but (just for test!) I've made store app package for WP and it passed local store verification I also uploaded package to the store (via browser) and it also passed. I don't have time to create all tiles and fill all fields to complete beta-submission (actually, I don't know how to mark app as beta in the new dashboard) but for me it looks like app don't have any problem and will pass store certification easily. And you may be sure - it uses A LOT of libc calls 'cause originally it was written for Linux (or kind of UX system)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once usage reports get up to microsoft, you will be given a notice to fix the offending API (happened to be once). You are much better off using the platform specific tools: not only they are much faster, they are also much safer and you won't have problems later on.
You might get away with reading stuff (since reading is not that harmful), but you should be using the winRT APIs each time they are available.
Simply uploading your app to the marketplace just reruns the local tests in their cloud servers: once you submit the actual app (not beta, not tests) for consumers, it will be much more aggressively checked. This is because the store allows specific scenarios for distributing apps in close circles that may break the usual validation rules.

@mcosmin222, one more time: is it your assumptions or personal experience? I don't know how many apps you have in store (I do have a lot) but I never heard that you said. I've used C++ libraries with WP hacks in some of published apps but never had any problem with "aggressive checks". What I know: if you are using some "prohibited" calls, your app will not pass uploading to the store (uploading, not a certification).
P.S. I'll send you personally a link when I publish release Hope, you'll like it

sensboston said:
@mcosmin222, one more time: is it your assumptions or personal experience? I don't know how many apps you have in store (I do have a lot) but I never heard that you said. I've used C++ libraries with WP hacks in some of published apps but never had any problem with "aggressive checks". What I know: if you are using some "prohibited" calls, your app will not pass uploading to the store (uploading, not a certification).
P.S. I'll send you personally a link when I publish release Hope, you'll like it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By "hacking" you mean recompiling the code to fit the windows phone toolchain? if so, then you shouldn't have to worry about too many things.
but even so, calling stuff like fopen in locations other than local storage will get your app banned. Even if it makes past the first publication, you can get noticed weeks later or even months (yes, it did happen to me personally).
In most cases, calling C APIs that can potentially break the sandbox (like opening a file in doc library with fopen) will always fail the marketplace verification, eventually. If it hasn't happened to you yet, then you may have not been using such APIs.

No, my C++ code is not accessing other than approved locations but the app has a lot of libс (and of course other C/C++ libs) calls; I'm 99.9% sure it's legitimate and will be not a source of any problem. Otherwise what is the advantages of having C++ compiler?!
As far as I know, just some of API's are prohibited but you will notice it right after local store compatibility test run...
As for "hacks" I mean usage of undocumented ShellChromeAPI calls (including loading hack).
P.S. I've found why <pplawait.h> header is missing. Initially I've created solution with the 12.0 toolset but now I can't (or don't know how to) change it to 14. However creating the new empty universal solution in VS 2015 also gives me toolset 12 by default. What is the toolset 14 for? Windows 10?

sensboston said:
No, my C++ code is not accessing other than approved locations but the app has a lot of libс (and of course other C/C++ libs) calls; I'm 99.9% sure it's legitimate and will be not a source of any problem. Otherwise what is the advantages of having C++ compiler?!
As far as I know, just some of API's are prohibited but you will notice it right after local store compatibility test run...
As for "hacks" I mean usage of undocumented ShellChromeAPI calls (including loading hack).
P.S. I've found why <pplawait.h> header is missing. Initially I've created solution with the 12.0 toolset but now I can't (or don't know how to) change it to 14. However creating the new empty universal solution in VS 2015 also gives me toolset 12 by default. What is the toolset 14 for? Windows 10?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The advantage of C++ is the obvious versatility: the standard C++ APIs will work fine for you as long as you stay inside the sandbox (this means you can't access files even in locations that are outside of sandbox but you have permission to them, such as music library). You can use most classic C/C++ libraries without issues as long as you do the interface with the runtime broker yourself. That means using windows runtime APIs instead of classic C APIs when dealing with stuff such as file access, for example. This is a pretty extensive topic and It is rather difficult to explain it all with 100% accuracy, especially when there is lots of docs running around.
You also get deterministic memory management, which is huge in specific scenarios.
Long story short
You will be fine with standard C/C++ when using
any in-memory functions supported by the compiler (you can manipulate data types, string, mutex, etc).
File IO in isolated storage only (applicationData folder)
Threads (although you are better off using threadpool or the like, it is much easier and cleaner). You can also use futures, and std::this_thread.
You will have to use winRT replacement
File system access in any other location than application data (you must use the windows::storage APIs)
sockets, internet access and the like.
any hardware related thing: music&video playerback must be interfaced through winRT (although the underlying decoders can be classic C/C++), messing around with the device sensors.
Retrieving system properties (internet connection state etc)
cross process communications
communicating with other apps
There are also win32 equivalents
mutex, threading, fileIO (isolated storage only)
Media playback with custom rendering pipeline.
Basically, winRT functions as an abstraction layer between the hardware and your code. You can use classic C++ up to the point where you need to interact with the system in any way. At that point, system interaction must be done with winRT. This way, microsoft ensures a higher degree of stability and security for devices.
check this link out for more information on the toolchains. You should be able to use this in VS 2013 as well with windows 8 (this is a compiler feature, has nothing to do with supported platform)
https://paoloseverini.wordpress.com/2014/04/22/async-await-in-c/