Microsoft has given its Windows Community Toolkit version 8.0 for Windows 10 and 11 a complete makeover. The previous two separate collections of functionality, controls and app services have now been merged under a single heading.
With the Windows Community Toolkit, developers get dev tools for WinUI 2, WinUI 3 and Uno Platform environments. The tools for Windows 10 and 11 have been completely rebuilt, the tech giant indicates.
The two previously separate components, WinUI3 and WindowsAppSDK are now housed in a single toolkit. The rationale behind this is that everything is housed in a single namespace, allowing Microsoft to now access multiple platforms from a single codebase.
This should greatly ease application development and maintenance.
New features
Naturally, the new version also brings new features, such as the Toolkit Gallery. This shows examples and documentation and has been given a more modern design. The new package Sizers helps developers resize other control functionality more easily.
The also new control functionality Segmented allows developers to build user options into applications, such as settings for filters or for views.
Deletions
Facing new options, the latest version of Windows Community Toolkit also removed certain older features. These include AdaptiveGridView, DataGrid, Expander, InAppNotification and MarkdownTextBlock.
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