Capabilities of Metro apps not clear, 3 questions

Question

1. Can I overlay Metro controls over a DirectX context?

2. Can Metro apps be written and sold with DirectX 10 support?

3. What kind of stuff am I allowed to do? Can I embed a JVM so I can code in Java and still sell my Metro app? (I know that all the Metro stuff has to be done with c++ then, but that's fine with me)

If there is an FAQ with more insights in addition to the questions I asked, please feel free to link it!

Answer 1

Hello Dreada,

Just a couple of quick questions to clarify. What do you mean by "Metro controls"? Are you talking about XAML for C++? Can you also clarify your question about DX 10 support? Windows 8 supports DX 11. Is there a specific reason why you would like to use legacy DX 10? I would recommend that you ask your last question about writing and selling a JVM on the "store" forum.

Thanks,

James

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James Windows Media SDK Technologies Microsoft Developer Services http://blogs.msdn.com/mediasdkstuff/

Answer 2

Making a couple of guesses as to what you meant:

1) You cannot mix Xaml controls and DirectX content in the Developer Preview.

2) Metro style apps use DirectX 11, not DirectX 10. DirectX 11 can target DirectX 10 hardware. If you need more information on this please post in the DirectX forum or look at several existing threads there on this topic.

--Rob

Answer 3

Ok, thanks. I thought dx11 was going to be incompatible again since the sdk samples fall back to software on my dx10 card and that we would get controls just like we have in HTML, only built through directx and xaml.

This effectively means that Metro is just a store wrapper for apps with specific UI and system restrictions.