Windows store app - surface pro only support possible?

Question

We have an application that we would like to publish in the app store. Currently the app will only work on surface pro. (we are using several libs that depend on winsock among others that are not available in rt

Can the app be flagged pro only?

I'm guessing we can by setting the targets to x86 which would limit us to surface pro.

Answer 1

You can target specific architectures (x86, x64, or ARM) but not specific machines. Your x86 app will run on any x86 or x64 system, not just Surface Pros.

That said, architecture doesn't affect which API are available. Winsock is not available to any Windows Store apps and wont pass certification.

--Rob

Answer 2

Ok, what I don't understand is my app will run on my surface pro. This is an app built as a metro app (c# app using c++ libs).

Why does the app compile and run on a surface pro if MS is going to allow me to distribute it?

Answer 3

The disallowed API should get caught when you run the app through the Windows App Certification Toolkit.

You're bypassing the compile time checks by using a pre-compiled C++ library. That library would not compile with winsock code as a Windows Store app. See Win32 and COM APIs for more information on using Win32 API in Windows Store apps.

--Rob