Development Language

Visual Studio 2012 offers three different language choices for developing apps:

• JavaScript/HTML5
• C#/XAML
• C++/CX

My first preference was to use C#/XAML thinking this would be the best option given the fact that I had 8+ years of C# experience at work.  My experience at work had primarily been with Windows Forms development and I underestimated how initially frustrating a switch to XAML based displays would be.  Granted I didn't spend more than 2 hours with a sample project, but very quickly got fed up and decided to explore different options.  I was also disappointed to learn that XNA wasn't part of the C# experience in Visual Studio 2012.  While I didn't necessarily anticipate the need of accelerated graphics with a matching game I was hoping to establish a framework of code that could be reused on other more complex applications in the future.

My most recent experiences at work have been with JavaScript and HTML5, I've spent the last year working with HTML5's canvas, web sockets and local storage.  While this was fresh in my mind I don't always love debugging issues that cropped up with JavaScript.

During my C# experience I also spent a large amount of time wrapping legacy applications using C++/CLI.  The syntax for C++/CX looked close enough that it didn't seem too large of a leap.  Plus, prior to my HTML5 work I'd completed a project using DirectX and Direct2D which I had enjoyed.

It might have been more work, and probably not the choice that everyone makes, but I opted to begin my development in C++/CX and create my own DirectX wrapper classes.