- Project Reunion version 0.5 available for developers.
- Project Reunion unifies the development of Win32 and UWP apps to build apps that run across multiple devices.
- Version 1.0 is expected to arrive during the fourth quarter of 2021.
Microsoft has made available version 0.5 of Project Reunion for Windows 10 developers to make it easier to build apps. On Windows 10, Project Reunion is the evolution of how developers will continue to build apps, but it is not a new app platform. Instead, it is a set of components and tools that will close the gap between legacy desktop (Win32) and Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps available through the Microsoft Store.
The new app development model offers a unified set of APIs (Application Programming Interface) and tools that programmers can use consistently on any application, regardless if they are legacy or modern apps.
According to the company documentation, this new approach is seen as a way to complement the existing desktop Windows app platforms and frameworks such as .NET (including Windows Forms and WPF) and C++/Win32 with a standard set of APIs and tools that developers can rely on across these platforms.
In other words, with this new approach, developers can add modern elements to existing desktop applications without having to rebuild them from scratch.
In the past, only modern apps were able to use modern APIs, but now desktop and modern apps alike will be able to access the new and future components and tools that will be supported on all versions of Windows 10.
Project Reunion is still in the early stages, but version 0.5 marks the first release ready for production, and version 1.0 is expected to arrive before the end of the year.
In this first release, developers will have access to WinUI 3, localization, text rendering, and MRTCore and DWriteCore components support. Since these are packaged apps, the support distribution is MSIX that provides a modern packaging experience for all apps on Windows 10.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows expert and the Editor-in-Chief who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He is also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 12 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows, software, and related technologies, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.