[flukus]

And all you have to do is convert it into a UWP app:

>A few months ago, during Build 2016, we announced the Desktop Bridge, enabling developers to bring their existing desktop apps and games over to the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) by converting their app or game with the Desktop App Converter and then enhancing and extending it with UWP functionality. This then enables the path to gradually migrate the app or game to reach all Windows 10 devices over time, including phones, Xbox One and HoloLens.

[benaadams]

You run the converter on your complied exe installer, not your applications code. That a fairly low barrier.

Seems to make the Store very backwards compatible, it can even convert VB6 apps: http://www.hanselman.com/blog/PuttingMyVB6WindowsAppsInTheWi...

Also if you want to go from exe rather than installer you can use makeappx directly https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/uwp/porting/desktop...

[mschuster91]

VB6? That's... the awesome kind of crazy. How does the converter deal with the VB6 runtime that had to be distributed?

Oh dude, this brings back some memories... but I have to admit, for long time there was nothing except VB6 if you wanted to put together GUI apps with very little code and a WYSIWYG GUI designer.

[Jaruzel]

> How does the converter deal with the VB6 runtime that had to be distributed?

I've just checked on Windows 10, and yup, MSVBVM60.dll is still part of the OS install - the mind boggles. This is classic MS - providing support for as long as they can, where they can.

Of course I'm not sure how the UWP Bridge would work if your VB6 app referenced a bunch of old school .OCXs though, as typically even the self registering ones need to write to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE part of the Registry, which the Bridge docs say is a complete no-no.

[Washuu]

When I was about 12 my father gave me a copy of VB6.

I used form and image controls to made a pixel based tiled fighting game. Not an actual game engine. Just a horrible hack that actually worked and I was proud of it. It was one of those things that helped me get into programming.

(I still have a copy of it.)

[majewsky]

I remember implementing a Conway's Game of Life in VB6 with a grid view's cell background colors. Good times.

[ifdefdebug]

My WiX installer prepares the program folder location and installs exactly one downloader executable which pulls the rest of the desktop app from a location in the internet. Is this setup compatible with App Store via Desktop Bridge in principle or should I get problems with sandbox etc.? (No need to elaborate, if the answer is yes I'll work through the details on my own).

[benaadams]

Preparing your internet download desktop app as appx might be the way? Rather than converting the installer https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/uwp/porting/desktop...

[flukus]

What if I'm using something more modern, like chocoaltey? MSI has never played well with CI servers and wix is way too complicated.

[benaadams]

Nano server (variant of Server 2016) which has no UI component at all has adopted the appx for Windows Server apps (WSA) so I'd imagine the tooling will improve there.

Though you can also build one with a text editor and command line: https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/nanoserver/2015/11/19/ha...

[flukus]

> Though you can also build one with a text editor and command line

That's exactly the sort of thing I'm after, thanks. I hate it when configuration is hidden in favor of tooling.

[benaadams]

Also manual conversion steps without installer: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/uwp/porting/desktop...

[Already__Taken]

Seems like they want MSI to go away. I'm finding it harder and harder to find published ones.

[flukus]

The kind of tried it years ago by not including setup projects in visual studio (MS Developers think publishing directly from VS is a good idea), the problem was there wasn't a better alternative.

I didn't mind NSIS (nullsoft of winamp fame), but it was weird to say the least. Install scripts were a high level, domain specefic variant of assembly...

[douche]

We switched to Advanced Installer when that happened.

Now I notice that probably 50% of the MSIs that I run are using the AdvancedInstaller dialog skins.

[jmkni]

Wouldn't this make it easy for people to convert other peoples applications and upload them to the store? Especially if you don't need access to the code.

I wonder what barriers MS has in place to prevent that sort of piracy?

[WorldMaker]

The same barriers that try to keep people from needlessly cloning and profiting off open source projects? Review processes.