Developers who want to build apps for the Windows Store have three main language options: XAML, which is Microsoft’s native app tooling; WinJS, which is Microsoft’s set of JavaScript; or C++, which is primarily useful for games. When Microsoft first launched Windows 8, it promoted JavaScript support as a big benefit, but it seems few developers are using it.
ZDNet’s Matt Baxter-Reynolds analyzed the top 25 apps in the UK Windows Store and found that only two are written in C++ and only three are written with WinJS. All the rest used XAML. He concludes, “If someone was asking me as an advisor as to whether I’d build Windows Store apps in WinJS, I’d have to say ‘uh, no.'”
