Windows Store App Submission Process Detailed

Microsoft’s Jonathan Garrigues has detailed some aspects of the submissions process for the upcoming Windows Store on the company’s Windows Store for Developers blog. The post describes in detail the various steps involved in the app submission process, and Microsoft’s efforts to address developer complaints about its competitors’ storefronts.

Most of Microsoft’s efforts focus on transparency: they want app developers to be aware of the approval process before they ever submit any code, and they want developers who have submitted apps to be able to track those apps through every step of the submission process. Each step in the process is described, both in terms of what the steps entail and how much time the step usually takes. The submission procedure is mostly automated and focuses on validating code and making sure it runs, but ultimately depends on a human being to launch your app, verify that it works and that it does not violate any of Microsoft’s policies, and verify that it does not contain any malicious code.

Visual Studio will include some features that work toward these ends, including a feature that will allow developers to reserve a name for their app before the app is actually ready for submission to the store. Microsoft will also supply a Windows App Certification Kit that automatically goes through your code to make sure that your app launches and meets a set of basic requirements – the certification kit can be run locally and corresponds to one of the stages of Microsoft’s certification process, meaning that if your app passes this test it stands a better chance of being allowed on the Windows Store.

As is often the case with Microsoft’s latter-day offerings, the Windows Store is trying to find a place in between Apple and Google’s respective app stores for the iOS and Android platforms: it wants to maintain some aspects of Android’s openness and flexibility with the added benefit of iOS’s safety and freedom from malware while at the same time steering clear of Apple’s obscure and sometimes fickle approval process. While Microsoft’s system does result in a “walled garden,” the company hopes that the Windows Store’s relative transparency about the approval process pleases longtime Win32 developers and newcomers alike.

For more on this process, you can read the full post - it is linked below for your convenience.

Source: Windows Store for Developers Blog