Back at Build 2015, Microsoft showed off new tools for developers to make it easy to port their iOS and Android apps to the Windows ecosystem. Today, Microsoft is announcing that Project Islandwood, now known as Windows Bridge for iOS, will be open sourced and you can start using the tools today.
This early release, which Microsoft notes is still a work in progress, is being open sourced under the MIT License, and some of the features shown at Build are not ready for public release. If you are looking for a deep dive on the tool and about how you can start using Windows Bridge for iOS, check out Microsoft's post here.
The company also has another project for Android developers, known as Windows Bridge for Android, but at this time, they are not open sourcing that tool and it is still only available via invite from the company. If you are currently on the wait list, Microsoft hopes to have everyone invited by the end of August.
And for those of you who are looking for Windows Bridge for Classic Windows apps, ‘Project Centennial,’ that will make it possible to package and publish your current .NET and Win32-based Windows applications to the Windows Store, this tool will arrive in 2016.
With these tools, Microsoft is hoping to persuade developers for other platforms to port their apps to the Windows app store. The idea they are pushing is that you can leverage the work you have already done and if these tools do become streamlined enough to make porting a trivial task, it could pay huge dividends for the Windows Store.
Download: Windows Bridge for iOS
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