Now an open source UI library for Microsoft’s UWP

Months after Microsoft advocating community developments, Progress has finally released an open source version of its UI library for Universal Windows Platform (UWP). Called Telerik UI, the library is already touted be popular within the 2.1 million strong Progress developer community and is designed to ease the development of Windows apps.

“To us, this is what open source is about — empowering developers with the right foundational technology and expertise, putting them on the ease path to productivity and providing innovative tools to tackle ever challenging application requirements,” said Faris Sweis, senior vice president and general manager of developer tooling, Progress, in a joint statement.

Progress Telerik UI for UWP lets developers remove the repetitive tactical elements of development to focus sharply on solving business challenges. It comes as a part of the company’s Telerik DevCraft, which is a .Net toolbox for web, mobile and desktop developments.

Though the UI controls through the Telerik UI will now be available directly to the developer community, Progress will continue to sell professional support for the open source solution. The library will be compatible with Asp.Net, Asp.Net MVC and Visual Studio.

Donation to .Net Foundation

Alongside preferring the open source way, Progress is all set to donate the Telerik UI library to the .Net Foundation. This would expand the non-profit group and help to promote .Net developments.

“We recognise the usefulness and widespread value of Progress Telerik UI for UWP, and look forward to developing additional functionality through the contributions of our community,” said Tim Heuer, principal program manager lead, Microsoft.

UWP is one of the most highlighted features developed by Microsoft to distinguish its Windows 10. It allows developers to build a single application with distinct experiences for desktop, notebooks and mobile devices.

As UI is one of the prime areas in creating the structure of UWP-based apps, the latest move by Progress would bring a breeze. Moreover, its open source availability is likely to influence some of the enthusiasts to build multiple products for the proprietary world but using the power of the community.