TechEd 2012: Microsoft Adds HTML5 & JavaScript Support for Visual Studio LightSwitch

Microsoft announced that it's adding a new HTML5 and JavaScript-based client that will support Visual Studio LightSwitch during the company's TechEd conference in Orlando. According to Microsoft, this enhancement was added so users can build touch-and-gesture business applications that run on mobile devices. With this client, users can develop LightSwitch apps that run on Android, iOS, and Windows 8 platforms.

"With many employees bringing their own devices to the workplace, building a native client for every device and deploying each implementation to separate app stores is rarely feasible. Standards-compliant HTML5 and JavaScript was a natural technology choice given its growing support and vibrant development community," explained the Visual Studio team in a blog post that outlined the announcement.

In addition, Microsoft stated that the Silverlight client will continue to provide developers with the ability to build desktop applications. The purpose of the new HTML5 client is so that developers can optimize their apps for mobile devices.

The LightSwitch client is currently not available, but will be available for download on the LightSwitch Developer Center web page. For more information on the HTML5 client for LightSwitch, see the TechEd session, "What's New in Visual Studio LightSwitch." The session was led by the director of program management for the Visual Studio team at Microsoft, Jay Schmelzer, who gave an excellent presentation on the new development experience. In his session, he guides viewers through the process of creating multiple companion client applications that targets several different devices while adhering to standard compliment data services.

What did you think about Microsoft's announcement? Will you be downloading the HTML5-based client when it's available? Let Dev Pro know your thoughts by posting a comment to this article or by sending a tweet at the username @devproconnect.