Syncfusion has announced the availability of Essential Studio for WinRT 2013 Volume 1 that enables you to build Windows store applications using Gauge, Grid, Tools, PDF, DocIO, XlsIO and Report Viewer. Essential Tools includes controls for bar code rendering, selection of dates and colors. With the help of essential PDF, you will be able to provide support for rendering QR bar codes in a PDF document.
While essential DocIO provides support for absolute-positioned tabs in .doc-to-PDF conversion, essential XlsIO includes improved import-array performance in addition to support for combo box editing in excel 2010 files and custom scaling in Excel-to-PDF Conversion. The control suite also includes a report viewer control which enables you to change and evaluate VB expressions and includes support for hyperlinks.
InfoQ had a chat with Syncfusion development team to know more about WinRT 2013 Volume 1
InfoQ: Is there any demand for WinRT controls?
Yes. There has been substantial interest we have seen in terms of visitors, evaluators and users for the WinRT controls.
InfoQ: What is the difference between Digital Gauge Linear Gauge?
A digital scale can be used to display numeric values similar to the LED displays like those found in watches, speedometers, odometers etc. A linear gauge is used to display a value with reference to a linear scale similar to the thermometer where the temperature range is on the linear scale and the current value is indicated by a pointer.
InfoQ: Can I connect to MySQL database using DataGrid Control?
Currently the WinRT framework does not have the capability to connect directly to any server based database like SQL Server or MySQL so you would need to go through a web service to retrieve the data. However it is possible to connect to a local database called SqlLite.
InfoQ: For what purpose Bar Codes and QR Bar Codes control used?
A barcode generated and just used to encode a piece of information in a format that can be read by other barcode readers. An example of QR barcode could be generating a boarding pass on your mobile device so that you don't have to print a boarding pass. The same logic can apply to any other form of ticket reservation systems.
InfoQ: Does Essential XlsIO provide support for Office 2013?
Yes, Essential XlsIO can read and write excel files in Office 2013 format.
InfoQ: Can you share with us the approximate number of developers who have deployed apps using Syncfusion WinRT controls?
We are not aware of an approximate number also at this time. However, we expect it to be low at this point of time as most of our users are still developing their products.