Microsoft has announced the general availability of WebView2 for Win32 C/C++, which can now be used in production applications, the company has confirmed. Developers are free to use WebView2 SDK with any Win32 C/C++ application. Meanwhile, Microsoft is also working to add .NET and WinUI 3 GA support. The .NET APIs are in the prerelease package.
WebView2 for Win32 C/C++ generally available
“We are officially releasing a forward-compatible WebView2 SDK along with production-ready WebView2 Runtime. These can be used in any Win32 C/C++ application, and are supported across existing Windows versions,” Microsoft said.
What is WebView 2
Built on top of Edge Chromium, WebView2 enables developers to eliminate the dependency on a specific version of Microsoft Edge. WebView 2 enables Windows app developers to access some of the modern web technologies in both existing and new apps.
Developers can now host web content in native applications, courtesy of the new WebView2 Runtime. In a nutshell, WebView2 brings the best of the web to your native desktop application.
WebView 2 benefits
Following are some of the key benefits of WebView 2:
- Utilize the entire web platform, libraries, tooling, and talent that exists within the web ecosystem.
- Web development allows for faster deployment and iteration.
- Support for consistent user experience across Windows 7, 8, and 10.
- Access the full set of Native APIs.
- Add web code to your codebase allows for increased re-use across multiple platforms.
- Microsoft provides support and adds new feature requests when WebView2 is release as GA.
- Rely on an up-to-date version of Chromium with regular platform updates and security patches.
- Choose to package the Chromium bits in your application.
- Add web components piece by piece to your application.
WebView 2 is part of the Project Union, which aims to bridge the gap between Win32 and Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps for Windows 10.
To sum up, Win32 C/C++ is now generally available whereas .NET support is currently in preview. .NET general availability has been planned by end of 2020. Meanwhile, WinUI 3 preview for UWP and Win32 now available.
