This is an unstructured list of interesting things I found when playing with the new metro applications.

While HTML5/JS metro applications always run in a host process WWAHost.exe (Windows Web Application Host?), .NET apps does not, they run directly in its own process:

When deployed locally from the Visual Studio, applications (both HTML5/JS and .NET) are stored within the folder AppxLayouts in the user folder. It is interesting that XAML and content files are not embedded as resources in the executable but they are left alone:

As the WinRT is native, every external event such as Click comes from the blackbox:

If we look at modules currently loaded when a managed application is running:

we’ll find some interesting things:

• despite the fact that in a Metro app you may use only a subset of the full .NET, it looks like some of the full .NET modules are loaded (mscorlib.dll, System.Runtime.dll, System.Linq.dll, System.Core.dll, System.dll, System.Xml.dll and others), so a managed application obviously does not only forward calls to the native WinRT,
• of course, a number of WinRT modules are loaded (with .winmd extensions)

.NET 4.5 assembly references are evident if we look at the application from the Reflector:

We all know that that there are two main approaches to develop new “Metro” style applications in Windows 8: HTML5/JavaScript and .NET (predominantly C# and VB.NET) and one complementary approach (C++/XAML). What technologies did Microsoft choose to write demo applications coming in the Developer Preview?

Here’s a short list containing all applications packed up in the Windows 8 Developer Preview together with technologies they are build on and other comments.

So what would be a management summary? 29 applications, 5 of which are written in .NET/XAML, 2 probably in C++/XAML and the rest are HTML5/JS.

Name	Technology	Comment	Immersive tile
Alarms	HTML5/JS
Piano (audiotagpiano)	HTML5/JS
BitBox	HTML5/JS	sound loops sequencer
BUILD	HTML5/JS	just a little app showing BUILD sessions
Copper	C++/XAML ???	simple 3D demo
Five in row	HTML5/JS
Flashcards	HTML5/JS
News (hermes)	HTML5/JS
Chess (checkm8)	.NET/XAML
Ink Pad	HTML5/JS
Labyrinth	HTML5/JS
Measure It	HTML5/JS
Memories	.NET/XAML
Mopod	HTML5/JS
Air Craft (myplane)	HTML5/JS
Near Me	HTML5/JS
Notespace	HTML5/JS
PaintPlay	HTML5/JS
Picture Stream (picstream)	.NET/XAML
Socialite	HTML5/JS
Stock	HTML5/JS
Sudoku	.NET/XAML	includes Tim Heuer’s code
Tile Puzzle	HTML5/JS
Treehouse Stampede!	HTML5/JS
Tube Rider	C++/XAML ???
Tweet@rama	HTML5/JS
Weather	HTML5/JS
Word Hunt	HTML5/JS
Zero Gravity	.NET/XAML	Ported Windows Phone 7 application