Microsoft has released WebView2 for Win 32 C / C ++, a control for embedding web technologies such as HTML, JavaScript, and CSS in native applications. For the upwardly compatible SDK, there is also a production-ready runtime for WebView2. According to the announcement in the Windows blog, it can be used in any Win 32 – C / C ++ application and all common Windows versions should support Runtime and SDK.

The new embedded control tool is based on Microsoft’s Edge browser. According to the editors, developers of Windows apps should be able to create apps for the web and for the desktop at the same time. On the part of Microsoft, WebView2 is part of a project with the meaningful name Reunion, which makes the new tool generally available for Win 32 and UWP apps as well as for some different UI stacks.

In the .NET area, WebView2 can be tested as a preview For WinForms and WPF from the .NET area is meanwhile a preview available, Microsoft has announced general availability for the end 2020. Full support of WinUI 3 is planned for the upcoming release of WinUI 3, according to the announcement. Two sales models will be available for WebView2 in the future: Evergreen and Stable Version. In Evergreen mode, Microsoft continuously delivers automatic updates, which means that users of this option should always be up to date. This model is already generally available.

For apps with stricter compatibility requirements, there will be an option in the future to install a runtime that does not update itself automatically. The developers are in demand here and can decide for themselves when the time for an update is right. This variant is currently available as a preview, general availability for Win 32 C / C ++ is planned for the end 2020 according to Microsoft. In the future, with every major update of the Edge browser, an update for the WebView2 SDK with new APIs will also come out. Developers should be free to update their version