Potential of adapting the iOS run-time for use with Windows, via Microsoft's WinObjC

[shirakaba]

The problem

NativeScript began an experimental Windows runtime effort:

https://github.com/NativeScript/windows-runtime

... However, it was abandoned and there are no plans to revive it in the near future.

A tentative solution

WinObjC is Microsoft's official "Windows Bridge for iOS".

The bridge allows you to create Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps that will run on many Windows devices by re-using your Objective-C code and iOS APIs alongside Windows 10 features like Cortana and Windows Notifications.

I was wondering: Could this be used as a cheat to enable making Universal Windows Platform apps? I (naïvely) imagine that it would take very little adaptation to the existing iOS runtime?

Context

NativeScript is a phenomenal framework, and it would be great to spread its platform reach; this could land an extra platform for it – a desktop one, no less – without requiring significant Windows expertise or disproportional extra development resources. It may also attract collaboration from UWP developers and gather interest in the platform.

What's more, Objective C is also the basis for macOS. NativeScript could double-down on Objective-C as its desktop language. I know that desktop is a low (non-?) priority for the NativeScript steering team, but if it could be achieved by re-use of existing code, it's surely worth considering.

Caution

Development seems to have slowed down on this repository in the last season, but Microsoft are known to listen to propositions for collaboration (e.g. they are collaborating with Facebook on React Native).