Portable Class Libraries as a way to share code between Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 store applications

If you've studied Windows Phone 8 or Windows 8 store application (Windows Runtime) development, you've probably heard of Portable Class Libraries (PCLs for short), which allow you to create cross-platform .NET code. In this context, "cross-platform" of course means "any platform that runs Microsoft .NET".

Now, Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 store applications can have a lot in common. Especially business logic is something that could be easily shared between two applications running on these two incarnations of the Windows 8 operating system.

In this perspective, being able to use the exact same library (piece of compiled code) in both application types makes sense. Of course, there are some drawbacks as well (such as added complexity and not being able to use all features but rather a common subset), but overall, Portable Class Libraries can be highly useful.

Oh, there's a recent MSDN Magazine article on this topic, be sure to check it out.