WebAuthenticator on Windows throws unhelpful errors #23616
Description
Description
The WebAuthenticator APIs is not supported on Windows.
However, it has the entire old UWP implementation left in place, which gives a terrible and misleading developer experience.
First, trying to use the API you're met with the following exception, leading you to think you should just configure your app right:
However adding this required protocol to the app manifest, now just gives you a completely useless COMException:
There's no indication that this is just not supported.
Instead a PlatformNotSupportedException should be thrown with a helpful message leading people to a solution. Also the API should be tagged with a NotSupportedPlatform attribute.
I've now dealt with multiple customers who got stuck on this, and didn't know how to get it to work, and having to explain to them that it will never work.
Related to #2702
Steps to Reproduce
Use the WebAuthenticator.AuthenticateAsync API on Windows.
Link to public reproduction project repository
No response
Version with bug
8.0.61 SR6.1
Is this a regression from previous behavior?
Yes, this used to work in Xamarin.Forms
Last version that worked well
Unknown/Other
Affected platforms
Windows
Affected platform versions
No response
Did you find any workaround?
No, but you could use WinUIEx as an alternative API. The problem is though that the exception doesn't lead you to start looking for alternatives.
It does look like you can create your own IWebAuthenticator but it doesn't look like there's any way to register it. There are 0 references to this method so I don't see a way to do it:
Otherwise that would be a somewhat OK place for people to register an alternative method to call, so the public webauthenticator api could become functional with a 3rd party library registered.
Relevant log output
No response