An Overview Of Wpf

Windows Presentation Foundation Clint Edmonson Architect Evangelist [email_address] blog: www.notsotrivial.net twitter: @clinted

What is Windows Presentation Foundation?

“ WPF”

Why Was WPF Created?

UX

Design is Inevitable “ Questions about whether design is necessary or affordable are quite beside the point: design is inevitable . The alternative to good design is bad design , not no design at all.” Douglas Martin designer

A Metaphor

“ It just works!”

Another Metaphor

How Does WPF Solve This Problem?

Developers and designers exist in two different time-space continuums

Designer/developer experience

designers & developers:

Speak the same language

designers design

designers & developers:

Speak different languages

developers add business logic The new way for designers and developers to work together designer developer

Declarative & Programming Development

Easily toolable, declarative markup

Code and content are separate

Can be rendered in the browser / standalone application

<Button Width="100"> OK <Button.Background> LightBlue </Button.Background> </Button> XAML Button b1 = new Button(); b1.Content = "OK"; b1.Background = new SolidColorBrush(Colors.LightBlue); b1.Width = 100; C# Dim b1 As New Button b1.Content = "OK" b1.Background = New _ SolidColorBrush(Colors.LightBlue) b1.Width = 100 VB.NET

Features Of WPF?

- Rich, mature control set - TextBox, Checkbox, ComboBox, Border, MediaElement - Animation, triggers, timelines - Styles and embedded resources - Layout panels - Databinding - 2D, 3D and imaging - ClearType and antialiasing - Interoperability - Document services

Property Engine Input / Eventing System .NET Framework 2.0 Desktop Windows Manager Media Integration Layer DirectX Windows Vista Display Driver (LDDM) Windows Media Foundation Composition Engine Print Spooler Managed Unmanaged Application Services Deployment Services Databinding USER INTERFACE SERVICES XAML Accessibility Property System Input & Eventing BASE SERVICES DOCUMENT SERVICES Packaging Services XPS Documents Animation 2D 3D Audio Imaging Text Video Effects Composition Engine MEDIA INTEGRATION LAYER Controls Layout Windows Presentation Foundation XPS Viewer

When Should I Use WPF?

You should be in a rich-client application environment when…

You want your client to be front and center with your customers

You want to take advantage of local system resources

You’re building a ‘widget’ application

You need to integrate closely with the desktop

You need complete control over the entire user interface or brand

What are my deployment options?

Stand-alone installation

Uses standard install tools

Installed locally to Program Files

Available to all users on the machine

Full access to local computer and network resources

Windows OS only

XML Browser App (XBAP)

Install and run apps by clicking a URI

WPF application docked inside the browser window

Saved to isolated storage on local machine

Must be signed

Always auto updated

Must be run while online

Windows OS only

.NET 3.0 and up

Full framework available (depending on trust levels)

Firefox support added in .NET 3.5 & Firefox 3

Click-Once

Install and run apps by clicking a URI

May be installed locally or run from web every time

Installed on a per-user basis

Must be signed

Saved to isolated storage on local machine

Supports automatic updating

Can run when offline

Windows OS only

.NET 2.0 and up

Full framework available (depending on trust levels)

Firefox support added in .NET 3.5 & Firefox 3

Who’s Using WPF?

How Do I Build WPF Applications?

Demo: A Walk Through WPF Development in Expression Blend 2 and Visual Studio 2008

Whether you are designing rich standards-based websites, ultimate experiences on the desktop, or managing digital assets and content, Expression professional design tools give you the flexibility and freedom to bring your vision to reality.

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