EditSession Notes
This session was a general discussion of experiences with Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF).
EditThings people like about WPF
- separation of presentation from logic
- the content model gives a lot of flexibility
- the way databinding and commands are done
- WPF applications can use a "platform independant resolution"
- the styling capabilities and how you can easily skin an application
EditSome of the things that people did not like about WPF
- There is a considerable learning curve and it seems like the amount of WPF stuff to learn is neverending
- The WPF GUI builder in Visual Studio has some problems and doing the layout of your GUI in the Expression Blend tool is much better.
- Blend does not have any source control built in
EditSome advice given
- Building with WPF should not be painful - if it is, you should go back and look at how you are doing things.
- One of the key learnings people have is that controls are just building blocks and are often made up of other building blocks
EditSuggested resources for learning WPF
EditBooks
- WPF Unleashed by Adam Nathan: this was considered to be the best book on WPF
- Pro WPF: Windows Presentation Foundation in .NET 3.0 by Matthew MacDonald : considered to be the next best book
- Applications = Code + Markup: A Guide to the Microsoft Windows Presentation Foundation by Charles Petzold: goes more under the covers on how WPF workds
EditWeb resources
EditUseful tools