WPF Training, which stands for Windows Presentation Foundation, is Microsoft's latest approach to a GUI framework, used with the .NET framework.
But what IS a GUI framework? GUI stands for Graphical User Interface, and you're probably looking at one right now. Windows has a GUI for working with your computer, and the browser that you're likely reading this document in has a GUI that allows you to surf the web.
A GUI framework allows you to create an application with a wide range of GUI elements, like labels, textboxes and other well known elements. Without a GUI framework you would have to draw these elements manually and handle all of the user interaction scenarios like text and mouse input. This is a LOT of work, so instead, most developers will use a GUI framework which will do all the basic work and allow the developers to focus on making great applications.
There are a lot of GUI frameworks out there, but for .NET developers, the most interesting ones are currently WinForms and WPF. WPF is the newest, but Microsoft is still maintaining and supporting WinForms. As you will see in the next chapter, there are quite a few differences between the two frameworks, but their purpose is the same: To make it easy to create applications with a great GUI.
WPF Architecture
Before WPF, the other user interface frameworks offered by Microsoft such as MFC and Windows forms, were just wrappers around User32 and GDI32 DLLs, but WPF makes only minimal use of User32. So,
WPF – Advantages
In the earlier GUI frameworks, there was no real separation between how an application looks like and how it behaved. Both GUI and behavior was created in the same language, e.g. C# or VB.Net which would require more effort from the developer to implement both UI and behavior associated with it.
In WPF, UI elements are designed in XAML while behaviors can be implemented in procedural languages such C# and VB.Net. So it very easy to separate behavior from the designer code.
With XAML, the programmers can work in parallel with the designers. The separation between a GUI and its behavior can allow us to easily change the look of a control by using styles and templates.
But what IS a GUI framework? GUI stands for Graphical User Interface, and you're probably looking at one right now. Windows has a GUI for working with your computer, and the browser that you're likely reading this document in has a GUI that allows you to surf the web.
A GUI framework allows you to create an application with a wide range of GUI elements, like labels, textboxes and other well known elements. Without a GUI framework you would have to draw these elements manually and handle all of the user interaction scenarios like text and mouse input. This is a LOT of work, so instead, most developers will use a GUI framework which will do all the basic work and allow the developers to focus on making great applications.
There are a lot of GUI frameworks out there, but for .NET developers, the most interesting ones are currently WinForms and WPF. WPF is the newest, but Microsoft is still maintaining and supporting WinForms. As you will see in the next chapter, there are quite a few differences between the two frameworks, but their purpose is the same: To make it easy to create applications with a great GUI.
WPF Architecture
Before WPF, the other user interface frameworks offered by Microsoft such as MFC and Windows forms, were just wrappers around User32 and GDI32 DLLs, but WPF makes only minimal use of User32. So,
- WPF is more than just a wrapper.
- It is a part of the .NET framework.
- It contains a mixture of managed and unmanaged code.
The major components of WPF architecture are as shown in the figure below. The most important code part of WPF are −
The presentation framework and the presentation core have been written in managed code. Milcore is a part of unmanaged code which allows tight integration with DirectX (responsible for display and rendering). CLR makes the development process more productive by offering many features such as memory management, error handling, etc.
- Presentation Framework
- Presentation Core
- Milcore
The presentation framework and the presentation core have been written in managed code. Milcore is a part of unmanaged code which allows tight integration with DirectX (responsible for display and rendering). CLR makes the development process more productive by offering many features such as memory management, error handling, etc.
WPF – Advantages
In the earlier GUI frameworks, there was no real separation between how an application looks like and how it behaved. Both GUI and behavior was created in the same language, e.g. C# or VB.Net which would require more effort from the developer to implement both UI and behavior associated with it.
In WPF, UI elements are designed in XAML while behaviors can be implemented in procedural languages such C# and VB.Net. So it very easy to separate behavior from the designer code.
With XAML, the programmers can work in parallel with the designers. The separation between a GUI and its behavior can allow us to easily change the look of a control by using styles and templates.
For More Information About WPF Visit Mindmajix.
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