Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) (formerly known by its code name 'Avalon') is a brand-new presentation framework for Windows XP and Windows Vista, the next version of the Windows client operating system. For developers, WPF is a cornucopia of new technologies, including a new graphics engine that supports 3-D graphics, animation, and more; an XML-based markup language (XAML) for declaring the structure of your Windows UI; and a radical new model for controls. Programming Windows Presentation Foundation is the book you need to get up to speed on WPF. By page two, you'll have written your first WPF application, and by the end of Chapter 1, 'Hello WPF,' you'll have completed a rapid tour of the framework and its major elements. These include the XAML markup language and the mapping of XAML markup to WinFX code; the WPF content model; layout; controls, styles, and templates; graphics and animation; and, finally, deployment.
Programming Windows Presentation Foundation features:
Scores of C# and XAML examples that show you what it takes to get a WPF application up and running, from a simple 'Hello, Avalon' program to a tic-tac-toe game
Insightful discussions of the powerful new programming styles that WPF brings to Windows development, especially its new model for controls
A color insert to better illustrate WPF support for 3-D, color, and other graphics effects
A tutorial on XAML, the new HTML-like markup language for declaring Windows UI
An explanation and comparison of the features that support interoperability with Windows Forms and other Windows legacy applications
The next generation of Windows applications is going to blaze a trail into the unknown. WPF represents the best of the control-based Windows world and the content-based web world; it's an engine just itching to be taken for a spin. Inside, you'll find the keys to the ignition.
Table of Contents
Preface
1. Hello, WPF
WPF from Scratch
Navigation Applications
Content Model
Layout
Controls
Data Binding
Dependency Properties
Resources
Styles and Control Templates
Graphics
Application Deployment
Where Are We?
2. Layout
Layout Basics
DockPanel
StackPanel
Grid
Canvas
Viewbox
Text Layout
Common Layout Properties
When Content Doesn't Fit
Custom Layout
Where Are We?
3. Controls
What Are Controls?
Handling Input
Built-In Controls
Where Are We?
4. Data Binding
Without Data Binding
Data Binding
Binding to List Data
Data Sources
Master-Detail Binding
Where Are We?
5. Styles and Control Templates
Without Styles
Inline Styles
Named Styles
Element-Typed Styles
Data Templates and Styles
Triggers
Control Templates
Where Are We?
6. Resources
Creating and Using Resources
Resources and Styles
Binary Resources
Global Applications
Where Are We?
7. Graphics
Graphics Fundamentals
Shapes
Brushes and Pens
Transformations
Visual-Layer Programming
Video and 3-D
Where Are We?
8. Animation
Animation Fundamentals
Timelines
Storyboards
Key Frame Animations
Creating Animations Procedurally
Where Are We?
9. Custom Controls
Custom Control Basics
Choosing a Base Class
Custom Functionality
Templates
Default Visuals
Where Are We?
10. ClickOnce Deployment
A Brief History of Windows Deployment
ClickOnce: Local Install
The Pieces of ClickOnce
Publish Properties
Deploying Updates
ClickOnce: Express Applications
Choosing Local Install versus Express
Signing ClickOnce Applications
Programming for ClickOnce
Security Considerations
Where Are We?
A. XAML
B. Interoperability
C. Asynchronous and Multithreaded Programming in WPF Applications
Index
