Hello guys,
lately there is a lot of discussion about GUIs going on here, so I want to introduce you WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation), to create GUIs of new generation. WinForms are just obsolete and all its GUIs do look the same (or similar) no matter what you do. If you are VB6 coder, you can stop reading, because WPF if accesible only for .net developers (from 3.0 version I believe).
First some leeched theory from web (lazy to write it by myself), so here we go:
Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) is a next-generation presentation system for building Windows client applications with visually stunning user experiences. With WPF, you can create a wide range of both standalone and browser-hosted applications. The core of WPF is a resolution-independent and vector-based rendering engine that is built to take advantage of modern graphics hardware. WPF extends the core with a comprehensive set of application-development features that include Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML), controls, data binding, layout, 2-D and 3-D graphics, animation, styles, templates, documents, media, text, and typography. WPF is included in the Microsoft .NET Framework, so you can build applications that incorporate other elements of the .NET Framework class library. Well known Silverlight is just a subset of WPF, so whatever you saw in Silverlight, you can do for fat windows client and much more!
Ok, enough theory, right? It is really not that difficult as it may look like ...
QUICK TUTORIAL:
1. When creating an application, don't choose WinForms project, but WPF application:
[img]http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/2002/projectz.jpg[/img]
2. After the project is created, the screen looks almost the same as in WinForms. You have your default dialog (form) prepared for you and you can drag-and-drop controls from the toolbox. The same as WinForms, right? Not a big deal here ... The only difference is that the form code is in XAML, as seen below:
[img]http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/8800/project2k.jpg[/img]
3. Next, I really advise you to download MS Expression Blend (4.0 current version). It's a graphic tool something between Photoshop and Visual Studio for creating neat GUI and controls. Although you can do it all in Visual Studio only, with Blend, you can do much much more. I own MCTS WPF certificate, so I know what I am telling you. You can run both Visual Studio and Blend at the same time with the same project open. This tools can work together.
This is Blend:
[img]http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/2465/blendp.jpg[/img]
This is it, with WPF, you divide the presentation layer and the application logic, which is totally the same as you are used to from WinForms. With WPF you just can create everything, want a button looking like a star with all properties like the WinForms button? No problem, just draw it in Blend ... I am not mentioning animations, because this is supposed to be just a basic tutorial, but yes, with WPF you can create animations easily as well. On the bottom on this TUT you will find some e-books if you are interested ...
Now, some gallery from google:
this is my favourite, with WPF you can insert to combobox anything you want, not only text ...
[img]http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/8107/combob.png[/img]
[img]http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/1147/18662968.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/5918/92242537.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/8804/77064683.jpg[/img]
Ok guys, that's all from me, hope at least someone will try it and use it in the future 🤝
E-books as promised:
Addison Wesley Essential Windows Presentation Foundation
Apress Pro WPF in C Sharp
Apress Pro WPF Windows Presentation Foundation in dot NET 3.0
Sams Windows Presentation Foundation Unleashed
PS: this books don't cover .net 4.0 stuff, but it is pretty useless for you ...
lately there is a lot of discussion about GUIs going on here, so I want to introduce you WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation), to create GUIs of new generation. WinForms are just obsolete and all its GUIs do look the same (or similar) no matter what you do. If you are VB6 coder, you can stop reading, because WPF if accesible only for .net developers (from 3.0 version I believe).
First some leeched theory from web (lazy to write it by myself), so here we go:
Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) is a next-generation presentation system for building Windows client applications with visually stunning user experiences. With WPF, you can create a wide range of both standalone and browser-hosted applications. The core of WPF is a resolution-independent and vector-based rendering engine that is built to take advantage of modern graphics hardware. WPF extends the core with a comprehensive set of application-development features that include Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML), controls, data binding, layout, 2-D and 3-D graphics, animation, styles, templates, documents, media, text, and typography. WPF is included in the Microsoft .NET Framework, so you can build applications that incorporate other elements of the .NET Framework class library. Well known Silverlight is just a subset of WPF, so whatever you saw in Silverlight, you can do for fat windows client and much more!
Ok, enough theory, right? It is really not that difficult as it may look like ...
QUICK TUTORIAL:
1. When creating an application, don't choose WinForms project, but WPF application:
[img]http://img210.imageshack.us/img210/2002/projectz.jpg[/img]
2. After the project is created, the screen looks almost the same as in WinForms. You have your default dialog (form) prepared for you and you can drag-and-drop controls from the toolbox. The same as WinForms, right? Not a big deal here ... The only difference is that the form code is in XAML, as seen below:
[img]http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/8800/project2k.jpg[/img]
3. Next, I really advise you to download MS Expression Blend (4.0 current version). It's a graphic tool something between Photoshop and Visual Studio for creating neat GUI and controls. Although you can do it all in Visual Studio only, with Blend, you can do much much more. I own MCTS WPF certificate, so I know what I am telling you. You can run both Visual Studio and Blend at the same time with the same project open. This tools can work together.
This is Blend:
[img]http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/2465/blendp.jpg[/img]
This is it, with WPF, you divide the presentation layer and the application logic, which is totally the same as you are used to from WinForms. With WPF you just can create everything, want a button looking like a star with all properties like the WinForms button? No problem, just draw it in Blend ... I am not mentioning animations, because this is supposed to be just a basic tutorial, but yes, with WPF you can create animations easily as well. On the bottom on this TUT you will find some e-books if you are interested ...
Now, some gallery from google:
this is my favourite, with WPF you can insert to combobox anything you want, not only text ...
[img]http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/8107/combob.png[/img]
[img]http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/1147/18662968.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/5918/92242537.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/8804/77064683.jpg[/img]
Ok guys, that's all from me, hope at least someone will try it and use it in the future 🤝
E-books as promised:
Addison Wesley Essential Windows Presentation Foundation
Apress Pro WPF in C Sharp
Apress Pro WPF Windows Presentation Foundation in dot NET 3.0
Sams Windows Presentation Foundation Unleashed
PS: this books don't cover .net 4.0 stuff, but it is pretty useless for you ...
