Foundations of WPF: An Introduction to Windows Presentation Foundation

By Laurence Moroney

Book Overview

Windows Presentation Foundation is a cutting-edge presentation framework for creating high-fidelity applications for Windows Vista and Windows XP. WPF is a composite technology with a noteworthy graphics engine that gives you more control over your applications screen output than has ever been possible in Windows before. New control frameworks and a new XML-based markup language, XAML, complete the core WPF package. On top of this, WPF can be linked to the new Microsoft Expression Suite to simplify the creation of your user interfaces, and it can be linked to .NET 2.0 to handle complex business logic. Foundations of WPF: An Introduction to Windows Presentation Foundation teaches you everything you need to get started with the technology, and is broken into three parts. The first introduces and contextualizes the WPF technology; the second part dives deeper into the facets of the technology that are of immediate and valuable use in developing applications; the last part offers you the real-world perspective you need to be productive in the community and customer base. In summary, this book: Explains how WPF interoperates with myriad new ancillary and support technologies being released by Microsoft (XAML, WCF, WinFX, and the Expression Design Suite) Gets you up and running, building applications for the new Windows "Vista" as quickly as possible Separates design and implementation to make life easier from a business and development perspective

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1590597605
• ISBN13: 9781590597606
• Release Date: November 2006
• Publisher: Apress L. P.
• Length: 341 Pages
• Weight: 1.41 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 7.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

A wonderful WPF resource

I didn't even know Laurence's book was released when I found it searching for WPF books. I ordered it and have been working with it for 4 days now. It's a definite keeper. The book is 10 chapters long and 315 pages including indexes and tables. Chapter 1 does the obligatory "Introduction" to the technology. Nothing groundbreaking here. Chapter 2 continues and provides a good intro and background. Chapter 3 is where the rubber hits the road and it goes through building your first WPF application. It's a simple app but serves as a great intro application. Chapter 4 covers "Building a Connected WPF Application". It's a superb discusson and again, although the app isn't overly complex, it gives you everything you need to build a complex 'real world' application. I've spent most of my time on CHapter 4, trying to come up with my own scenarios and using WCF to get my data. Chapter 5 - Layout controls. This chapter is a lot more involved than many of the other ones but when you're through with it, you'll know layout inside and out. Chapter 6 gets into XAML controls. This is the heart of WPF and it's explained in plenty of detail without overdoing it Chapter 7 goes into graphics and media. To be honest, I haven't spent a lot of time on this chapter, just breezed through it so I don't have a lot to say about it. Chapter 8 goes into animation and while related to the Chapter 7 content, animation is critical to making compelling WPF apps. I found this chapter particularly useful. Chapter 9 goes into 3d graphics, again, a centerpiece to compelling UI's with WPF. Priceless. Chapter 10 goes into distributing your WPF apps and well, it's a very nice touch. Few things are more frustrating than developing an app when you're learning and not being able to get it to deply correctly. I've done 3 apps so far and had 0 problems getting them deployed. I've been a big fan of Moroney's books for a while now and this book doesn't disappoint.