Post on 02-Jan-2016
Declarative based UI programming: WPF, Silverlight & Surface
Tim Huckaby
CEO, InterKnowlogy
Microsoft RD & MVP
About…
• InterKnowlogy (www.InterKnowlogy.com)• Tim Huckaby, CEO (TimHuck@InterKnowlogy.com)
● Custom Application Development / Consulting / Software & Systems Engineering Firm headquartered in Carlsbad, CA
● Design, Architect, Build and Deploy Enterprise Class Applications ● Industry Experts:
• Most of the employees are published• Microsoft .NET Application development since 2000!• Microsoft .NET Smart Client pioneers / industry leaders• Information Worker Solutions (VSTO & SharePoint)• Integration / Messaging, B2B / B2C, Wireless / Mobility • Leading Edge: Surface, WPF, Silverlight, SharePoint, OBA, Surface• Cutting Edge Solutions on emerging Microsoft technologies• Largest Client: Microsoft
Declarative Programming
Layout and Controls
Events and Commands
Working with Data
Session Agenda
Styles
Declarative Programming
• XAML replaces code• Attributes control Layout and Style• Event handlers wired-up in XAML• Declarative Data Binding
Declarative Programming Gotcha(s)
• Not all XAML is created equal• Silverlight was designed to be a small
subset of WPF not a direct port• Surface works with gestures so their
versions of some controls are needed
Layout Overview
• Content rendering flows inside parent• Fixed positioning (Canvas) is seldom used• Panels are used to house content• Margins and Padding over fixed size
Panels (ALL)
• StackPanel• Arranges child elements into a single line that can be
oriented horizontally or vertically.
• Grid• A flexible grid area that consists of columns and
rows.
• Canvas• An area within which you can explicitly position child
elements by using coordinates that are relative to the Canvas area.
Panels (WPF and Surface)
• WrapPanel• Positions child elements in sequential position from
left to right, breaking content to the next line at the edge of the containing box.
• DockPanel• An area where you can arrange child elements either
horizontally or vertically, relative to each other.
Positioning
• Horizontal and Vertical Alignment• Margin• Padding
Margin
Text Block Text Block
Padding
Controls Overview
• Not all controls are created equal• Silverlight is a subset of WPF so certain
controls have not ported over yet• Surface relies on touch so it has unique
versions of some controls
WPF Controls
• Menu and Toolbar• TextBlock• InkCanvas / InkPresenter• Expander• TreeView• DocumentViewer• UniformGrid
Data Binding Overview
• Simple Field level Data Binding• Complex Data Binding to multiple controls
at a time (Master/Detail/Detail)• Client-Side Sorting and Filtering• Support for binding to Objects, XML and
Relational data sources
Simple Data Binding
• Simple Data Binding using Business Objects
• Support for two-way synchronization in simple objects via the INotifyPropertyChanged interface
• Implicit and Declarative binding via the DataContext
Complex Data Binding
• Binding to Lists• Supports two-way data binding to list if list
inherits from ObservableCollection<T>• Data Templates• Sorting• Filtering• Master/Detail/Detail
Adding Style to Your Application
• Overview• Resources *• Triggers *
* Partial or no support in Silverlight
Styles Overview
• What are styles?• Problems they address in WinForms 2.0
● Styling controls one at a time● Unnecessary Custom Control Creation
• Similarities to Cascading Style Sheets● Inline declaration● Page level declaration● Separate file declaration
Resources
• Static Resources● Loaded when Window or Page Loads● Leads to slower page loading● Changes to underlining values are not propagated
• Dynamic Resources *● More overhead to allow for constant updates● Can only be used to set dependency properties● Can potentially improve Page and Window load time
* Not supported in Silverlight
Resource Dictionary
• Contains hash table of resources• Great way to organize resources• Resource.MergedDictionaries combines
many different file based resources *
* Not supported in Silverlight
Triggers
• Setters that are set based on one or more conditions
• Three Types of Triggers● Property – Invoked when the value of a
dependency property changes● Data – Invoked when the value of a
plain .NET property changes● Event – Invoked when a routed event
changes
Not supported in Silverlight
The Silverlight Visual State Manager
• Alternative to Triggers in Silverlight• Promotes separation between UI and code• Controls have States and State Groups• States within a State Group are immutable• Fully supported in Blend
Not supported in WPF
Summary
• Layout in XAML is flexible• Each technology has it’s own set of controls• Data Binding is rich & supports many data types• Styles bring life to your applications• The learning curve can be steep, but is worth it.• Download all my resources and dedicate some
time to learn.
WPF: Where to go Next Free Resources
• WindowsClient.net - this is the official Microsoft community portal for WPF development
• http://silverlight.net - this is the official Microsoft community portal for Silverlight development
• http://www.microsoft.com/surface - this is the official Microsoft community portal for Surface
Where to go NextBooks
Windows Presentation Foundation Unleashed (WPF)
by Adam Nathan, Daniel Lehenbauer
Essential Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)
by Chris Anderson
Silverlight In Action
by Chad Campbell and
John Stockton
Where to go…soon…
• Windows Presentation Foundation A Scenario-Based Approach
by Billy Hollis
• “Early April…I hope…”B. Hollis, 12/7/07
• “October…”B. Hollis, 6/3/08
• “It’s not going to be done in April.”B. Hollis, 2/24/09
Tim Huckaby, InterKnowlogy• More info on InterKnowlogy:
● www.InterKnowlogy.com • Contact me: Tim Huckaby
● E-mail: TimHuck@InterKnowlogy.com
● Phone: 760-444-8640● Blog: http://blogs.InterKnowlogy.com/TimHuckaby
• About Tim Huckaby● CEO, InterKnowlogy● Microsoft® Regional Director – Southern California● Microsoft® .NET Partner Advisory Council Founder / Member● Microsoft® MVP - .NET● Microsoft® Surface Partner Advisory Council● INETA Speaker – International .NET Users Group Association● Windows and .NET Magazine Advisory Board Member● .NET Developers Journal Magazine Advisory Board Member● Author / Speaker