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What WPF Is and Isn't

  • Jun 24, 2008
This chapter is from the book

This chapter is from the book

Sams Teach Yourself WPF in 24 HoursSams Teach Yourself WPF in 24 Hours

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This chapter is from the book

This chapter is from the book

Sams Teach Yourself WPF in 24 HoursSams Teach Yourself WPF in 24 Hours

Learn More Buy

Workshop

Quiz

  1. What is the benefit of using a markup language for designing a user interface?

  2. What operating systems does WPF currently support?

  3. How does WPF differ from Silverlight, and in what ways are they similar?

  4. Aside from Visual Studio 2008, what is another tool from Microsoft that WPF developers should become familiar with?

Answers

  1. Using a markup language such as XAML, or even HTML, is beneficial because it provides a common medium for both designers and developers. Additionally, the markup language allows for a declarative approach for building applications, which is often easier to construct and maintain.

  2. WPF is currently available on Windows XP and Windows Vista.

  3. WPF is part of the .NET Framework, and it is intended for building graphical user interfaces for desktop applications. Silverlight targets Rich Internet Applications that are hosted in a web browser. Silverlight's runtime is different from the standard .NET runtime. Both Silverlight and WPF use XAML for defining interfaces. Microsoft has intentionally made Silverlight as close to WPF as possible to lower the barrier for developers and designers.

  4. WPF developers should be at least somewhat familiar with Microsoft's Expression Blend. The application is primarily intended for designers, but can often be useful for developers as well. It uses the same file formats as Visual Studio, so that solutions and projects are interchangeable between the two applications.

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