Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and Silverlight Introduction: Hands-On

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) Windows Presentation Foundation is the next-generation toolkit for developing sophisticated user interfaces (UIs) from Microsoft. UIs are developed in an XML-based language called XAML, and UI behaviors are programmed using a .NET language such as C# or Visual Basic. WPF UIs can be deployed as stand-alone Windows programs (similar to Windows Forms applications) or Internet Explorer applications. WPF UIs can even run on other platforms such as the Macintosh OS X by using a new browser plug-in called Silverlight. WPF applications can be used in conjunction with Windows Forms for desktop development and can also be added to ASP.NET Web sites. What is this course about? This course covers how to build Windows Presentation Foundation user interfaces with Visual Studio, XAML and a .NET programming language such as C# or Visual Basic. You learn to program a compelling application while integrating the major components of WPF. You also learn how to target your WPF applications for multiple platforms with Silverlight and integrate Silverlight applications into HTML pages and ASP.NET Web applications. Throughout this course, you create user interfaces that utilize WPF controls, containers and data binding. You embed images and video features to modernize displays; control visual appeal through styles, templates, resources, themes and skins; and target WPF applications for Silverlight. Who will benefit from this course? Any experienced .NET developer who needs to understand and build modern user interfaces will benefit from this course. Web designers and UI designers who need to understand XAML and building WPF user interfaces will also benefit. What background do I need? .NET programming experience at the level of Course 502, Programming with .NET: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction, is assumed. For example, you should be able to Program in Visual Basic or C# Create Windows Forms or ASP.NET user interfaces Build projects using Visual Studio Construct classes Program event handlers It is also assumed that participants have some real-world experience developing either ASP.NET Web applications or Windows Forms GUI applications. What are .NET and the .NET Framework? They are the same thing. The .NET Framework is a programming platform that allows you to build Windows and Web applications that run on Microsoft operating systems. The .NET Framework 3.0 added the following technologies to .NET 2.0: Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) and Cardspace. The .NET Framework 3.5 added Language INtegrated Query (LINQ). For additional courses that focus on technologies that were new with .NET 3.0, you may be interested in Course 513, Windows® Communication Foundation (WCF): Creating .NET 3.5 Web Services or Course 514, Windows® Workflow Foundation (WF): Hands-On. For courses that focus on technologies that were new with .NET 3.5, you may be interested in Course 973, Programming LINQ and C# Extended Features: Hands-On, or Course 974, Programming LINQ with Visual Basic® Extended Features: Hands-On. Course 976, .NET 3.0/3.5 Architectural Overview: Hands-On, is intended to be an overview of the major technologies of .NET 3.0/3.5 and does not go into depth on any one technology. It does provide a working knowledge of the technologies and an understanding of how they can be integrated to build a system. Each of the technologies is covered in depth by individual Learning Tree courses. What is XAML and will this course cover it? XAML stands for eXtensible Application Markup Language and is an XML-based language that is used to create WPF user interfaces with markup. This course covers XAML basics, and each WPF UI is created using XAML released as part of .NET 3.0. What is Silverlight and how is it used in this course? Silverlight is a cross-platform, cross-browser plug-in for running .NET applications on Windows and Mac using Internet Explorer, Safari and FireFox browsers. This course provides an introduction to Silverlight. WPF provides the UI toolkit for creating UIs for Silverlight, so most of the course relates to Silverlight development. This course also covers accessing Silverlight applications from the browser using JavaScript and integrating Silverlight applications into existing Web sites. How do WPF, WF and WCF relate to one another? The main relationship among WPF, WF and WCF is that they are all technologies released with the .NET Framework 3.0. WPF is used to create UIs. Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) allows programmers to more easily create long-running, complex scenarios or workflows using a set of graphical components. Workflows look almost like flow charts or sequence diagrams but are really programs that can have very complex behaviors. For a course that focuses on WF, you may be interested in Course 514, Windows® Workflow Foundation (WF): Hands-On. Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) is a new way of creating services and service-oriented applications in .NET 3.0. Using WCF, much of the complexity of a service-oriented application is simplified with configuration files rather than by coding. For a course that focuses on WCF, you may be interested in Course 513, Windows® Communication Foundation (WCF): Creating .NET 3.5 Web Services. I want to create Silverlight applications. Will this course help me? Yes. An understanding of WPF is essential for creating applications for deployment in Silverlight. Understanding XAML is essential to creating Silverlight applications because Silverlight UIs are programmed in XAML. This course also covers creating applications with Silverlight 1 and Silverlight 2, accessing HTML content from Silverlight, and targeting Silverlight content using JavaScript. Which version of Visual Studio and .NET is used in this course? This course uses Visual Studio 2008, the latest version of Visual Studio, and .NET 3.5, the latest version of the .NET Framework. How much time is spent on each topic? Content Hours Introducing WPF 0.5 Building XAML windows and pages 2.0 Architecting WPF programs 3.5 Designing WPF User Interfaces 3.5 Styling WPF controls 3.5 Activating WPF applications 2.0 Automating data access with data binding 4.0 Crafting cross-platform Silverlight UIs 4.0 Times, including the workshops, are estimates; exact times may vary according to the needs of each class. How much of this course is hands-on? Approximately 45 percent of this course is spent participating in hands-on exercises. The majority of the coding in this class is done in XAML. However, there is some coding done in C# and Visual Basic. In those cases, students have their choice of which of those languages to use. Exercises include: Creating WPF stand-alone, browser-based and Silverlight projects using Visual Studio 2008 Programming XAML applications and user interfaces with WPF containers and controls Styling WPF controls using resource, named and extended styles Synchronizing user interfaces with bindable data sources Adding images, video, drawings and animation to applications Targeting WPF applications for Silverlight Integrating Silverlight with ASP.NET, HTML and JavaScript Will this course prepare me for any Microsoft certification exams? Yes. This course helps you prepare for the Microsoft Exam 70-502: .NET Framework 3.5 - Windows Presentation Foundation Application Development, which is a credit towards the Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS): .NET Framework 3.5, Windows Presentation Foundation Applications certification. Due to the difficulty of Microsoft certification exams, those who take Course 975 would also need to study before taking this exam. How does this course relate to other Learning Tree courses? In addition to the aforementioned Course 502, Programming with .NET: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction, the following courses may also be of interest: 976, .NET 3.0/3.5 Architectural Overview: Hands-On offers an understanding of LINQ, WPF, WCF, WF and other .NET technologies, and how they can be used to build sophisticated modern applications 513, Windows® Communication Foundation (WCF): Creating .NET 3.5 Web Services offers the skills to leverage WCF, a .NET 3.0 and 3.5 technology, to quickly and easily build SOA applications 514, Windows® Workflow Foundation (WF): Hands-On provides experience developing desktop and Web applications with Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) 973, Programming LINQ and C# Extended Features: Hands-On offers the knowledge and skills to apply .NET 3.5 extended features, including LINQ, to effectively integrate the object-oriented and data-manipulation capabilities of C# 3.0 974, Programming LINQ with Visual Basic® Extended Features: Hands-On provides the knowledge to apply extended features to programming problems Additional courses that may be of interest include: 933, Introduction to Software Development: Skills for Success  511, .NET Best Practices and Design Patterns: Hands-On  931, Agile Programming: Principles and Practices for Software Success

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