Beginning Web Development, Silverlight, and ASP.NET AJAX

CHAPTER 8
.NET 3.0: Windows Presentation
Foundation
Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) is the unified presentation subsystem for
Windows. It is made up of a display engine and a suite of managed classes that you can
use to build applications that use it. It introduces XAML—an XML format that is used to
define the UI, animations, interactions, and bindings, which are the “glue” of an application.
Its ultimate aim is to provide a user experience beyond the traditional gray formlike
interfaces of client applications. It introduces a new graphics driver model that is
designed to use the power of the graphics processing unit (GPU) that is available to most
modern desktop computers.
In this chapter, you’ll take a look at the managed classes that provide the underpinnings
of a WPF application, the XAML language that defines a WPF application, and the
tools that can be used to build WPF applications, including Expression Blend, Expression
Design, and Visual Studio 2008 (or alternatively, Visual Studio 2005 with the .NET 3.x
extensions). You’ll wrap up the chapter by building a WPF-based UI on top of the AdventureWorks
address data service that you’ve been using in earlier chapters.
XAML
WPF constructs its UIs using Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML), an XMLbased
markup language that is used to compose, define, and interrelate WPF elements.
It supports a number of built-in control definitions, such as to define a button.
Here is how you would define a simple XAML document that contains a single button:
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