May 2008 - Posts
Yesterday I did a brief post about "WPF 3.5 & VS 2008 SP1 Beta". Now I follow it up with a list of content about this release. I plan on growing this list as new content appears, so come on back...
Channel9 Videos
Overview Blogs
Feature Drilldown Blogs
WPF Tools
- Expression Blend 2.5 Update - The beta of .NET 3.5sp1 has a problem that the Blend team has worked around...but you need this special build. This special build is fine to replace any of your uses of 2.5 preview, if you'd like.
Scott Guthrie just did the launch blog post about the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 beta & VS 2008 SP1 beta. Tim Sneath also add a number of other great details with "Introducing the 3rd major release of WPF". Lots of great stuff for WPF developers and users. Go check it out!
We'll be happy to help answer questions for this release on the WPF Forums. Perhaps it makes sense to have a great title that starts with "3.5sp1:"...
Watch for some Channel9 content this week as well as various blogs going into details.
I'll try to keep you apprised of the latest content out there...by growing a list of links on this post, or having new posts.
WPF release history
- November 2006 - .NET Framework 3.0 ships.
- November 2007 - .NET Framework 3.5 & VS 2008 ships.
- Summer 2008 - .Net Framework 3.5 sp1 & VS 2008 sp1 will ship.
WPF Controls
- Emphess.Net: A MenuKiller Control - this article is a work in progress detailing how to build a new paradigm for menus...
- Filipe Fortes: BindableRun - I recently had to point this out to somebody inside of Microsoft. Ever wanted to databind to a <Run />
- Righthand blogs: Developer Express steps into WPF (DXCharts for WPF)
WPF How To
WPF Tools
WPF Frameworks
WPF Books
Silverlight
Scripting/DLR
Microsoft Office
Back in January we posted v0.1, now we just posted a new version of the WPF Application Quality Guide (v0.2) on WindowsClient.net.
In light of the rapid adoption of the WPF and the continuous requests from partners and customers, the WPF team at Microsoft is happy to present the second preliminary release of the “WPF Application Quality Guide”. We plan to release the Guide in stages, updating and fine-tuning the content, based on feedback provided by you. This second release contains more examples that illustrate how to find the AutomationElement object by using UI Automation; introduction to the WPF programming stack and software testing; high level overview of test methodology, planning, and strategies; visual verification testing; media testing; verification of animations and other transitions; performance best practices resources; security testing considerations; a list of tools for creating, debugging, and testing WPF applications; and additional topics in the Appendix about resources for WPF data binding and debugging, and about WPF interoperability with Win32 and Windows Forms.
We appreciate your feedback, so please leave comments below. Specifically, please let us know what you think of the way we have organized the content and the ease of navigating through it.
The WPF Team
Ivo blogged about this as well, including how to best give feedback at: http://blogs.msdn.com/ivo_manolov/archive/2008/05/08/8474130.aspx
In "WPF, from this to that...Wow!", Glenn discusses how the PNP team working on "Prism" involved a designer and moved their application from the image on the left to the image on the right.
Clearly, using a designer can do great things for websites...and now for Applications as well. I'd like to see WPF tools help make more of this attainable for developers who are working on their own as well.
The curriculum for this event that Karl and Josh are leading in Charlotte, NC on May 17th, 2008 sounds great:
http://karlshifflett.wordpress.com/2008/04/06/may2008codecamp/
Introduction
Before diving into WPF, first briefly get to know Josh and Karl and then have quick overview of what we will cover throughout the day.
WPF UI Architecture
Buildings must rest on a firm foundation in order to avoid falling over. The same holds true for a complex application’s user interface. This session covers fundamental topics necessary for creating a solid foundation upon which large, dynamic, user-friendly business applications can grow.
Data Binding
WPF is all about data binding. It is a core feature of the WPF framework, and professional WPF Developers must thoroughly understand it to be productive. This session reviews the fundamentals of WPF data binding and shows how to leverage data binding in real-world user interfaces.
WPF-Friendly Business Objects
The user interface is just one part of a smart client application. Enabling other parts of your system to leverage the rich capabilities of WPF requires some extra planning and foresight. This session explains how to create business objects that work well with WPF.
Advanced Data Binding
Business data is complicated. Displaying, editing, and validating complex data requires the use of advanced data binding techniques. This session shows how to use the features of WPF data binding that enable Developers to manage the complexity of their data.
WPF Tools & Performance Testing
The WPF community is full of great free utilities and tools that make it easier to program in WPF. This session shows how to use many of the tools, including several tools that aid in testing the performance of a WPF user interface.
MVC and Unit Testing
The Model-View-Controller and Model-View-Presenter patterns are time-tested, developer-approved solutions for creating modular, loosely coupled application architectures. One of the key benefits of using those patterns is that the system is much easier to unit test. This session dives deep into how you can implement MVC in a WPF application, and how to create unit tests for the Model and Controller.
I've blogged about PowerShell in the past:
Now, I'm excited to see a few new things in their CTP for PowerShell2:
- PowerShell2 CTP includes the ability to run in STA mode (Single Threaded Apartment model). See "WPF from PowerShell - A Splash Screen" from Huddled Masses
- Included in the CTP is a "Graphical Windows Powershell" (gpowershell.exe) that I believe is a WPF application. I don't know how it compares with other PowerShell consoles, but I'm always excited to see more WPF apps shipping...
Very excited about the great new stuff that the Expression team is now shipping. Another great release - eat, drink and build with XAML!
From the Press Release
• Expression Web 2 adds support for PHP and Adobe Photoshop import based on customer feedback.
• Expression Blend 2, in addition to Silverlight support, adds vertex animation and an improved user interface with a new split design/XAML view.
• Expression Design 2 adds improved exporting functionality including the ability to export slices.
• Expression Media 2 is a robust digital asset management solution for photographers and other creative professionals. It adds support for the latest file formats including RAW, provides geotagging functionality, and is supported by Microsoft Office 2007 and Microsoft Office for Mac 2008.
• Expression Encoder 2 is now a core offering of the suite. It allows creative and Web professionals to optimize almost any type of video content quickly for publishing on the Web, either in streaming video, rich-media advertising or other Web 2.0 projects.
microsoft.com/expression content
Happy to see the new Beta of Yahoo! Messenger for Vista adds Voice and SMS! That post has a summary of new improvements for this WPF application, download link, and a video walk through of using it.
dotnet mania (Eric Burke) also adds a bit more info about the release in "we are live! (again)"...including the fact that they've focused on startup time (by doing less and loading less code at startup.), have updated many visuals, have internationalized to de-DE and zh-TW, added voice and SMS, etc... He also recommends Vista SP1 (or at least a QFE)!
Congrats to Eric & the team @ Yahoo!