Pro WPF in VB 2010

When .NET first appeared, it introduced a small avalanche of new technologies. There was a whole new

way to write web applications (ASP.NET), a whole new way to connect to databases (ADO.NET), new

typesafe languages (C# and VB .NET), and a managed runtime (the CLR). Not least among these new

technologies was Windows Forms, a library of classes for building Windows applications.

Although Windows Forms is a mature and full-featured toolkit, it’s hardwired to essential bits of

Windows plumbing that haven’t changed much in the past ten years. Most significantly, Windows Forms

relies on the Windows API to create the visual appearance of standard user interface elements such as

buttons, text boxes, check boxes, and so on. As a result, these ingredients are essentially uncustomizable.

For example, if you want to create a stylish glow button you need to create a custom control and

paint every aspect of the button (in all its different states) using a lower-level drawing model. Even

worse, ordinary windows are carved up into distinct regions, with each control getting its own piece of

real estate. As a result, there’s no good way for the painting in one control (for example, the glow effect

behind a button) to spread into the area owned by another control. And don’t even think about

introducing animated effects such as spinning text, shimmering buttons, shrinking windows, or live

previews because you’ll have to paint every detail by hand.

The Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) changes all this by introducing a model with entirely

different plumbing. Although WPF includes the standard controls you’re familiar with, it draws every

text, border, and background fill itself. As a result, WPF can provide much more powerful features that

let you alter the way any piece of screen content is rendered. Using these features, you can restyle

common controls such as buttons, often without writing any code. Similarly, you can use transformation

objects to rotate, stretch, scale, and skew anything in your user interface, and you can even use WPF’s

baked-in animation system to do it right before the user’s eyes. And because the WPF engine renders the

content for a window as part of a single operation, it can handle unlimited layers of overlapping

controls, even if these controls are irregularly shaped and partially transparent.

When .NET first appeared, it introduced a small avalanche of new technologies. There was a whole newway to write web applications (ASP.NET), a whole new way to connect to databases (ADO.NET), newtypesafe languages (C# and VB .NET), and a managed runtime (the CLR). Not least among these newtechnologies was Windows Forms, a library of classes for building Windows applications.Although Windows Forms is a mature and full-featured toolkit, it’s hardwired to essential bits ofWindows plumbing that haven’t changed much in the past ten years. Most significantly, Windows Formsrelies on the Windows API to create the visual appearance of standard user interface elements such asbuttons, text boxes, check boxes, and so on. As a result, these ingredients are essentially uncustomizable.For example, if you want to create a stylish glow button you need to create a custom control andpaint every aspect of the button (in all its different states) using a lower-level drawing model. Evenworse, ordinary windows are carved up into distinct regions, with each control getting its own piece ofreal estate. As a result, there’s no good way for the painting in one control (for example, the glow effectbehind a button) to spread into the area owned by another control. And don’t even think aboutintroducing animated effects such as spinning text, shimmering buttons, shrinking windows, or livepreviews because you’ll have to paint every detail by hand.The Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) changes all this by introducing a model with entirelydifferent plumbing. Although WPF includes the standard controls you’re familiar with, it draws everytext, border, and background fill itself. As a result, WPF can provide much more powerful features thatlet you alter the way any piece of screen content is rendered. Using these features, you can restylecommon controls such as buttons, often without writing any code. Similarly, you can use transformationobjects to rotate, stretch, scale, and skew anything in your user interface, and you can even use WPF’sbaked-in animation system to do it right before the user’s eyes. And because the WPF engine renders thecontent for a window as part of a single operation, it can handle unlimited layers of overlappingcontrols, even if these controls are irregularly shaped and partially transparent.
The Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) changes all this by introducing a model with entirely
different plumbing. Although WPF includes the standard controls you’re familiar with, it draws every
text, border, and background fill itself. As a result, WPF can provide much more powerful features that
let you alter the way any piece of screen content is rendered. Using these features, you can restyle
common controls such as buttons, often without writing any code. Similarly, you can use transformation
objects to rotate, stretch, scale, and skew anything in your user interface, and you can even use WPF’s
baked-in animation system to do it right before the user’s eyes. And because the WPF engine renders the
content for a window as part of a single operation, it can handle unlimited layers of overlapping
controls, even if these controls are irregularly shaped and partially transparent.