Windows Presentation Foundation is Microsoft’s newest API for creating Windows applications. It gives the programmer the ability to produce dazzling, graphics–rich programs easily without having to delve into the messy details of the graphics subsystem.

To use this power, however, the programmer must learn new concepts for laying out pages and displaying graphics. Illustrated WPF presents these concepts clearly and visually—making them easier to understand and retain.

What you’ll learn

• The important new concepts underlying programming in WPF, including the visual tree, the logical tree, dependency properties, and routed events.
• The XAML markup language and how it is used to create and initialize objects in WPF. You’ll also learn how XAML and C# code work together to producing stunning programs.
• How to lay out screens and graphics using WPF’s various panel types, and how to achieve a consistent visual appearance throughout a program, using resources, styles, and templates.
• How to bind visual elements to data sources.
• How to perform graphics transformations to produce eye–catching displays, and how to use animation to produce pages that are alive with action.
• How to use the WPF document types for text layout and navigation.

Who is this book for

This book is for C# programmers wanting to learn to program Microsoft’s latest method of building stunning Windows programs—Windows Presentation Foundation. They could be web programmers familiar with ASP.NET or programmers coming from Windows Forms. This book is designed for those who want a concise but thorough, visual presentation of the platform. It is not for those who want a long, leisurely, verbose explanation of the platform.

The unique, visual format of Illustrated C# 2008 has been specially created by author, and teacher of development methods, Daniel Solis. The concise text, use of tables to clarify language features, frequent figures and diagrams, as well as focused code samples all combine to create a unique approach that will help you understand and get to work with C# fast.

It was while teaching numerous seminars on various programming languages that the author realized the immense power diagrams have in explaining programming language concepts. Most people learn quicker and retain information better when the material is presented in a clean, simple, visual format. To achieve this result in his book, Solis uses concise text and bulleted lists, tables to clarify and summarize language features, as well as his renowned, ubiquitous figures and diagrams. Each language feature is illustrated with a concise and focused code sample for complete clarity.

Following an overview of the .NET platform and the role played by C#, you’ll soon move into exploring the C# language in its entirety, including all the new C# 2008 features right down to the most complex topics involved in C#. If you’re a C++ or VB programmer migrating to C# 2008, this book will be invaluable; the unique visual approach offers a far from lightweight treatment of C# 2008, so even the most experienced programmers will come away with a deeper understanding of the C# language.

What you’ll learn

• Details of the C# 2008 language presented in a clear, concise treatment
• New features in the latest version of .NET, in the author’s unique visual style
• How C# differs from and is similar to other programming languages, aiding migrating C++ and VB programmers who already know how languages work

Who is this book for?

• Visual Basic programmers interested in moving to C#
• C++ programmers interested in moving to C#
• Novice programmers interested in learning C#
• Students in introductory programming classes learning C#