Sunday, April 29, 2007

What is the future of WPF and XAML over other technologies and how may I benefitted from using these two?.

User interfaces are an important part of most Windows applications. No matter how much software evolves, traditional menu-driven GUIs are here to stay for some more time. Similarly, the need to display video, run animations, use 2/3D graphics, and work with different document formats also cannot be superseded. And all of this must be possible whether the application is a stand-alone desktop client or is accessed through a Web browser.

So far, all of these aspects of the user interface have been provided in different ways on Windows. For example, a developer needs to use Windows Forms to build a Windows GUI, or HTML/ASPX/Applets/JavaScript etc. to build a web interface, Windows Media Player or software such as Adobe's Flash Player for displaying video etc. The challenge for developers is certainly clear: building a coherent user interface for different kinds of clients using diverse technologies isn't a simple job.

A primary goal of WPF (originally called Avalon) is to address this challenge! By offering a consistent platform for these entire user interface aspects, WPF makes life simpler for developers. By taking a more modern approach, including support for video, animation, 2/3D graphics, and various kinds of documents, WPF can let users work with information in new ways. And by providing a common foundation for desktop clients and browser clients, WPF makes it easier to build applications that address both.

Another challenge that has long faced the creators of user interfaces stems from the different roles required for building effective interfaces. Software developers are needed to create the logic behind the interface, and Designers are required to define the interface's look and feel. Yet older technologies such as Windows Forms are focused entirely on the developer. There's no truly effective way for developers and designers to collaborate. To address this issue, WPF relies on the eXtensible Application Markup Language (XAML). An XML-based language, XAML allows specifying a user interface declaratively rather than in code. This makes it much easier for user interface design tools like MS Expression Blend (originally branded as MS Expression Interactive Designer and code named as Sparkle) to generate and work with an interface specification based on the visual representation created by a designer. Designers will be able to use such tools to create the look of an interface and then have a XAML definition of that interface generated for them. The developer imports this definition into Visual Studio, then creates the logic the interface requires.

Developers can also build a XAML browser application (XBAP) to create a remote client that runs inside a Web browser. Built on the same foundation as a stand-alone WPF application, an XBAP allows presenting the same style of user interface within a downloadable browser application. The best part is that the same code can potentially be used for both kinds of applications, which means that developers no longer need different skill sets for desktop and browser clients. The downloaded XBAP from the Internet runs in a secure sandbox (like Java applets), and thus it limits what the downloaded application can do.

Burp, GUI is a complex but an important part of the modern applications. Through WPF, the .NET Framework 3.0 presents a more complete and consistent solution to the challenges these interfaces present. The goal is to let people who create user interfaces (both developers and designers) effectively collaborate and do their jobs more expeditiously.

From the above information You could come to the conclution for below question's.
  • What is WPF and XAML?
  • What is the future of WPF and XAML over other technologies?.
  • How may I benefitted from using these two?. How it differs from others?.
  • Will it be a consistent one( For this you might get more idea from video module which is available in my last post(What Is WPF And It's Futures?).

I Hope everyone might came to the conclusion about those questions. if you want more about this topic please feel free to ask and i will post ASAP as per your requirement.

Please leave a comment and I'll cover them in my next post.
Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

3 comments:

  1. Hi Mams,

    Sorry yar, i dont have knowledge on these stuffs... anyways its good that u hav maintained a discussion board to share your views... wishing you to have a great success in this new technology...

    Prabhu.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Mams,

    Congrats mams.. Its very nice to see ur steps in sharing ur knowledge and views with others.. keep the gud work going on..

    Swami

    ReplyDelete
  3. Can you explain how a very much complex,vast internet applications are download to Client browser and running it as a windows application without any server side constants like session ,applicaion etc...
    and also what abt the speed of accessibility,..........

    ReplyDelete