Xaml in a Nutshell

by MacVittie, Lori A.

• ISBN13: 9780596526733
• ISBN10: 0596526733
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-04-30
• Publisher: Oreilly & Associates Inc

Summary

When Windows Vista is released in December 2006, the new operating system will support applications that employ graphics now used by computer games - clear, stunning and active. The cornerstone for building these new user interfaces is XAML, the XML-based markup language that works with Windows Presentation Foundation (formerly called "Avalon"), Vista's new graphics subsystem that replaces GDI in previous Windows versions. The problem for developers is that they do not know XAML. "XAML in a Nutshell" takes readers through several clear Vista examples so that they can learn, firsthand, how this XML-based markup language is used to implement the new generation of user interface graphics.

Author Biography

Lori MacVittie is currently a Senior Technology Editor with Network Computing Magazine. In past lives she has been a software developer, a network administrator, and an enterprise architect specializing in web-based technologies. Through the course of her career she has nearly coded her way through the alphabet, starting with Apple BASIC, hitting "L" for LISP while consulting for Autodesk, and is currently on the letter "Y". Lori holds an M.S. in Computer Science from Nova Southeastern University, and lives with her husband and children in the technological mecca of the midwest, Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Part I. Introducing XAML
Introducing XAML	3	(5)
The Benefits of XAML	4	(1)
What XAML Is Not	5	(1)
XAML Development Resources	6	(2)
Getting Started with XAML	8	(15)
XAML Prerequisites	8	(1)
Defining XAML Applications	9	(2)
Building XAML Applications	11	(4)
XAML Applications and Visual Studio	15	(8)
Part II. XAML Concepts
The Basics of XAML	23	(21)
Core XAML Syntax	23	(4)
Elements	27	(4)
Attributes	31	(5)
Attached Properties	36	(1)
Binding Properties	37	(4)
codebehind	41	(3)
Layout and Positioning	44	(19)
StackPanel and DockPanel	45	(3)
Using Width and Alignment	48	(4)
Margins and Padding	52	(4)
Grid	56	(1)
Absolute Positioning	57	(6)
Resources	63	(12)
Using Resources	63	(3)
Using Styles	66	(4)
Triggers	70	(5)
Storyboards and Animations	75	(16)
Storyboards	76	(4)
Controlling Animations	80	(6)
Animation Using Key Frames	86	(5)
Part III. Core XAML Reference
Elements	91	(26)
Controls	117	(40)
Base Control Reference	118	(4)
Common Event Reference	122	(2)
Core Control Reference	124	(33)
Shapes and Geometry	157	(27)
Layout	184	(16)
Animations and Transformations	200	(37)
Events	237	(36)
Routing Strategies	239	(1)
Event Argument Reference	240	(5)
Event Reference	245	(12)
Part IV. Appendixes
A. System.Windows.Controls	257	(2)
B. System.Windows.Documents	259	(2)
C. System.Windows.Shapes	261	(1)
D. System.Windows	262	(1)
E. System.Windows.Media	263	(2)
F. System.Windows.Input.ApplicationCommands	265	(2)
G. Predefined Colors	267	(2)
H. XAML Interface in Code	269	(4)
Index	273