January 19, 2006

Windows Presentation Foundation is a radical departure in interface frameworks. WPF supports a markup language known as XAML. WPF appears to collect a rich selection of visual capabilities, some of which Microsoft is adapting from its experiences in the world of electronic gaming interfaces. It is designed to enable developers to build application that can readily run on varied delivery systems.

There is much to learn in order to evaluate and understand WPF. The first step is to learn concepts like Dependency Properties and Visual Trees. These are among the points outlined in an excerpt from Windows Presentation Foundation Unleashed, by Adam Nathan with Daniel Lehenbauer.

The authors know whereof they speak. Adam Nathan is a senior software development engineer in Microsoft’s Developer Division. He is the author of the .NET and COM: The Complete Interoperability Guide (SAMS, 2002), a coauthor of ASP.NET: Tips, Tutorials, and Code (SAMS, 2001). Daniel Lehenbauer is the lead software design engineer responsible for the 3D features in Windows Presentation Foundation.

Note that the publisher of this book did not stint on presentation. As is especially appropriate to the topic, color is used throughout. It may set a trend. Many developers have grown used to viewing code with at least some bit of color codification - the highly readable color view of code in this book may lead some readers to ask for such a presentation in other books on other topics.

Windows Presentation Foundation Unleashed - Download the Free Book Excerpt

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For more publisher’s information on the book: Sam's Publishing

Authors

Adam Nathan is a software design engineer on Microsoft's .NET Common Language Runtime QA team. Taking on the role of an external software developer, Adam has worked to ensure the quality and usability of COM Interoperability for close to three years. He has participated in the design decisions that have shaped the product from its beginnings, and thus is able to give a unique perspective when explaining this complex technology to the reader. Adam is a co-author of ASP.NET: Tips, Tutorial, and Code. Adam has served on a panel of .NET experts, provided technical assistance during hands-on labs, and helped to prepare demonstrations at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conferences in 2000 and 2001. He has learned where developers of all skill levels frequently struggle with COM Interoperability and Platform Invocation Services, and regularly provides technical assistance on .NET mailing lists. Adam received an honors B.S. degree in computer science at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY.