Applied WPF 4 in Context (Expert’s Voice in .NET)

Applied WPF 4 in Context sets the standard for leveraging the latest Windows user interface technology in your business applications.

Using this book, you'll learn how to implement world-class Windows Professional Foundation (WPF) solutions in a real-world line of business applications, developing the code from the ground up, and understand how to apply best development practices and related .NET products and technologies to your solutions. You will cover designing and developing the application, testing and debugging, data access, reporting, and applying styles and themes to enhance the look of the user interface—all using WPF in a very practical, eminently useful context. You'll create asynchronous and parallel code, and learn how to distribute the application's components using Windows Communication Foundation (WCF). You'll also apply the Model-View-ViewModel pattern, again in a real-world WPF application.

Elegant and functional WPF applications are easier to create than ever before with Applied WPF 4 in Context.

What you’ll learn

• XAML (the Extensible Application Markup Language) through hands-on practice
• How to integrate Windows Forms, DirectX, ActiveX, and other non-WPF technologies into your WPF application
• How to integrate WPF with report writers, such as Crystal Reports and SQL Server Reporting Services
• How to access remote services on a server from the client machine using Windows Communication Foundation

Witness the development of a real line-of-business application from the ground up, from the design and analysis phase to the development and testing phase and, finally, how to deploy the application in a production environment, all using WPF and the latest development environment.

Who this book is for

This book is for Windows application developers who want to understand the context in which WPF sits and the standards and best practices that can be employed to improve the efficiency and maintainability of their projects. This book can be used by a junior developer to learn WPF and understand how to architect a layered application, and it can also be used by a senior developer as a reference for developing scalable WPF applications.

Table of Contents

1. Introducing WPF and XAML
2. Sample Application: Overview and Getting Started
3. Microsoft Expression Blend
4. Creating the Views
5. Adding Controls to the Views
6. The Entity Framework
7. Data Binding
8. Command Handling and Event Routing
9. Testing with TDD   
10. Reports with Microsoft Reporting Services
11. Deploying the Application Using ClickOnce
12. Design Patterns in WPF
13. WPF and Multi-Threading
14. Interacting with WCF