I am new to WPF application and are developing a new WPF application which does 4 different things (4 different modules).
I was googling around and found regarding WPF composite application.
I was reading through the msdn articles but and a few a different place but all the apps are very large and so understanding them is a bit difficult.
Has anyone got a very simple WPF composite application or any link where i can find it out?
Your question is very broad, but I'll try to give you a few tips.
This is just my $0.02USD since I've reacently approached a similar challenge.
First thing, don't approach this as a WPF composite application, think of it as a composite application that you wish to reflect onto a WPF window. There's a big difference. Each module of your composite should be a self contained, and fully functional unit -- later you can tie some of the functionality to WPF controls. If you try to design this from the ground up to work with and only with a certain WPF interface, you're entering a world of pain with difficult refactoring and untestability.
Research the Model-View-ViemModel (MVVM) approach to WPF application design. For each of your modules create a ViewModel -- which is an adapter class that exposes the functionality of your module ("Model" in MVVM) to a WPF control ("View" in MVVM).
I would suggest you do something like the following:
Design independent classes for each
of your 4 modules.
Create 4 Visual Studio "Test
Projects" that test each method of
your modules.
Create 4 ViewModels that instantiate
a single reference to your modules
and exposes their functionality,
even if these ViewModels seems
redundant at first.
Create 4 WPF UserControls that
instantiate your ViewModels.
Research WPF data binding and have your UserControls access your modules through and only through their respective ViewModels.
Each of these steps are very broad and will take lots of work, but there are plenty around here that will help you each step of the way once you get into the specifics :D
Good luck!
WPF/Silverlight - Prism - Resources for beginners
I started developing a small app using WPF and PRISM. The msdn article helped me and the have look at the above stackoverflow question..
Related
I saw a lot of question on this topic and it took me some time to decide whether or not I would write another one ... but I think my question is a bit more complicated ... so here we go.
I'm currently working with a WPF application using MVVM.
The application is built with:
WPF
Prism V2
Ideablade (devforce) to access a database
Avalon dock for the docking feature
Telerik for the grid component
Views and ViewModel are generated with .tt file.
Views are generated in xaml (for WPF) files.
I know that:
Telerik has Silverlight controls
Using Prism V2 will probably help me doing a Silverlight version of the application
I don't know:
If the usage of devforce can be a show stopper
If the usage of avalon dock can be a show stopper
My question:
Appart from generating xaml for Silverlight ... where do I start ...
----EDIT----
Please, avoid any comments like "Silverlight will die" or "Silverlight xaml is a subset of WPF xaml".
It is a proof of concept and should be made using Silverlight. For the xaml, I can modify the application to use only simple ui element that can be both in Silverlight and WPF.
Depending on how you actually used Prism and other frameworks this can be a lot of work or quite easy.
I'd start at the 'bottom' because I'd expect the Models and ViewModels to be quite portable, at least that is what I have experienced so far. She fact that Silverlight more or less forces you to write async code everywhere might encourage you to investigate in (yet another) framework such as Rx
The Views could be quite a hassle; you will have to find controls that provide the same features that you are using in WPF, build them or invent something new. That can be a lot of work.
Another thing to consider is when your WPF app relies on many desktop features you might consider creating an Out of Browser Silverlight App.
As with any project try to find areas that will probably need a lot of attention and do those first; it's a waste of time to get a lot of stuff working to find out later that you will have to replace it because of an impossibility elsewhere.
I am starting on a silverlight application and my MainPage is getting to be fairly large. I am not sure how to properly make a silverlight app in terms of object orientation or separating things into multiple xaml pages. Is it normal to have all of your application in the MainPage? For large elements such as a drawing tool, do people make custom controls and then add them in the main page?
I'm not really sure how to set this up and was hoping someone would shed some light on what the normal architecture of a silverlight app is.
As Steve B suggested you should look into MVVM and use that basic pattern to separate your application into views, models and view-models which bridge the gap between the view and the underlying models. The pattern is not difficult and works very well for data binding in WPF and SilverLight.
To manage the complexity of your main page use multiple UserControls to keep different parts of the UI in different files.
I am working on Silverlight 3.0 and currently using code-behind in my Views. I would like to implement the MV(VM) pattern into my project as the project is growing. I have seen some WPF projects where the code-behind has NO CODE except for the InitializeComponent method, which I believe is the right way to go and just looks clean. Is this possible in Silverlight 3.0, that is, no code-behind?
Can anyone point me to some good Silverlight (3.0) MV(VM) tutorials / articles?
Without using some additional framework, Silverlight 3 does not support what you saw in WPF. Specifically, full Commanding support. Silverlight 4 has included Commanding for Buttons, which is a start.
You can look into other frameworks that provides this feature set, like Prism. This will get you along the right path, but I'm sure there are other options.
You can follow the MVVM pattern for Silverlight 3 applications without using a framework. However, it is much easier to use one of the many MVVM frameworks out there. Here are a few good ones:
MVVM Light
MEF
Simple MVVM
I'd recommend not using Prism as it is more complicated than it needs to be.
Other options include things like MVVM Light, which is lighter weight alternative to Prism for things like handling events and commands, however Prism does have a lot of functionality (and the Prism 4 talk has that sounding like a good option when it gets released).
One good community site to check out is the Composite Development Patterns Community, which was newly started but has an excellent goal of collecting articles and other help for working with development patterns like MVVM.
Lastly, John Papa gives a great overview of MVVM, limited to links so head to Google and look up "John Papa MVVM". :)
One thing to consider though, resources for SL3 aren't going to be as valuable as those for SL4, which opens up additional options for framework based commanding (ICommand that greglev mentioned), although it isn't still the full command support from WPF.
Jesse Liberty has a good primer on MVVM also using Behaviors for wiring events.
Silverlight and MV(VM) Pattern - No Code-Behind - Is this possible?
I'm a newbie to WPF and I'm developing a brand new windows desktop application and I would like your opinion on what WPF framework I should use. I know this question has been asked before, but the last question was asked at least several months ago. A lot has changed since then.
Right now, I'm using MVVM Light which is more of a library than an actual framework, as the name suggests. I’m looking for something more comprehensive. I prefer a framework that I can use on future WPF projects. Consequently, it should be general purpose and productive.
Any insights or suggestions?
If you are a newby I would suggest that you try to use PLAIN WPF first to get a feeling for it instead of right away extending WPF with other frameworks.
Your title is a bit confusing. WPF is just a graphics/UI layer. WVVM is a Model View ViewModel framework, for implementing a MVVM pattern using WPF ( or Silverlight ).
So, are you asking what design pattern you should use for your WPF application? ( As in MVC, MVVW, MVP, etc... ) Or are you asking which MVVM frameworks are compatible with WPF?
Ugh, acronym soup.
As to my answer, if you are new to WPF and want to learn WPF, I would start with no framework, you can always refactor later once you have a good solid grasp of the underlying technology.
It's definitely on the heavy weight end, and plenty of people will warn you about it, but you seem to be asking for CAG
http://compositewpf.codeplex.com/
It's a pattern that comes with a sample implementation that you can bend into your own. For example, it comes with Unity for IoC, but you should be able to put in another IoC container.
The download comes with a lot of samples for both Silverlight and WPF.
Caliburn (http://caliburn.codeplex.com/) handles a lot of shortcomings of the WPF inherent model (like writing a ton ot stupid routing code for events) and introduces MVVM ;) My bet ;)
You might have a look at the WPF Application Framework (WAF). The sample applications show:
View composition
UI Workflow (Wizards)
Command binding / Shortcut Keys
MVVM pattern, Unit Testing
Validation
Entity Framework
Open/Save FileDialog
Print Preview / Print Dialog
Localization
I am developing a WPF desktop app for a small business. It will have a dashboard with 4 buttons that should show a corresponding window/form.
Examples -
Manage Entries
Admin
Reports
Help
Each of these has a separate form with lots of controls and stuff.
Is it best to have each of these as a separate window (including dashboard) and show them when a button is clicked in the dashboard?
Or is it possible to have just one window with these 4 buttons on top, and swap the contents below depending on the button?
I am kind of new to WPF apps so I don't know whats possible and what is the best-practice.
What you will find with WPF is nearly anything is possible from a UI perspective.
It is definitely possible having one window and swapping the contents below depending on the button. A pattern I like is PRISM which has some interesting patterns and best practices on achieving composite windows in both WPF and Silverlight.
You could also look at the MVVM pattern, which is becoming really popular with WPF. Josh Smith has many great articles for this.
Also, if you are really new, have a look as User Controls, as this allows you to easily modularize certain sections.
What I found with myself was with my first few WPF applications, I approached it from a Winform's mindset - but then after really getting a second look at Binding, these other patterns really began to shine.
One best-practice approach is to use Composite Application Guidance. Basically it is an application design approach which contains a shell and multiple views which are arranged inside it. Microsoft has released a CAG library called Prism through CodePlex, and has provided tutorials and documentation for it on MSDN.
CodePlex Link: Composite WPF and Silverlight
MSDN Link: Composite Client Application Guidance