Practical WPF Graphics Programming [Paperback]

Jack Xu (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 30, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0979372518 | ISBN-13: 978-0979372513

The Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) is a next generation graphics platform that is part of .NET 3.0 and .NET 3.5. It allows you to build advanced user interfaces that incorporate documents, media, 2D and 3D graphics, animations, and web-like characteristics. "Practical WPF Graphics Programming" provides all the tools you need to develop professional graphics applications using WPF and C#. This book will be useful for WPF and C# programmers of all skill levels. It provides a complete and comprehensive explanation of the WPF graphics capability, and pays special attention to the details of code implementation. The book shows you how to create a variety of graphics ranging from simple 2D shapes to complex 3D surfaces and interactive 3D models. It includes over 120 code examples, which cover broad array of topics on WPF graphics programming. You will learn how to create a full range of 2D and 3D graphics applications and how to implement custom 3D geometries and shapes that can be reused in your WPF projects. Please visit the author's website for more information about this book at www.authors.unicadpublish.com/~jack_xu.

Product Details

• Paperback: 688 pages
• Publisher: UniCAD, Inc. (November 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979372518
• ISBN-13: 978-0979372513
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 4.3 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,290,656 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical Graphics Design in WPF, March 1, 2008

By 

Robin T. Wernick (San Jose) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Practical WPF Graphics Programming (Paperback)

I have purchased almost every book on WPF programming that has been published in the last two years. I want to build a new look to my graphic programs and I don't want to pay the $1400 or more that some graphic library vendors are charging. I have specific needs for 3D Charts and data displays that this book meets very well.

This book introduces the subject of WPF graphics better than any of the other books that I have read. It's introduction to the design of 3D graphics shapes and their projection onto a 2D plane is comprehensive and very clear. Even after reading the previously published books on this subject, I was delightfully surprised to discover that this book gave me a better understanding of XAML, shape transforms, animation, and placement of 2D objects on 3D surfaces than I thought possible.

If you want to thoroughly master graphics programming or steal a few choice secrets for a custom view, this is the book for you. Dr. Xu's book has exceeded all my expectations and I'm giving it a five star rating.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice read, May 20, 2008

By 

Agha Khan (Bellevue, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Practical WPF Graphics Programming (Paperback)

Well like previous reviewer I have purchased almost every book on WPF programming that has been published in the last two years.

I have seen one sample from other book, where on a 3D cube has a 2D button, otherwise all samples are original. It is a unique book and reading is to the point and simple. Only I wish that it should contain some game examples.

For complex rotation please check my samples at [...]

I have sent him email, which he replied.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars wow, is this book is disappointing..., December 30, 2009

By 

wpro "wpro" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Practical WPF Graphics Programming (Paperback)

Unfortunately I purchased it on the faith of the other reviews... if you take a look, the reviews are glowing.

I've programmed using GDI/GDI+, DirectX and OpenGL and I was hoping that the 'Practical' descriptor in the title would provide answers on why I would move to XAML for C# development.

There's a little background on WPF and its virtues, and then we dive right into embarassingly elementary examples, pages of XAML code and rehashing of fundamental graphics and linear algebra.

If you want a clear, concise backdrop for computer graphics, Foley and Van Dam et al covers all this much more comprehensively than this book - including fundamentals like 3D to 2D projections, as mentioned in another review.

My litmus test for programming books is how much padding of source code is interspersed in the book. This book fails at that - if there's any reason to switch to XAML, brevity is not one of them. There's NO WAY any reader would actually type this syntax in, so why print it out in the book? why not reference or highlight some of the key segments?

I don't get that part, the examples are available on a publisher web site. Why list all of that in a book? unless you're not otherwise saying much...

The examples within, basic vector drawing and shapes, some animation, all really simple stuff... nothing I would put in my own applications.

Maybe this book could get two stars, but some of the other hyperventilating reviews needs some balance.

<sigh>

Move on to the next book with better original material.