Customer Reviews

Practical WPF Graphics Programming

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Maybe it's a little bit outdated by now, but it contains some useful stuff. You can sure find better approaches of course than this.

If you have an inkling of interest in WPF, you have to have this book. Back in the 80s, "Kernel" and "Internals" books were the standard for technical literature. This book is at the same level. It will show you why it works certain way and how to do it yourself. Very uncommon today, when most technical books are useless a year after publication.

This book is most complete and a definitive work on WPF. Initially, I thought the price was a bit high but now that I have the book in my hands, I am glad I got it. Highly recommended. Six stars :)

Xu goes beyond the usual blog-based, simplistic discussions and examples. The text is concise and insightful. I continue picking up the book to delve into the latest topic of interest, such as, 3D geometries, models, and translations, etc.

Not for the beginner. It is difficult to understand and, in my view, the contents could have been more clearly written.