Sams Teach Yourself WPF in 24 Hours [Paperback]

Rob Eisenberg (Author), Christopher Bennage (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Printed entirely in color, with helpful figures and syntax coloring to make code samples appear as they do in Visual Studio.

 

In just 24 sessions of one hour or less, you will be able to begin effectively using WPF to solve real-world problems, developing rich user interfaces in less time than you thought possible.

 

Using a straightforward, step-by-step approach, each lesson builds on a real-world foundation forged in both technology and business matters, allowing you to learn the essentials of WPF from the ground up.

 

Step-by-step instructions carefully walk you through the most common questions, issues, and tasks.

The Q&A sections, quizzes, and exercises help you build and test your knowledge.

By the Way notes present interesting pieces of information.

Did You Know? tips offer advice or teach an easier way to do something.

Watch Out! cautions advise you about potential problems and help you steer clear of disaster.

 

Learn how to...

• Use XAML to build user interfaces
• Leverage data binding to minimize tedious code
• Create visually engaging applications
• Architect and design WPF applications using proven patterns such as MVP
• Incorporate audio and video into your applications
• Customize controls with styles, templates, and animation
• Apply best practices for developing software with WPF
• Deploy WPF applications to the desktop and Web
• Take advantage of WPF’s advanced printing capabilities
• Grow as a developer by improving your overall software design skills

 

Introduction 1

Part I                   Getting Started

1      What WPF Is and Isn’t 5

2      Understanding XAML 17

3      Introducing the Font Viewer 27

4      Handling Application Layout 41

5      Using Basic Controls 59

6      Introducing Data Binding 75

Part II        Reaching the User

7      Designing an Application 93

8      Building a Text Document Editor 107

9      Getting a Handle on Events 121

10    Commands 145

11    Output 157

Part III      Visualizing Data

12    Building a Contact Manager 177

13    Presenters and Views 193

14    Resources and Styles 211

15    Digging Deeper into Data Binding 229

16    Visualizing Lists 251

Part IV       Creating Rich Experiences

17    Building a Media Viewer 267

18    Drawing with Shapes 291

19    Colors and Brushes 315

20    Transforms and Effects 331

21    Using Control Templates 347

22    Triggers 369

23    Animation 383

24    Best Practices 407

Part V         Appendixes

Appendix A: Tools and Resources 423

Appendix B: 3D Tutorial Using ZAM 3D 427

Appendix C: Project Source (downloadable) 437

Index 439

From the Back Cover

Printed entirely in color, with helpful figures and syntax coloring to make code samples appear as they do in Visual Studio.

 

In just 24 sessions of one hour or less, you will be able to begin effectively using WPF to solve real-world problems, developing rich user interfaces in less time than you thought possible.

 

Using a straightforward, step-by-step approach, each lesson builds on a real-world foundation forged in both technology and business matters, allowing you to learn the essentials of WPF from the ground up.

 

Step-by-step instructions carefully walk you through the most common questions, issues, and tasks.

The Q&A sections, quizzes, and exercises help you build and test your knowledge.

By the Way notes present interesting pieces of information.

Did You Know? tips offer advice or teach an easier way to do something.

Watch Out! cautions advise you about potential problems and help you steer clear of disaster.

 

Learn how to...

• Use XAML to build user interfaces
• Leverage data binding to minimize tedious code
• Create visually engaging applications
• Architect and design WPF applications using proven patterns such as MVP
• Incorporate audio and video into your applications
• Customize controls with styles, templates, and animation
• Apply best practices for developing software with WPF
• Deploy WPF applications to the desktop and Web
• Take advantage of WPF’s advanced printing capabilities
• Grow as a developer by improving your overall software design skills

 

Introduction 1

Part I                   Getting Started

1      What WPF Is and Isn’t 5

2      Understanding XAML 17

3      Introducing the Font Viewer 27

4      Handling Application Layout 41

5      Using Basic Controls 59

6      Introducing Data Binding 75

Part II        Reaching the User

7      Designing an Application 93

8      Building a Text Document Editor 107

9      Getting a Handle on Events 121

10    Commands 145

11    Output 157

Part III      Visualizing Data

12    Building a Contact Manager 177

13    Presenters and Views 193

14    Resources and Styles 211

15    Digging Deeper into Data Binding 229

16    Visualizing Lists 251

Part IV       Creating Rich Experiences

17    Building a Media Viewer 267

18    Drawing with Shapes 291

19    Colors and Brushes 315

20    Transforms and Effects 331

21    Using Control Templates 347

22    Triggers 369

23    Animation 383

24    Best Practices 407

Part V         Appendixes

Appendix A: Tools and Resources 423

Appendix B: 3D Tutorial Using ZAM 3D 427

Appendix C: Project Source (downloadable) 437

Index 439

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Sams; 1 edition (June 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0672329859
• ISBN-13: 978-0672329852
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #636,080 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Small and beautiful, July 6, 2008

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

This review is from: Sams Teach Yourself WPF in 24 Hours (Paperback)

I believe I have every book on WPF. My first impression was 24 hours books have very little information, but it has changed my perception. The book has 24 small chapters and every chapter's information is to the point. The whole book has 4 applications and every example worth looking. I am impressed with authors. Everyone is talking about Adam Nathan's book, but this book has its own place.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Examples in this book are state of the art., December 22, 2009

By	Wilhelm Jenner "trouling" (Spokane,WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Sams Teach Yourself WPF in 24 Hours (Paperback)

Yes, it is true, you probably cannot learn WPF in 24 hours (especially if you still have a lot to learn) or even the entire technology of WPF from this book alone. I personally use many sources of information when trying to learn a technology. I don't think you can expect too much from a single book. However, this book is about as good as it gets for what it is. You can learn an extreme amount in a short period of time. Technology wise, the code examples in this book are extremely well done, applicable, and I'm impressed with how much functionality they cover. I've done the first 3 of 4 major examples as they apply more to me for my type of work. I plan on doing the 4th example because I think there is a lot to learn but it's not priority now.
As you progress through the book from beginning to end the code gets more complex and there is a separation between the documentation and explanations vs. code examples. Before you are finished, you feel like you are at the 10K foot level looking down and you are so far abstracted from the details. The book is good but again, I think there is too much material to cover and that is all you expect before you just have to dig into the code for yourself. If you take the time implement and figure out the code, what it does and understand the details, you will be well rewarded. It is really good clean code that demonstrates leading edge applications with rich functionality. While reading it, I sometimes wonder if these guys are just good coders that made a book. I buy 2 to 6 technical books a year and for what I do, this is possible the best one I've read in last 20 years (partly because WPF technology delivers a lot for me as well).

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Feedback, November 18, 2008

By	Extra Bytes - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sams Teach Yourself WPF in 24 Hours (Paperback)

I am a reader of the book "Teach Yourself WPF 24 hrs" ISBN 978-0-672-32985-2.

I found the book very helpful and good for new comers in learning the use of XAML building user interface and various topics of WPF.

One item that I had spent 4-5 hours trying to debug or understand my error, after I found the cause that I would like to comment on.

On page 372 about applying the trigger unto Play/Pause button, there are some disconnections in the material presentation in which the authors failed to mention or tell the reader to set the "DataContext" value to "Playing" in the code behind file.

If it had been so, I would not have to spend such wasted time (not one who wants to learn something by following a "in 24 hours" book) in finding out why the button did not change as expected.

Some figures (example 22.1, 22.2) shown some added visual changes (i.e. current playing song title, page background, sidebar) but were never mentioned in any pages.

I give 4 out of 5 stars for "introductory" coverage on WPF subject.