Customer Reviews

Sams Teach Yourself WPF in 24 Hours

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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).

The first 6 chapters in this book are the best introduction to WPF I've come across in any book on the topic. Its starts at square one and moves very logically and clearly along. If you're looking for basics that will help you understand the layout panels, binding data, WPF architecture from a real world work need perspective, this is a great book to have. The authors do a great job of showing you the ropes and explaining the background of the WPF architecture in a way that clarifies why you would use this control over that one, or this panel instead of this one. Very good conceptual model for both designers and developers!

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.

This book is perfect for anyone who is trying to get started with WPF. If you are an experienced .net programmer who is just trying to learn WPF, this is definitely the quickest way to get started. For someone like myself who is totally new to the .net world, the book also offers examples on how to develop very organized applications using a Model-View-Presenter approach. Just by following along with this book I was able write my own WPF application by switching in my own pertinent data elements into the examples. More than anything, this book was very clearly written and all examples are color coded to match Visual Studio. Gotta like that!

This is the 4th book on WPF I've read in the last year and the one I would recommend to others. Unlike some other books it's not bloated with code to pad the size of the book, nor does it have too little code. And, with one minor glitch, the code compiled for me as I followed along. ( One of the authors was very helpful via email at the point where I was stuck for a bit. )

While I recognize that WPF is complicated a couple of other books I read were disappointing, except for "Foundations of WPF: An Introduction to Windows Presentation Foundation" by Chris Sells, who is always reliable, and Ian Griffiths. I haven't yet read Nathan's book, so I can't comment on that. But at the moment I recommend starting with this Sams book then following up with the Sells/Griffiths book.

For the begginers, this is an excellent book! If you want to learn and write WPF apps this is an option. Authors explain things through clear examples, using good techinics.

I liked the mvp implementation
The only book out there which introduces it.

This has been the best book I've seen to learn WPF. I am really enjoying the format as well as the way the authors intertwine all the lessons with practical examples while building some sample applications.

a full colored book with many step by step examples, you just need to know some XML and be familiar with Visual Studio 2008 (Express Recommended- Samples will also work on the Standard or Pro Versions). This book gives you an introduction to all WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) features from basic layouts to Complex custom Controls and Data Visualization, on the last chapter it walks you through the process of creating an animated Media Player From Scratch.

100% Recommended for new WPF users (not recommended for advanced users).