23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
More instruction than you find in most Nutshell books, April 3, 2006
This review is from: XAML in a Nutshell (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly)) (Paperback)
The idea behind XAML is not new: it is a XML-based language, which describes a UI. A very similar model is Mozilla's XUL. But there is one big difference between XAML and XUL: XAML will not only be used for only one application and some derived programs, XAML will be the basis for the next Windows and all of its underlying programs. XAML (short for Extensible Application Markup Language, and pronounced "Zammel") is the user interface markup language for the Windows Presentation Foundation, which is one of the "pillars" of the WinFX API.
In typical usage, XAML files will be produced by a visual design tool, such as Visual Studio. The resulting XML is interpreted on-the-fly by a Longhorn display subsystem which replaces the GDI in previous versions of Windows. XAML was designed to support the classes and methods in the .NET Framework that deal with user interaction, especially screen displays. The acronym XAML originally stood for Extensible Avalon Markup Language, Avalon being the original code name for Windows Presentation Foundation, the name for this group of .NET classes.
This book spends more time on basic instruction than most Nutshell books. This is probably because, unlike Java, XAML is a new technology and the publishers correctly decided that most of us need some basic instruction as well as a reference guide. The book takes the time to show plenty of well-commented examples. One of the things that I like most about the book is that it takes time to tell you what XAML is and is not:
1. You do not have to use XAML to define Windows Forms controls in a WPF application, but you can choose to do so.
2. You can choose to strictly use code in the code behind files to define Windows Forms controls in a WPF application.
3. It is generally a better choice to use strictly code for Windows Forms controls.
4. There are limitations in XAML that make it impossible to do some Windows Forms related things using XAML and you will be forced to use code for these exceptions.
5. While you can use XAML to describe Windows Forms controls in a WPF application, you CANNOT use XAML to describe a complete Windows Forms application outside the scope of WPF.
A good companion to this book is "Programming Windows Presentation Foundation". Together, they paint a pretty exciting picture of the future of performing graphics tasks on Windows platforms. I notice that Amazon does not show the table of contents so I do that here:
I. Introducing XAML
1. Introducing XAML
The Benefits of XAML
What XAML Is Not
XAML Development Resources
2. Getting Started with XAML
XAML Prerequisites
Defining XAML Applications
Building XAML Applications
XAML Applications and Visual Studio
II. XAML Concepts
3. The Basics of XAML
Core XAML Syntax
Elements
Attributes
Attached Properties
Binding Properties
codebehind
4. Layout and Positioning
StackPanel and DockPanel
Using Width and Alignment
Margins and Padding
Grid
Absolute Positioning
5. Resources
Using Resources
Using Styles
Triggers
6. Storyboards and Animations
Storyboards
Controlling Animations
Animation Using Key Frames
III. Core XAML Reference
7. Elements
8. Controls
Base Control Reference
Common Event Reference
Core Control Reference
9. Shapes and Geometry
10. Layout
11. Animations and Transformations
12. Events
Routing Strategies
Event Argument Reference
Event Reference
IV. Appendixes
A. System.Windows.Controls
B. System.Windows.Documents
C. System.Windows.Shapes
D. System.Windows
E. System.Windows.Media
F. System.Windows.Input.ApplicationCommands
G. Predefined Colors
H. XAML Interface in Code
Index
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Three months old and obsolete, January 15, 2007
This review is from: XAML in a Nutshell (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly)) (Paperback)
I got this book when it was barely three months on the market.
Since WPF (aka avalon) is such a new topic, there are barely any books to teach it. This one is relatively clear and consice. The problem is that the WPF version thay are referring to is obsolete. Many concepts and most examples do not work as is. The whole chapter about Storyboards and animations is completely irrelevant.
I believe that a new version is needed, and I am sorry that I bought a three months old book which is obsolete, but I can not blame the author, she did a good job.
Regards
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
great little book, January 18, 2009
This review is from: XAML in a Nutshell (In a Nutshell (O'Reilly)) (Paperback)
I use this book as a quick reference in favor of some more bulky books I have on the topic.
I found this book to be more to the point where it concerns XAML, and even more complete than some 1400 and 1800 pagers on WPF. The latter seem to skirt on XAML, and the approach of piecewise adding more information works well for a tutorial but makes it difficult to quickly find what you need on the fly.
Still I found some tags, even common tags missing altogether from XAML in a Nutshell. It may be that those were introduced in .NET 3.5 and the book was published before then. It is the only reason I do not give 5 stars.
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