XAML Unleashed

by Adam Nathan

Overview

Full Color: Figures and code appear as they do in Visual Studio.

If you want to write Windows apps with XAML, one person can help you more than anyone else: Adam Nathan. He has built a well-deserved reputation as the world’s #1 expert on putting it to work. Now, he’s written the definitive, practical XAML tutorial and reference: XAML Unleashed.

Nathan answers the questions you’re most likely to ask, walks through the tasks you’re sure to perform, and helps you avoid problems as you use XAML. You’ll learn how to create effective user interfaces for line-of-business apps, consumer apps, reusable controls, or anything else. These techniques will be invaluable whether you’re creating universal Windows apps or working with Silverlight or WPF.

XAML Unleashed is packed with C# and XAML code examples that are fully color-coded to match their appearance in Visual Studio--the same approach that has made Nathan’s previous Unleashed books so popular.

Detailed information on how to...

• Understand and apply XAML’s syntax, namespaces, and keywords
• Organize controls and other elements in a smooth and intuitive user interface
• Make the most of XAML’s rich controls for content, items, images, text, and media
• Build exceptionally powerful user and custom controls
• Master reliable and efficient ways to mix XAML with procedural code
• Extend XAML with type converters, markup extensions, and other third-party desktop classes
• Use data binding to link and synchronize controls with in-memory representations of data
• Leverage XAML’s support for binary and logical resources
• Use styles, templates, and visual states to radically redesign controls without sacrificing their built-in functionality
• Access the Windows animation library to create stunning theme transitions and animations
• Build custom panels to enforce consistency in unusual user interfaces
• Understand subtle changes in XAML’s behavior across different Microsoft UI frameworks

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780133967418
Publisher:	Pearson Education
Publication date:	12/22/2014
Series:	Unleashed
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	99998
File size:	41 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Adam Nathan is a principal software architect for Microsoft, a best-selling technical author, and a prolific developer of apps for Windows. He introduced XAML to countless developers through his books on a variety of Microsoft technologies. Currently a part of the Windows team, Adam has previously worked on Visual Studio and the Common Language Runtime. He was the founding developer and architect of Popfly, Microsoft’s first Silverlight-based product, named by PCWorld as one of its year’s most innovative products. He is also the founder of PINVOKE.NET, the online resource for .NET developers who need to access Win32. His apps have been featured on Lifehacker, Gizmodo, ZDNet, ParentMap, and other enthusiast sites.

Adam’s books are considered required reading by many inside Microsoft and throughout the industry. Adam is the author of Windows 8.1 Apps with XAML and C# Unleashed (Sams, 2013), 101 Windows Phone 7 Apps (Sams, 2011), Silverlight 1.0 Unleashed (Sams, 2008), WPF 4.5 Unleashed (Sams, 2013), .NET and COM: The Complete Interoperability Guide (Sams, 2002), and several others. You can find Adam online at www.adamnathan.net or @adamnathan on Twitter.

Table of Contents

Introduction     1
Who Should Read This Book?      2
Code Examples     2
How This Book Is Organized     2
Conventions Used in This Book     4
Part I: The XAML Language
Chapter 1: What Is XAML?      5
Elements and Attributes     6
Namespaces     9
Property Elements     11
Summary     13
Chapter 2: Child Elements and Keywords     15
Children of Object Elements     15
XAML Keywords     19
Summary     22
Chapter 3: Mixing XAML with Code     23
Loading and Parsing XAML at Runtime     23
Compiling XAML     26
Summary     30
Chapter 4: Extending XAML     31
Type Converters     31
Using Arbitrary Types in XAML     34
Markup Extensions     38
Some Notes About XAML2009     40
Summary     45
Part II: Graphics
Chapter 5: Arranging Elements     47
Controlling Size     48
Controlling Position     52
Applying 2D Transforms     55
Applying 3D Transforms     63
Summary     66
Chapter 6: Automatic Layout     67
Canvas     68
StackPanel     71
DockPanel     72
Grid     75
VariableSizedWrapGrid and WrapPanel     84
Primitive Panels     87
Handling Content Overflow     89
Summary     97
Chapter 7: 2D Graphics     99
Shapes     99
Geometries     107
Brushes     115
Summary     129
Chapter 8: 3D Graphics     131
Getting Started with 3D Graphics     131
Cameras and Coordinate Systems     135
Transform3D     147
Model3D     157
Visual3D     181
Viewport3D     186
2D and 3D Coordinate System Transformation     187
Summary     195
Part III: Controls
Chapter 9: Content Controls     197
Button     198
HyperlinkButton     199
RepeatButton     200
ToggleButton     201
CheckBox     201
RadioButton     202
ToolTip     203
Summary     205
Chapter 10: Items Controls     207
Items in the Control     208
Items Panels     209
ComboBox     212
ListBox     214
ListView     215
GridView     219
Summary     220
Chapter 11: Images     221
The Image Element     222
Multiple Files for Multiple Environments     231
Decoding Images     236
Encoding Images     244
Summary     252
Chapter 12: Text     253
TextBlock     253
RichTextBlock     265
TextBox     270
RichEditBox     276
PasswordBox     279
Summary     279
Chapter 13: Audio and Video     281
Playback     281
Capture     292
Transcoding     303
Summary     308
Chapter 14: Other Controls     311
Range Controls     311
Popup     314
Hub     316
DatePicker     322
TimePicker     323
ProgressRing     324
ToggleSwitch     325
Summary     326
Chapter 15: User Controls and Custom Controls     327
Creating a User Control     328
Creating a Custom Control     331
Summary     340
Part IV: Exploring XAML Features
Chapter 16: Resources     341
Binary Resources     341
Logical Resources     348
Summary     355
Chapter 17: Data Binding     357
Introducing Binding     357
Controlling Rendering     366
Customizing the View of a Collection     374
Summary     378
Chapter 18: Styles, Templates, and Visual States     379
Styles     380
Templates     386
Visual States     395
Summary     404
Chapter 19: Animation     405
Theme Transitions     406
Theme Animations     417
Custom Animations     422
Custom Keyframe Animations     435
Easing Functions     439
Manual Animations     444
Summary     446
Part V: Advanced Features
Chapter 20: Layout with Custom Panels     447
Communication Between Parents and Children     448
Creating a SimpleCanvas     451
Creating a SimpleStackPanel     455
Creating a UniformGrid     458
Summary     463
Chapter 21: Fun with XAML Readers and Writers     465
System.Xaml Overview     465
The Node Loop     468
Reading XAML     469
Writing to Live Objects     473
Writing to XML     475
XamlServices     476
Summary     478
Index     479