Chapter 6

Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML)

What You Will Learn in this Chapter

  • What XAML is and how it applies to the .NET Framework
  • How XAML relates to the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)
  • How to create WPF applications in Visual Studio 2012

Wrox.com Code Downloads for this Chapter

The wrox.com code downloads for this chapter are found at www.wrox.com/remtitle.cgi?isbn=1118311813 on the Download Code tab. The code is in the 311813 C06.zip download and individually named according to the names given throughout the chapter.

In the past, user interface (UI) designers have often relied on tools such as Adobe Dreamweaver and Photoshop to develop screen mockups of Windows applications and HTML for web applications. Although these tools do provide designers with cutting-edge tools to create graphics, they are limited to creating graphics and have limited ability to create actual Windows forms and web forms. Up to this point, these limited tools have hindered UI designers from creating rich user interfaces, forcing them to rely on developers who have access to tools such as Visual Studio.

Microsoft has recognized the separation of duties between UI designers and developers and has created a new language and a new set of tools to assist UI designers, enabling them to create the Windows forms and web forms that will be used by developers to create world-class applications.

This new language comes in the form of the Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML), pronounced ...

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