Hello Friends,
In this article I am going to explain the two very important
technologies which are being used in developing various kind of
windows applications.Before starting let me allow to introduce that what is Windows applications...If you are new in development then you must have an idea of web applications yes for sure .net is very beneficial in developing Web applications.
The main advantage of using the .Net technology is the reduced amount of code necessary for building applications. Better performance is provided by using the just-in-time compilation, early binding, caching services and native optimization.The .Net technology is language independent, which lets users choose the language that will suit best for their applications.There are many languages provided by .net framework which can be used by developer.some of them are c#,ASP.net, PHP ,VB , j# etc.But except web applications .Net plays a very special role in
windows application development.In simple words windows applications means any application that is not a web application is commonly a windows application.Only creation of windows forms , user controls does not comes in windows applications.We can create various add ins for outlook ( i will explain in future posts) internet explorer and other browsers, Remoting environment applications for communications between systems
using ports , Messangers , Media players , video players and many more.trust me its a very wide domain.
Lets start with a very basic point which often confuses us that for which purpose we should use windows form application or to use WPF application.
WPF windows presentation foundation is a new technology presented by .net framework.It gives a lot of extra features to enhance the
quality of a windows application.Not only in GUI but also in its
expendability . At this point I recommend doing all new development in WPF because the experience is that much better.But for starting in development it is recommended to use windows form application development first.
Yes, WPF is a brilliant technology and it has benefits that span far beyond mere eye-candy.... the templating and binding capabilities are great examples. The whole object model offers more flexibility and broader possibilities. That doesn't, however, make it the defacto platform for future LOB applications.
The "Problems" which WPF solves in terms of separating GUI from
business logic aren't problems which can't be readily solved in
Windows Forms by simply starting with the right architecture and
mind-set. Even the object-path binding capabilities of WPF can be
reproduced in Windows Forms with some very simple helper classes.
Windows forms can be used where GUI is not a big concern but WPF is useful in both cases.
WPF is not intended to replace Windows Forms.I used to think it was intended to be a replacement for WinForms, but it is not. WinForms is still alive and well, and will continue to be enhanced and supported by Microsoft for years to come. WPF is simply another tool for Windows desktop application developers to use, when appropriate.
Benefits of Windows Forms:
-Window Forms is a mature "forms over data" technology. It has an extensive ecosystem of controls, developers, and vendors that has
evolved over the last twenty years of development .
-There are also some features that are unique to this platform.
Windows Forms has a wide range of controls for presenting tabular
data, for working with system dialogs, for graphics metafiles, and for date, time and calendar support.
-Microsoft has announced the continued support of Windows Forms so if you have an existing Windows Forms application you can feel secure in a good level of support for your existing code base.
-Windows Forms is the possibility of using the same API, regardless of the programming language that .NET software developers have chosen to write a Windows Forms application. Earlier the choice of programming language impacted the choice of API. Now all Windows Forms applications use one API from the .Net framework library. The knowledge of one API is enough to allow software developers to write Windows Forms applications in any language they will choose.
-Various Windows Forms control elements emulate the features of high quality applications, such as Microsoft Office. Using such control elements of Windows Forms as ToolStrip and MenuStrip, a .NET software developer can create toolbars and menus containing text and images, browse sub-menus and place other control elements such as inscriptions and drop-down lists.
-WPF will not run on windows 2000 or lower.
Benefits of Windows Presentation Foundation:
-Windows Presentation Foundation was created to allow developers to easily build the types of rich applications that were difficult or impossible to build in Windows Forms, the type that required a range of other technologies which were often hard to integrate. For example, the medical application below combines 2D & 3D graphics with re-styled forms element and interactive visualizations allowing the user to better understand and evaluate their data
-WPF is the platform of choice for today’s visually demanding
applications with its inherent support of rich media, data
visualization, complex text content, dynamic interactive experiences, and branded or custom look and feel.
-If you’re wanting to create a new experience for your users that is rich, interactive, sophisticated, or highly custom or branded, WPF is Microsoft’s next-generation platform for your project today.
-DataBinding in Wpf is better than windows forms.
- WPF provides a fast GUI experience to user due to its design and xaml desgin files.
At the end of this initial post.
* If you want to learn new technology to create rich GUI applications
then WPF is waiting for you :)
* If you want to hold your current technology and want to enhance in
itself then enjoy working in WinForms. but whenever in future
applications will need 3D animations in your form or a better GUI
including various controls you will definitely create a project using WPF.For those applications where GUI and user interfaces are minimal like add ins , Remoting applications, background worker dedicated applications then go for windows form without any doubts....
All the best...
I Will post about Windows forms applications in my next post.In that post i will also define those little obstacles which becomes the headache of a programmer while developing an app in windows
environment. ;)
Regards,
- Pragya Sharma
Software Engineer
INDIA
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