Microsoft Silverlight Books

“Chris Anderson was one of the chief architects of the next-generation GUI stack, the Windows Presentation Framework (WPF), which is the subject of this book. Chris’s insights shine a light from the internals of WPF to those standing at the entrance, guiding you through the concepts that form the foundation of his creation.”
–From the foreword by Chris Sells

“As one of the architects behind WPF, Chris Anderson skillfully explains not only the ‘how,’ but also the ‘why.’ This book is an excellent resource for anyone wanting to understand the design principles and best practices of WPF.”
–Anders Hejlsberg, technical fellow, Microsoft Corporation

“If WPF stands as the user interface technology for the next generation of Windows, then Chris Anderson stands as the Charles Petzold for the next generation of Windows user interface developers.”
–Ted Neward, founding editor, TheServerSide.NET

“This is an excellent book that does a really great job of introducing you to WPF, and explaining how to unlock the tremendous potential it provides.”
–Scott Guthrie, general manager, Developer Division, Microsoft

“WPF is a whole new animal when it comes to creating UI applications, drawing on design principles originating from both Windows Forms and the Web. Chris does a great job of not only explaining how to use the new features and capabilities of WPF (with associated code and XAML based syntax), but also explains why things work the way they do. As one of the architects of WPF, Chris gives great insight into the plumbing and design principles of WPF, as well as the mechanics of writing code using it. This is truly essential if you plan to be a serious WPF developer.”
–Brian Noyes, chief architect, IDesign Inc.; Microsoft Regional Director; Microsoft MVP

“I was given the opportunity to take a look at Chris Anderson’s book and found it to be an exceedingly valuable resource, one I can comfortably recommend to others. I can only speak for myself, but when faced with a new technology I like to have an understanding of how it relates to and works in relation to the technology it is supplanting. Chris starts his book by tying the WPF directly into the world of Windows 32-bit UI in C++. Chris demonstrates both a keen understanding of the underlying logic that drives the WPF and how it works and also a skill in helping the reader build on their own knowledge through examples that mimic how you would build your cutting edge applications.”
–Bill Sheldon, principal engineer, InterKnowlogy

Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) replaces Microsoft’s diverse presentation technologies with a unified, state-of-the-art platform for building rich applications. WPF combines the best of Windows and the Web; fully integrates user interfaces, documents, and media; and leverages the full power of XML-based declarative programming.

In Essential Windows Presentation Foundation, former WPF architect Chris Anderson systematically introduces this breakthrough platform, focusing on the concepts and techniques working developers need in order to build robust applications for real users. Drawing on his unique experience as an architect on the team, Anderson thoroughly illuminates the crucial new concepts underlying WPF and reveals how its APIs work together to offer developers unprecedented value.

Through working sample code, you’ll discover how WPF draws on the Web’s simple models for markup and deployment, common frame for applications, and rich server connectivity, and on Windows’ rich client model, simple programming model, strong control over look-and-feel, and rich networking. Topics explored in depth include

• WPF components and architecture
• Key WPF design decisions–and why they matter
• XAML markup language
• Controls
• Layouts
• Visuals and media, including 2D, 3D, video, and animation
• Data integration
• Actions
• Styles
• WPF Base Services

Essential Windows Presentation Foundation is the definitive, authoritative, code-centric WPF reference: everything Windows developers need to create a whole new generation of rich, graphical applications.

WPF as the New GUI, User32, à la Charles Petzold, HTML, a.k.a. the Web, A Brief Look at the XAML Programming Model, A Tour of WPF, Working with Data, The Power of Integration, Getting Some Style, Tools for Building Applications

Application Principles
Scalable Applications, Web Style, Desktop Style, Application, Definition, Lifetime, Error Handling, Managing State, Resources and Configuration, Configuration State, Content State, Document State

Windows
Displaying a Window, Sizing and Position, Window and Application, User Controls

Navigation and Pages
Passing State between Pages, Controlling Navigation, Controlling the Journal, Functional Navigation and Page Functions, Hosting Applications in a Browser,  HelloBrowser, Under the Covers, Loose Markup

Controls
Control Principles, Content Model, Templates, Control Library, Buttons, Lists

Menus and Toolbars
Containers, Ranges, Editors, Document Viewers, Frame, Building Blocks, ToolTip, Thumb, Border, Popup, ScrollViewer, Viewbox

Layout
Layout Principles, Layout Contract, Consistent Layout, No Built-In Layout, Layout Library, Canvas, StackPanel, DockPanel, WrapPanel, UniformGrid,
Grid, Grid Concepts, Grid Layout, GridSplitter, Writing a Custom Layout

Visuals
2D Graphics, Principles of 2D, Geometry, Color, Brushes, Pens, Drawings, Shapes, Images, Opacity, BitmapEffects, 3D Graphics, Hello World, 3D Style,
Principles of 3D, Documents and Text, Hello World, Text Style, Fonts, Text Layout, Advanced Typography, Animation, Animation as the New Timer, Time and Timelines, Defining an Animation, Animation Integration, Media, Audio, Video

Data
Data Principles, The .NET Data Model, Pervasive Binding, Data Transformation, Resources, Binding Basics, Binding to CLR Objects, Editing, Binding to XML

XPath
XML Binding, Data Templates, Template Selection, Advanced Binding, Hierarchical Binding, Collection Views, Data-Driven Display

Actions
Action Principles, Element Composition, Loose Coupling, Declarative Actions, Events, Commands, Commands and Data Binding, Triggers, Adding Triggers to Data, Adding Triggers to Controls, Triggers as the New “if”

Styles
Style Principles, Element Composition, Unified Model for Customization, Optimization for Tools, Beginning Styles, Models, Display, and Styles, Themes,
Skinning, Style Inheritance, Using Styles for Good, Not Evil, Build Themes, Not Styles