XAML is ubiquitous today. Whether with Silverlight, WPF, WF, various XPS formats, or XML-based formats, XAML is being used in a whole lot of Microsoft platform- based technologies. Though based on XML, XAML is unlike most other markup languages, because it is strongly linked to CLR assemblies through its objects.
Microsoft originally intended XAML to be a new and much more malleable and adaptable user interface (UI) description language for the .NET Framework through a technology named Windows Presentation Foundation (formerly called WinFX). From that specific beginning, XAML has not only outgrown that original goal, but achieved far more.
Recently, WPF has begun to supersede Windows Forms as the preferred development target. XAML’s support for rich web interfaces, media streaming, and data- driven Line-of-Business (LOB) applications has made Silverlight a popular application platform in the web development community. The upcoming version of the Windows operating system, Windows 8, also includes extensive support for XAML.
This book introduces you to XAML and explains its syntax and constructs. It then explores various concepts, including XAML elements, properties, data binding, and so forth. Although the book does not provide exhaustive coverage of every XAML feature, it does offer essential guidance in using the key XAML functionality; you’ll gain a strong foundation for designing rich and powerful user interfaces and applications using either WPF or Silverlight.
Beyond the explanatory content, each chapter includes procedural examples and downloadable sample projects that you can explore and expand for your own projects.
