So you want to learn WPF programming? In this article, I will list some of the useful resources to get started with WPF followed by one of the best books on WPF.
WPF version is released with the .NET versions. While current version of .NET is .NET 4.6, the current version of WPF is 4.5. You do not want to buy any books prior to WPF 4.5. WPF 4.5 is shipped with Visual Studio 2015 versions.
I highly recommend using Visual Studio 2015 to learn WPF. If you do not have a paid version of Visual Studio 2015, you may download Visual Studio Community 2015 for free here: https://www.visualstudio.com/products/visual-studio-community-vs
What WPF Is
WPF stands for Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) is the presentation sub system of .NET framework. WPF is used to create user interfaces for Windows operating system. The user interfaces are also known as Windows client applications or Windows applications. Now, with the launch of Windows 10, Windows apps means more than WPF based applications.
WPF was introduced in .NET Framework 3.0 to build Windows client and Windows browser based applications. Windows Browser based applications later dropped from the framework. Today, WPF is used to build Windows client applications.
WPF applications have two parts, the front-end part that is also known as user interface and the second part back-end that is known as code-behind. The font-end part of WPF is developed using XAML language but the back-end can be developed using any .NET languages including C# and VB.NET. To program WPF, you must know C# or VB.NET and XAML languages. Here are two good links to get started with these two.
If you’re not familiar with C# language or XAML language, I highly recommend reading C# and XAML before learning WPF.
Where can I learn WPF
Here are 800+ WPF articles on C# Corner's WPF Center. Here are some of the resources you may want to start with.
What are the best books to learn WPF
Here is one of my favorite WPF programming book that I personally own.
WPF 4.5 Unleased
by Adam Nathan.
Thorough, authoritative coverage, practical examples, clear writing, and full-color presentation make this one of the most widely acclaimed programming books of the last decade.
Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) is the recommended technology for creating modern Windows desktop apps. Whether you want to develop traditional user interfaces or integrate 3D graphics, audio/video, animation, dynamic skinning, touch, rich document support, speech recognition, or more, WPF enables you to do so in a seamless, resolution-independent manner that scales from small tablets to large TVs. WPF 4.5 Unleashed is the authoritative book that covers it all, in a practical and approachable fashion, authored by WPF guru and Microsoft architect Adam Nathan.
Covers everything you need to know about Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML)
- Examines the WPF feature areas in incredible depth: controls, layout, resources, data binding, styling, graphics, animation, and more
- Delves into topics that aren’t covered by most books: 3D, speech, audio/video, documents, effects
- Shows how to create popular UI elements and leverage built-in controls such as the new Office-style Ribbon
- Demonstrates how to create sophisticated UI mechanisms, such as Visual Studio-like collapsible/dockable panes
- Explains how to create first-class custom controls for WPF
- Demonstrates how to create hybrid WPF software that leverages Windows Forms, DirectX, ActiveX, or other non-WPF technologies
- Explains how to exploit desktop features, such as Jump Lists and taskbar customizations, and the same toast notifications used by Windows Store apps