Why XAML Needed?
Since WPF applications can be developed entirely in code, you may ask a
perfectly natural question – why do we need XAML in the first place? The
reason can be traced back to the question of efficiently implementing complex,
graphically rich applications. A long time ago, developers realized that the most
efficient way to develop these kinds of applications was to separate the graphics
portion from the underlying code. In this way, the designers could work on the
graphics, while the developers could work on the code behind the graphics. Both
parts could be designed and refined separately, without any versioning
headaches.
Before WPF, it was impossible to separate the graphics content from the code.
For example, when you work with Windows Forms, you define every form
entirely in C# code or any other language. As you add controls to the UI and
configure them, the program needs to adjust the code in corresponding form
classes. If you want to decorate your forms, buttons, and other controls with
graphics developed by designers, you must extract the graphic content and
export it to a bitmap format. This approach works for simple applications;
however, it is very limited for complex, dynamic applications. Plus, graphics in
bitmap format can lose their quality when they get resized.
The XAML technology introduced in WPF resolves these issues. When you
develop a WPF application in Visual Studio, the window you are creating isn’t
translated into code. Instead, it is serialized into a set of XAML tags. When you
run the application, these tags are used to generate the objects that compose the
UI.
XAML isn’t a must in order to develop WPF applications. You can implement
your WPF applications entirely in code. However, the windows and controls
created in code will be locked into the Visual Studio environment and available
only to programmers; there is no way to separate the graphics portion from the
code.
In orther words, WPF doesn’t require XAML. However, XAML opens up world
of possibilities for collaboration, because many design tools understand the
XAML format.
posted on 2009-03-30 15:14
wangzhihao 阅读(208)
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