Deconstructing .NET 3.0: Windows Presentation Foundation

• By Matthew David
• Dec 8, 2006

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One of the four foundations in .NET 3.0 is the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), an overhaul of the presentation interface of all Windows applications. The typical interface has worked well for 20 years, but the time has come for a change.

The concept of multiple architectural layers in application designs has gained significant momentum over the last five years. The advent of the Web and demands by business to build services that could be used between client, web, and n-tier applications drove companies to architect their "business objects" in loosely structured layers. The final layer is the "bits" you see—the presentation layer.

The Web, and specifically graphical tools such as Flash and Apple’s OS X, have demonstrated clearly that the presentation layer need not be dull. In fact, you can have fun with it, with the result that people want to use the application. At its core, the Windows Presentation Foundation provides the ability to access easily many of the tools that have been available in Windows for years. Specifically, you can more easily add 3D, video, data, and elegant vector designs.

At this point, if you’re a Windows Forms designer, you may be thinking, "Hey, this sounds a lot like designer lingo." And you would be both right and wrong. The Windows Presentation Foundation allows a merging of designer and developer.