http://blog.lifecycle-solutions.com/ Technical Writing en-us LifeCycle Solutions, LLC Wed, 13 Jun 2007 15:18:36 GMT newtelligence dasBlog 2.2.8279.16125 info@lifecycle-solutions.com info@lifecycle-solutions.com http://blog.lifecycle-solutions.com/Trackback.aspx?guid=bf4c0d25-5391-4d38-8562-93b35a0fe9c2 http://blog.lifecycle-solutions.com/pingback.aspx http://blog.lifecycle-solutions.com/PermaLink,guid,bf4c0d25-5391-4d38-8562-93b35a0fe9c2.aspx Daniel Root http://blog.lifecycle-solutions.com/CommentView,guid,bf4c0d25-5391-4d38-8562-93b35a0fe9c2.aspx http://blog.lifecycle-solutions.com/SyndicationService.asmx/GetEntryCommentsRss?guid=bf4c0d25-5391-4d38-8562-93b35a0fe9c2 I promised myself I wouldn't buy a Windows Presentation Foundation book until it was fully baked into Visual Studio - with a real designer and freedom from angle-brackets. I know how I am - I was mutzing around with DataGrams before they became DataSets, and ObjectSpaces before they became, well, nothing. I'm an early adopter, and sometimes that's a Bad Thing when it comes to real-world projects and timelines.

But then Surface came out, and I just couldn't wait. I downloaded Expression Blend May 2 Preview and on Scott Guthrie's recommendation, bought Windows Presentation Foundation Unleashed and Essential Windows Presentation Foundation.

The short review: WPF Unleashed rocks, get it. Essential WPF is decent, but not as good as Unleashed.

The longer version: Unleashed is full color- including the code samples- and this makes it much more readable. It does a good job balancing samples and content, and explaining why things in WPF work the way they do. I read Essential WPF second, and so maybe had higher expectations. I do like this Microsoft Development series (Framework Design Guidelines is a must-read for all .NET developers), but this just paled next to Unleashed, and didn't really add or explain much more.

The one criticism I have for both books is that I'd like to see more of the whiz-bang examples that makes WPF shine. Unleashed includes a sample Photo Browser app that comes close, but still lacks the 'Wow' that Surface and Silverlight demos are bringing. Some of that is a matter of design principals that fall out of the scope of a technical overview, but this raises my main fear with WPF. Putting this sort of thing in the hands of developers will often lead to trouble. I still cringe when I have to install a video card CD, since I know they've come up with their own goofy UI that will be slower and uglier than a plain WinForms UI. Some effort in these early books to urge restraint and introduce usability and design concerns could help some of us early adopters. http://blog.lifecycle-solutions.com/PermaLink,guid,bf4c0d25-5391-4d38-8562-93b35a0fe9c2.aspx http://blog.lifecycle-solutions.com/2007/06/13/WindowsPresentationFoundationUnleashed.aspx Wed, 13 Jun 2007 15:18:36 GMT <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/516sk0c5UyL._AA240_.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 170px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 170px" alt="" src="http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/I/516sk0c5UyL._AA240_.jpg" border=0></a>I promised myself I wouldn't buy a Windows Presentation Foundation book until it was fully baked into Visual Studio - with a real designer and freedom from angle-brackets. I know how I am - I was mutzing around with DataGrams before they became DataSets, and ObjectSpaces before they became, well, nothing. I'm an early adopter, and sometimes that's a Bad Thing when it comes to real-world projects and timelines.<br> <br> But then <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/surface/">Surface</a> came out, and I just couldn't wait. I downloaded <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/expression/">Expression Blend May 2 Preview</a> and on <a href="http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2007/05/30/microsoft-surface-and-wpf.aspx">Scott Guthrie's recommendation</a>, bought <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0321374479/ref=nosim/theplanningsh-20">Windows Presentation Foundation Unleashed</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0321374479/ref=nosim/theplanningsh-20">Essential Windows Presentation Foundation</a>.<br> <br> The short review: WPF Unleashed rocks, get it. Essential WPF is decent, but not as good as Unleashed.<br> <br> The longer version: Unleashed is full color- including the code samples- and this makes it much more readable. It does a good job balancing samples and content, and explaining why things in WPF work the way they do. I read Essential WPF second, and so maybe had higher expectations. I do like this Microsoft Development series (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Framework-Design-Guidelines-Conventions-Development/dp/0321246756">Framework Design Guidelines</a> is a must-read for all .NET developers), but this just paled next to Unleashed, and didn't really add or explain much more.<br> <br> The one criticism I have for both books is that I'd like to see more of the whiz-bang examples that makes WPF shine. Unleashed includes a sample Photo Browser app that comes close, but still lacks the 'Wow' that Surface and Silverlight demos are bringing. Some of that is a matter of design principals that fall out of the scope of a technical overview, but this raises my main fear with WPF. Putting this sort of thing in the hands of developers will often lead to trouble. I still cringe when I have to install a video card CD, since I know they've come up with their own goofy UI that will be slower and uglier than a plain WinForms UI. Some effort in these early books to urge restraint and introduce usability and design concerns could help some of us early adopters.<img width="0" height="0" src="http://blog.lifecycle-solutions.com/aggbug.ashx?id=bf4c0d25-5391-4d38-8562-93b35a0fe9c2" /> http://blog.lifecycle-solutions.com/CommentView,guid,bf4c0d25-5391-4d38-8562-93b35a0fe9c2.aspx Silverlight WPF Book Review