WPF Architecture

WPF Architecture
• WPF uses a multilayered architecture.
• At the top, your application interacts with a high-

level set of services that are completely written in
managed C# code.
• The actual work of translating .NET objects into

Direct3D textures and triangles happens behind
the scenes, using a lowerlevel unmanaged
component called milcore.dll.
milcore.dll is implemented in unmanaged code because it needs tight
integration with Direct3D andbecause it's extremely performance-
sensitive.
• PresentationFramework.dll holds the top-level WPF types,
including those that represent windows, panels, and other types
of controls. It also implements higher-level programming
abstractions such as styles. Most of the classes you'll use directly
come from this assembly.
• PresentationCore.dll holds base types, such as UIElement and

Visual, from which allshapes and controls derive. If you don't
need the full window and control abstraction layer, you can drop down
to this level and still take advantage of WPF's rendering engine.
• WindowsBase.dll holds even more basic ingredients that have the
potential to be reused outside of WPF, such as DispatcherObject and
DependencyObject, which introduces the plumbing for dependency
properties .
• milcore.dll is the core of the WPF rendering system and the foundation
of the MediaIntegration Layer (MIL). Its composition engine
translates visual elements into the triangle and textures that
Direct3D expects. Although milcore.dll is considered a part of
WPF, it's also an essential system component for Windows Vista.
In fact, the Desktop Window Manager (DWM) in Windows Vista uses
milcore.dll to render the desktop.
Around:
• WindowsCodecs.dll is a low-level API that provides imaging support

(for example, processing,displaying, and scaling bitmaps and JPEGs).
• Direct3D is the low-level API through which all the graphics in a WPF
are rendered.
• User32 is used to determine what program gets what real estate. As
a result, it's stillinvolved in WPF, but it plays no part in rendering
common controls.
Importance of Direct 3D:
• The most important fact that you should realize is the Direct3D renders all
the drawing in WPF.
• It doesn't matter whether you have a modest video card or a much more
powerful one, whether you're using basic controls or drawing more complex
content, or whether you're running your application on Windows XP or
Windows Vista.
• Even two-dimensional shapes and ordinary text are transformed into

triangles and passed through the 3-D pipeline.
• There is no fallback to GDI+ or User32.

Hierarchy of Classes
Take home
• WPF is the beginning of the future of Windows
development. In time, it will become a system
like User32 and GDI/GDI+, on top of which more
enhancements and higher-level features are
added. Eventually, WPF will allow you to design
applications that would be impossible (or at least
thoroughly impractical) using Windows Forms.
Wpf Better than windows
• Object-based drawing. Even if you plan to work at the lower-
level visual layer (ratherthan the higher-level element layer),
you won't work in terms of painting and pixels. Instead, you'll
create shape objects and let WPF maintain the display in the
most optimized manner possible.
• Declarative user interfaces. In the next chapter, you'll

consider XAML, the markupstandard you use to define WPF user
interfaces. XAML allows you to build a window without using
code. Impressively, XAML doesn't limit you to fixed, unchanging
user interfaces. You can use tools such as data binding and
triggers to automate basic user interface behavior (such as text
boxes that update themselves when you page through a record
source, or labels that glow when you hover overtop with the
mouse), all without writing a single line of C#.
• Hardware acceleration. All WPF drawing is

performed through DirectX, which allows itto take
advantage of the latest in modern video cards.
• Resolution independence. WPF is flexible

enough to scale up or down to suit yourmonitor
and display preferences, depending on the
system DPI setting.
• No fixed control appearance. In traditional Windows

development, there's a wide chasmbetween controls
that can be tailored to suit your needs (which are known
as ownerdrawncontrols) and those that are rendered by
the operating system and essentially fixed in
appearance. In WPF, everything from a basic Rectangle
to a standard Button or more complex Toolbar is drawn
using the same rendering engine and completely
customizable. For this reason, WPF controls are often
called lookless controls-they define the functionalityof a
control, but they don't have a hard-wired "look."
Wpf future Promise
• WPF is a Windows-centric technology. That means
that WPF applications can only be used on
computers running the Windows operating system
(specifically, Windows XP or Windows Vista).
• Browser-based WPF applications are similarly

limited-they can run only on Windows computers,
although they support both the InternetExplorer
and Firefox browsers.
• Therefore……
Wpf future Promise
• There is a separate technology named

Silverlight that's designed to take a subset of
the WPF platform, host it in any modern browser
using a plug-in (including Firefox, Opera, and
Safari), and open it up to other operating systems
(such as Linux and Mac OS). This is an ambitious
project that's attracted considerable developer
interest.
Where one should use WPF
• If you're starting from the ground up. WPF is an ideal
choice and it offers the best prospects for future
enhancements and longevity.
• if you need one of the features that WPF provides and

Windows Forms does not-such as 3-D drawing or page-
based applications-it makessense to make the shift.
• Best part of the story is the fact that Microsoft has

invested considerable effort in building an interoperability
layer between WPF and Windows Forms (which plays a
similar role to the interoperability layer that allows .NET
applications to continue to use legacy COM components).
The end

WPF Architecture

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WPF Architecture

• WPF uses a multilayered architecture.

• At the top, your application interacts with a high-

• The actual work of translating .NET objects into

• PresentationCore.dll holds base types, such as UIElement and

• WindowsCodecs.dll is a low-level API that provides imaging support

• Even two-dimensional shapes and ordinary text are transformed into

• There is no fallback to GDI+ or User32.

• Declarative user interfaces. In the next chapter, you'll

• Hardware acceleration. All WPF drawing is

• Resolution independence. WPF is flexible

• No fixed control appearance. In traditional Windows

• Browser-based WPF applications are similarly

• There is a separate technology named

• if you need one of the features that WPF provides and

• Best part of the story is the fact that Microsoft has

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