Robert D. Rush Jr. said
Something about SAM's unleashed lineup, as of late, has me dancing about with a renewed vigor and WPF Unleashed is yet another log on that fire.
Some review the document as being somewhat a general reference as well as being a bit on the extremist side demanding formal training in the WPF realm of discipline. These are somewhat erroneous ascertions as the only real requirement is a basic understanding of WPF to enhance the overall learning curve at times. The text itself delves into the basics all on its own. It reaches down into the dirt to pull up information of a specificity to aid you in understanding the technology -- not how to cut and paste code.
WPF Unleashed is a book for those who want to understand how to use the technology to benefit their UI design goals. The real scope here is to teach the user (reader) how to apply layout and design patterns using WPF on a congenial level with minimal complexity while getting to the core of the libraries' fundamentals. The reading is somewhat fast but, quite insightful with empathy in the delivery as it is NOT in rocket science linguistics.
WPF Unleashed has too many examples to list but, one that struck my fancy with a knockout punch was an in depth excursion into designing a Visual Studio like environment. The exercise covered slide out menu panels and their push-pin buttons and allot more. SAMs gets into the layout and code specifics with sincerity and brevity as the Visual Studio environment example took less than ten pages including illustrations, sidebars, and explicatives.
This tomb has color syntax highlighting, full color illustrations, tips & tricks, call-outs, and practical examples throughout -- phenominal approach and impeccable delivery. This is one of the finest books on any technology that I've had the pleasure of laying eyes upon.
SAMs should really consider modularizing and incorporating this document management styling into every book they publish from this point on. I can not rave aboout this book enough. A+ off the charts. I should also mention, in the event that this fact has been overlooked, that the main author of this formal instruction is also a developer on the WPF team at Microsoft -- so, who you gonna call?!
Yeah, this book is that good. SAMs was definitely upto something when they got this idea in their heads and it worked splendidly.
NOTES:
- Many examples are given in XAML but, are also explained and given in C# right along side in the current context without jumping around.
- Some examples given explain how to use PInvoke with WPF as well as using DLLs.
- One example illustrates how to access Windows themes, primarily Aero, with a lesson in how to create a form that has an all aero-glass background and many more like: shaped forms and gadget style forms.
I actually read this book for fun. Sickening, isn't it? I have truly gone nerd-ville!
Abu H said
It's a good buy.
The book as a package is a good reference for WPF. However, absolute beginners will have a difficult time through it, or at least I did. The first few chapters left me with a headache. I persisted and I can say I now have a firm understanding of WPF. Overall its a good buy.
Pros:
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1. Loads and loads of examples.
2. Full color graphics, helps one to quickly grasp the concepts being illustrated.
3. Easy reference. Quite easy to reference
Cons:
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1.Beginners be warned. Just keep reading you will understand later on.
2. The Author pulls things out of the hat and starts using them before explaining what they are. If he had explained them immediately after, it would be okay; but he doesn't, until a few chapters later. The chapter that was supposed to introduce XAML ended up confusing me, only after reading half the book did I grasp the concepts of the XAML chapter.
3.The general use of language, too many brackets, too many references to past and later chapters within the text; it is distracting.
Overall I would advice you to buy the book.
Gordon Padwick said
Nathan's book is packed full of information but, unfortunately, lacks definitions of terms used (a problem with many computer books).
On pages 20 and 21, for example, Nathan has a section titled "Elements and Attributes." That section includes such terms as "namespace," "type," "property," "event, "element," "attribute," "property attribute," and "event attribute.". Nathan writes about these subjects, but doesn't define what the terms mean. Many of these terms are not listed in the index. Although there is a subsequent section about namespaces, that section doesn't explain what a namespace is.
Lack of definitions is a particular problem in books about WPF because WPF uses many terms the meaning of which is not intuitive and is different from the meaning in everyday usage and some other environments.
I'd like to recommend this book because it contains so much information. I have to caution potential readers, though, that they will be frustrated by the difficulty of understanding precisely what the author means by WPF-specific terms.
I strongly recommend that all computer books contain a glossary of terms or, failing that, index entries that refer to specific definitions of terms. I also recommend that book editors should insist that authors provide concise definitions of terms within their books.
Gordon Padwick
C. Prindle said
I bought this book along with the Charles Petzold tome "Applications = Code + Markup". Though Petzold is a legend, with several indispensable titles under his belt, his effort pales in comparison to this title. When reviewing this book people often cite the use of color and the almost PowerPoint feel as major factors. While these are indeed factors to it's appeal, the main asset of this book is the content. The information is conveyed in a very fluid style which translates into an immense amount of information packed into a relatively small amount of pages. As an introduction to a new development platform, this is perhaps the best book I have ever read.
Gustavo Cavalcanti said
I have read (or tried to read) other WPF books but this one is by far the best one, both in terms of readability (the colors really make a difference) and contents. It feels like each page has a gem of information. If I were to buy only one book about WPF, this would be the one.
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