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  3. WPF - why?!

WPF - why?!

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  • R RickZeeland

    We tried it, but none of our developers really liked it, also judging from the lack of posts on CodeProject it does not seem very popular ...

    Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK Offline
    Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK Offline
    Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter
    wrote on last edited by
    #4

    It is actually very unpopular... My problem that extensions are using it by default, and the only other option is moving to WinForms... And even that is too easy...

    "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge". Stephen Hawking, 1942- 2018

    "It never ceases to amaze me that a spacecraft launched in 1977 can be fixed remotely from Earth." ― Brian Cox

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

      I know what you mean ... it's like they had a good idea but it never really got finished. With a good intelligent design UI it could have been so good. As it is it's too clumsy and just feels unfinished to develop in. Pity.

      Sent from my Amstrad PC 1640 Never throw anything away, Griff Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay... AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

      G Offline
      G Offline
      GKP1992
      wrote on last edited by
      #5

      OriginalGriff wrote:

      just feels unfinished to develop in

      You'll have similar feelings about UWP. Not a surprise since developing in WPF and UWP is so similar.

      1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter

        So I have to write a new extension for VS, which means I have to deal with WPF... DataGrid in this case... Why's that WPF, that came to life to replace the ugly WinForms, is so ugly?

        "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge". Stephen Hawking, 1942- 2018

        J Offline
        J Offline
        Jacquers
        wrote on last edited by
        #6

        I liked WPF when I used to work with it - you can make some really nice looking apps.

        Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK D 2 Replies Last reply
        0
        • J Jacquers

          I liked WPF when I used to work with it - you can make some really nice looking apps.

          Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK Offline
          Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK Offline
          Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter
          wrote on last edited by
          #7

          Granted - I saw some very nice looking ones... But! If you put a DataGrid on a form and bind it to some data, plus add some buttons to each row (template)... It looks awful...

          "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge". Stephen Hawking, 1942- 2018

          "It never ceases to amaze me that a spacecraft launched in 1977 can be fixed remotely from Earth." ― Brian Cox

          R M J 3 Replies Last reply
          0
          • Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter

            Granted - I saw some very nice looking ones... But! If you put a DataGrid on a form and bind it to some data, plus add some buttons to each row (template)... It looks awful...

            "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge". Stephen Hawking, 1942- 2018

            R Offline
            R Offline
            R1911
            wrote on last edited by
            #8

            hehe "it looks aweful" ? I'm sure you made it so. :-D

            1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter

              So I have to write a new extension for VS, which means I have to deal with WPF... DataGrid in this case... Why's that WPF, that came to life to replace the ugly WinForms, is so ugly?

              "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge". Stephen Hawking, 1942- 2018

              M Offline
              M Offline
              Marc Clifton
              wrote on last edited by
              #9

              Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter wrote:

              Why's that WPF, that came to life to replace the ugly WinForms, is so ugly?

              Because they decided instead to focus on an inane XML syntax instead that requires, among other things, custom instantiators instead of a simple parser and is almost (if not completely) impossible to express and correctly render in a designer, requiring you to hand code the XML, which when I wrote my articles on MyXaml, everyone screeched about how nobody would want to hand-code XML to design a UI, but when Microsoft put out WPF, that's what everyone was forced to do and even seemed to enjoy doing. Um.. end rant? Oh, and because Microsoft likes to leave the professional UI design to third parties. :)

              Latest Article - A Concise Overview of Threads Learning to code with python is like learning to swim with those little arm floaties. It gives you undeserved confidence and will eventually drown you. - DangerBunny Artificial intelligence is the only remedy for natural stupidity. - CDP1802

              Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK J 2 Replies Last reply
              0
              • M Marc Clifton

                Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter wrote:

                Why's that WPF, that came to life to replace the ugly WinForms, is so ugly?

                Because they decided instead to focus on an inane XML syntax instead that requires, among other things, custom instantiators instead of a simple parser and is almost (if not completely) impossible to express and correctly render in a designer, requiring you to hand code the XML, which when I wrote my articles on MyXaml, everyone screeched about how nobody would want to hand-code XML to design a UI, but when Microsoft put out WPF, that's what everyone was forced to do and even seemed to enjoy doing. Um.. end rant? Oh, and because Microsoft likes to leave the professional UI design to third parties. :)

                Latest Article - A Concise Overview of Threads Learning to code with python is like learning to swim with those little arm floaties. It gives you undeserved confidence and will eventually drown you. - DangerBunny Artificial intelligence is the only remedy for natural stupidity. - CDP1802

                Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK Offline
                Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK Offline
                Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter
                wrote on last edited by
                #10

                Marc Clifton wrote:

                professional UI design

                Don't go that far... I would like - for start - that vertical alignment in DataGrid of the content would be logical (bottom for all RTL and LTR languages)... It is not that professional level request...

                "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge". Stephen Hawking, 1942- 2018

                "It never ceases to amaze me that a spacecraft launched in 1977 can be fixed remotely from Earth." ― Brian Cox

                1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • J Jacquers

                  I liked WPF when I used to work with it - you can make some really nice looking apps.

                  D Offline
                  D Offline
                  dandy72
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #11

                  Jacquers wrote:

                  you can make some really nice looking apps.

                  ...if you're willing to allocate the resources to do it. Otherwise WPF apps can be made to look every bit as ugly as WinForms-based apps. If your focus is not on the UI, then WPF adds a lot of cost (in terms of learning overhead) with very little return, IMO.

                  J 1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter

                    So I have to write a new extension for VS, which means I have to deal with WPF... DataGrid in this case... Why's that WPF, that came to life to replace the ugly WinForms, is so ugly?

                    "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge". Stephen Hawking, 1942- 2018

                    abmvA Offline
                    abmvA Offline
                    abmv
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #12

                    Why do you need to write an extension in the first place? . There are third party grid components like xceed that can make life easier...anyway..

                    Caveat Emptor. "Progress doesn't come from early risers – progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things." Lazarus Long

                    We are in the beginning of a mass extinction. - Greta Thunberg

                    Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK 1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • abmvA abmv

                      Why do you need to write an extension in the first place? . There are third party grid components like xceed that can make life easier...anyway..

                      Caveat Emptor. "Progress doesn't come from early risers – progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things." Lazarus Long

                      Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK Offline
                      Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK Offline
                      Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #13

                      A Visual Studio Extension...

                      "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge". Stephen Hawking, 1942- 2018

                      "It never ceases to amaze me that a spacecraft launched in 1977 can be fixed remotely from Earth." ― Brian Cox

                      abmvA 1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter

                        A Visual Studio Extension...

                        "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge". Stephen Hawking, 1942- 2018

                        abmvA Offline
                        abmvA Offline
                        abmv
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #14

                        To do what..

                        Caveat Emptor. "Progress doesn't come from early risers – progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things." Lazarus Long

                        We are in the beginning of a mass extinction. - Greta Thunberg

                        Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK 1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • abmvA abmv

                          To do what..

                          Caveat Emptor. "Progress doesn't come from early risers – progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things." Lazarus Long

                          Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK Offline
                          Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK Offline
                          Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #15

                          Metadata management for our development...

                          "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge". Stephen Hawking, 1942- 2018

                          "It never ceases to amaze me that a spacecraft launched in 1977 can be fixed remotely from Earth." ― Brian Cox

                          abmvA 1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter

                            Metadata management for our development...

                            "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge". Stephen Hawking, 1942- 2018

                            abmvA Offline
                            abmvA Offline
                            abmv
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #16

                            so got custom "metadata" in your code and you need a to develop a gui that will display the "metadata" in a datagrid in visual studio when a dev click a button in vs..

                            Caveat Emptor. "Progress doesn't come from early risers – progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things." Lazarus Long

                            We are in the beginning of a mass extinction. - Greta Thunberg

                            1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • OriginalGriffO OriginalGriff

                              I know what you mean ... it's like they had a good idea but it never really got finished. With a good intelligent design UI it could have been so good. As it is it's too clumsy and just feels unfinished to develop in. Pity.

                              Sent from my Amstrad PC 1640 Never throw anything away, Griff Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay... AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!

                              E Offline
                              E Offline
                              Eric Lynch
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #17

                              Agreed. The framework incorporates some really great ideas and then falls flat in the implementation. My biggest complaint (vs WinForm) is that the design UI completely sucks by comparison. In VS, with WinForm, everything is drag-and-drop / point-and-click. With WPF, I need to constantly resort to editing the XML. There is no reason it needs to be this way. They really need to either get a better UI team or give the team they already have time to fix it. The other problem is the (effective) lack of immediate-mode graphics. I understand that for line-of-business apps this makes perfect sense. However, they should support a fall-back for graphic intensive applications. Try drawing and re-drawing a few thousand lines. Performance is fine in WinForm, but its frustratingly slow in WPF...even when you take advantage of all the WPF performance tweaks. To solve this performance issue, we're left playing with 3rd party work-arounds...using writeable bitmaps. They work great. This means there is absolutely no reason, other than arrogance, that MS can't incorporate some of these concepts into WPF...in a better supported/more seamless fashion. Also, provide better support for WinForm-style docking. Yes, I understand the other layouts are far more flexible and worth learning. I took the time. I still find them less intuitive. So, why punish WinForm developers making the transition? Keep the cool new layouts and add better support for docking layouts as well. As it stands now, for me, WPF is an interesting toy for occasional play. I use it when I want some really flexible layouts...in line-of-business apps. Or, when a customer requests it. Or, when I play with UWP. Otherwise, I still use WinForm. Its a real shame. I'd prefer to move full time to WPF, to ease the wear-and-tear switching back and forth causes on my poor brain. Come on MS...finish what you started!

                              M A E J 4 Replies Last reply
                              0
                              • Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter

                                So I have to write a new extension for VS, which means I have to deal with WPF... DataGrid in this case... Why's that WPF, that came to life to replace the ugly WinForms, is so ugly?

                                "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge". Stephen Hawking, 1942- 2018

                                L Offline
                                L Offline
                                Lost User
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #18

                                Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter wrote:

                                ugly WinForms

                                I imagine the original design goals to include things like functionality, accessability, discoverabilty and consistency. Not "look sexy".

                                Bastard Programmer from Hell :suss: If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^] "If you just follow the bacon Eddy, wherever it leads you, then you won't have to think about politics." -- Some Bell.

                                1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • E Eric Lynch

                                  Agreed. The framework incorporates some really great ideas and then falls flat in the implementation. My biggest complaint (vs WinForm) is that the design UI completely sucks by comparison. In VS, with WinForm, everything is drag-and-drop / point-and-click. With WPF, I need to constantly resort to editing the XML. There is no reason it needs to be this way. They really need to either get a better UI team or give the team they already have time to fix it. The other problem is the (effective) lack of immediate-mode graphics. I understand that for line-of-business apps this makes perfect sense. However, they should support a fall-back for graphic intensive applications. Try drawing and re-drawing a few thousand lines. Performance is fine in WinForm, but its frustratingly slow in WPF...even when you take advantage of all the WPF performance tweaks. To solve this performance issue, we're left playing with 3rd party work-arounds...using writeable bitmaps. They work great. This means there is absolutely no reason, other than arrogance, that MS can't incorporate some of these concepts into WPF...in a better supported/more seamless fashion. Also, provide better support for WinForm-style docking. Yes, I understand the other layouts are far more flexible and worth learning. I took the time. I still find them less intuitive. So, why punish WinForm developers making the transition? Keep the cool new layouts and add better support for docking layouts as well. As it stands now, for me, WPF is an interesting toy for occasional play. I use it when I want some really flexible layouts...in line-of-business apps. Or, when a customer requests it. Or, when I play with UWP. Otherwise, I still use WinForm. Its a real shame. I'd prefer to move full time to WPF, to ease the wear-and-tear switching back and forth causes on my poor brain. Come on MS...finish what you started!

                                  M Offline
                                  M Offline
                                  Mycroft Holmes
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #19

                                  Eric Lynch wrote:

                                  I need to constantly resort to editing the XML

                                  XAML - I was full time in WPF and have never used drag and drop to get controls on a view :^) I had forgotten how easy winforms UI layout is. Thankfully I have never been into graphics, purely LOB work and I still run up against performance issues.

                                  Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter

                                    Granted - I saw some very nice looking ones... But! If you put a DataGrid on a form and bind it to some data, plus add some buttons to each row (template)... It looks awful...

                                    "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge". Stephen Hawking, 1942- 2018

                                    M Offline
                                    M Offline
                                    Mycroft Holmes
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #20

                                    Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter wrote:

                                    plus add some buttons to each row

                                    Ah thinking like a web developer, I cannot remember when I last had buttons on each row. My VM knows precisely what row is selected so all I need is the action directive, also double click is your friend.

                                    Never underestimate the power of human stupidity RAH

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • Kornfeld Eliyahu PeterK Kornfeld Eliyahu Peter

                                      Granted - I saw some very nice looking ones... But! If you put a DataGrid on a form and bind it to some data, plus add some buttons to each row (template)... It looks awful...

                                      "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge". Stephen Hawking, 1942- 2018

                                      J Offline
                                      J Offline
                                      Jacquers
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #21

                                      Yes, the default look isn't very nice - it takes a bit of effort to style the app, but webpages are like that as well. You can get WPF themes or third part controls that look nice out of the box.

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • D dandy72

                                        Jacquers wrote:

                                        you can make some really nice looking apps.

                                        ...if you're willing to allocate the resources to do it. Otherwise WPF apps can be made to look every bit as ugly as WinForms-based apps. If your focus is not on the UI, then WPF adds a lot of cost (in terms of learning overhead) with very little return, IMO.

                                        J Offline
                                        J Offline
                                        Jacquers
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #22

                                        Yes, the default look isn't very nice - it takes a bit of effort to style the app, but webpages are like that as well. You can get WPF themes or third part controls that look nice out of the box.

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • E Eric Lynch

                                          Agreed. The framework incorporates some really great ideas and then falls flat in the implementation. My biggest complaint (vs WinForm) is that the design UI completely sucks by comparison. In VS, with WinForm, everything is drag-and-drop / point-and-click. With WPF, I need to constantly resort to editing the XML. There is no reason it needs to be this way. They really need to either get a better UI team or give the team they already have time to fix it. The other problem is the (effective) lack of immediate-mode graphics. I understand that for line-of-business apps this makes perfect sense. However, they should support a fall-back for graphic intensive applications. Try drawing and re-drawing a few thousand lines. Performance is fine in WinForm, but its frustratingly slow in WPF...even when you take advantage of all the WPF performance tweaks. To solve this performance issue, we're left playing with 3rd party work-arounds...using writeable bitmaps. They work great. This means there is absolutely no reason, other than arrogance, that MS can't incorporate some of these concepts into WPF...in a better supported/more seamless fashion. Also, provide better support for WinForm-style docking. Yes, I understand the other layouts are far more flexible and worth learning. I took the time. I still find them less intuitive. So, why punish WinForm developers making the transition? Keep the cool new layouts and add better support for docking layouts as well. As it stands now, for me, WPF is an interesting toy for occasional play. I use it when I want some really flexible layouts...in line-of-business apps. Or, when a customer requests it. Or, when I play with UWP. Otherwise, I still use WinForm. Its a real shame. I'd prefer to move full time to WPF, to ease the wear-and-tear switching back and forth causes on my poor brain. Come on MS...finish what you started!

                                          A Offline
                                          A Offline
                                          AndyStephens
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #23

                                          I've never used the UI designer, and do everything in XAML. Even Blend still scares the hell out of me to this day, and I'm a proficient WPF/XAML developer. Writing XAML is no different to a web developer writing HTML - nobody uses drag'n'drop interfaces on that platform. Admittedly it's easier to see your changes by just pressing F5 in the open browser window, rather than have to run the app...

                                          D 1 Reply Last reply
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