XAML Fundamentals: Building Powerful UIs for Cross-Platform Applications

Course details

What is XAML? XAML is one of the primary languages used to create user interfaces for .NET and Windows apps. This course gives you an overview of the what, when, and how of XAML for Microsoft developers who want to build better user interfaces for their applications.

Learn why markup is so important in UI definition, which frameworks use XAML, and how to identify parts of a XAML file. Join instructor Walt Ritscher as he shares his preferred settings for working with XAML in Visual Studio, explores XAML namespaces and namespace mapping, and discusses the use of XAML in other popular Microsoft frameworks. Along the way, get tips on content categories and the ins and outs of the property system, as well as dependency property services, attached properties, TypeConverters, runtime information, markup extensions, additional resources, and more.

Concepts

0. Introduction

01 - XAML - The Microsoft UI markup language
02 - What you should know before watching
03 - How to access the sample code on GitHub

1. What Is XAML

04 - Why markup languages are useful for UI definition
05 - The Microsoft UI markup language
06 - What frameworks use XAML
07 - Overview - XAML namespaces
08 - Overview - Elements and properties
09 - Overview - Content
10 - Overview - Other concepts

2. Visual Studio Tools

11 - The Visual Studio XAML designer
12 - Drag-and-drop editing
13 - Configure the designer
14 - Optimize the XAML editor settings
15 - The property window
16 - Use the XAML debug and Hot Reload features

3. XAML Namespaces

17 - Namespace principles in XML
18 - Namespace declarations in XAML files
19 - Understand namespace mapping
20 - Predefined namespaces
21 - CLR references and namespaces

4. The Basic Parts of XAML

22 - Instantiate object elements in XAML
23 - Object elements and property attributes
24 - Setting properties in code
25 - Property elements - The alternative to property attributes
26 - Use event attributes to subscribe to events
27 - Event handlers for event attributes

5. Content

28 - What does content mean in XAML
29 - TextBlock and InLine content
30 - Layout panels
31 - Complex content within a ContentControl
32 - Non-UI types in ContentControl
33 - Show lists of elements with ItemsControls
34 - Fill a list using Binding
35 - Make an item selectable with a ListBoxItem
36 - Wrap content with a decorator

6. Understand the Property System

37 - Concept of dependency properties
38 - The Star custom user control
39 - Register the custom dependency property
40 - Bind to base class dependency property

7. Use the Dependency Property Services

41 - Property inheritance
42 - How a style sets dependency properties
43 - Binding to another element
44 - Order of precedence for dependency properties

8. Attached Properties

45 - Explore the concept of attached properties
46 - The Polar panel
47 - Tooltips and attached properties
48 - Keyboard navigation with attached properties
49 - Attached properties with the Grid

9. TypeConverters

50 - Explore the concepts of TypeConverters
51 - List the built-in TypeConverters
52 - How WPF uses TypeConverter on its types
53 - Create a custom TypeConverter

10. Use Runtime Information with Markup Extensions

54 - What is a markup extension and how does it compare to a TypeConverter
55 - Use some common markup extensions
56 - Create a custom markup extension
57 - Add parameters to a custom markup extension

11. Resources

58 - XAML resources and ResourceDictionaries
59 - The resources property
60 - Use resources with the StaticResource markup extension
61 - Styles in resources
62 - Colors in resources
63 - Data sources in resources
64 - Data templates in resources
65 - Explore the resource hierarchy
66 - A quick look at merged resources
67 - Load a resource file for dynamic application UI
68 - Explore the Properties window
69 - Create resources with the Properties window

Conclusion

70 - Next steps