New controls in WPF 4

[chris128]

Just noticed that there are a few new controls in WPF 4 (as of BETA 2) and just thought I would mention them in case others are not aware of them

--- Calendar - glad that they added this as I've wanted to use one in my WPF app for ages!
--- DataGrid - basically the WPF equivalent of the DataGridView in Winforms. A lot of people were unhappy that the DGV didnt exist in WPF so I guess this will keep them happy
--- DatePicker - the same as the DateTimePicker in Winforms. This is essentially just the Calendar control that is mentioned above but with a dropdown / textbox attached to it. I'm not really sure why they provided the calendar part of the control as a separate control because I imagine this is what will be used in 99% of situations where you want to let a user select a date. Ah well.



For more information on what is new in WPF 4, check out http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/libr...8(VS.100).aspx
One nice thing is the new System.Windows.Shell namespace which has classes such as JumpList in it which lets you define and work with jumplists in Windows 7. Something that I cant find anywhere in Winforms in .NET 4... so I think its another thing to add to the list of reasons to use WPF

[jmcilhinney]

Something that I cant find anywhere in Winforms in .NET 4... so I think its another thing to add to the list of reasons to use WPF

Windows Forms is no longer being developed. It will be maintained but they're not planning on adding anything new. WPF is the way forward because Microsoft say so. I wonder if all the old VB6 developers who signed those petitions complaining about VB6 being "abandoned" will now complain about WinForms being abandoned too. I think WinForms will survive for quaite a while because it handles the majority of business needs for now. When some developers get over themselves and stop creating WPF apps with lots of whizz-bang features that don't actually work, then I think WPF will start to reach a critical mass where enough useful apps that look good will have been created that most customers will start to expect a bit more of the UI than WinForms can provide.

[chris128]

Ah I did think that might be the case when I noticed there was no "Whats new in Windows Forms in .NET 4" page on MSDN..

[BadgerBadger]

As Windows Forms are being abandoned, does this mean all classes exclusive to it will be abandoned too?
Will there be any missing classes that don't have a WPF equivalent?

[jmcilhinney]

As Windows Forms are being abandoned, does this mean all classes exclusive to it will be abandoned too?
Will there be any missing classes that don't have a WPF equivalent?

Windows Forms is not being abandoned. That's why I used the quotes, i.e. I used the term tongue in cheek. It's just not being developed any more. WinForms will continue to exist in its current form for the foreseeable future, but no new features will be added.

[BadgerBadger]

Windows Forms is not being abandoned. That's why I used the quotes, i.e. I used the term tongue in cheek. It's just not being developed any more. WinForms will continue to exist in its current form for the foreseeable future, but no new features will be added.

OK, I see.
I was just wondering if there are any classes that are exclusive to Windows Forms that don't have a WPF equivalent, per se.

Anyway, I think it's time I make the transition to WPF. It is a bit of a shame that Windows Forms are not going to be getting any more new features, but I suppose WPF is the way of the future.

Thanks to both of you for the info.

[chris128]

There are some classes that exist in Winforms that do not exist in WPF but some of them are control/UI related things so that is understandable (like the ListViewSubItem class for example) and others are not that useful anyway You can do pretty much anything you want in WPF, its just that there are still some things that would be a bit easier in Winforms.

Oh and I didnt recognise you without your Ice Age avatar haha put it back!

[BadgerBadger]

So just some different ways of going about things?
Sounds easy enough!

Do you miss Sid the sloth?

[chris128]

Sounds easy enough!

You wait til you try it haha you will probably hate it for the first few days/weeks.... I did anyway. It soon grows on you though

Oh and I would never miss Sid! specially not with a shotgun.

[BadgerBadger]

I must admit I do love the Blend->VS functionality. All the panels confuse me though.

Admit it, you love Sid.

[formlesstree4]

I'm still trying to migrate from System.Drawing.Image because it appears the WPF doesn't like it to much. The 'Image' Control doesn't really seem to want to cooperate with it...