Visual Studio 2008 Express and Windows Presentation Foundation

I have downloaded Visual Studio 2008 C# Express to try out the new features, and although I am hugely impressed by the introduction of LINQ and Lambda Expressions on C# 3.0, the biggest surprise comes from the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF).

If Visual Studio 2005 actually revolutionized the way we write codes, WPF revolutionized the way we present interfaces to users.

First, there is this XAML thingy that you are able to declaratively define how an interface should look like, and this is output-independent, meaning that you can specify the same set of XAML for WPF Standalone Application (equivalent to windows application) or XBAP (a web-based WPF application).

Then, the exposure of 3D graphics programming in the WPF as XAML is a big progress towards opening 3D graphics to a wider world. Prior to this, all 3D programming are done through Direct3d (Directx 9c). And although Microsoft has released the SDK for managed code (i.e C#), it is still not simple.

In WPF, 3D graphics and 2D graphics (you use GDI in VB6 era and GDI+ in VB/C#.net under framework 2.0 or earlier) are all achievable through XAML. This is a big step forward!

I have spent the past 24 hours reading through materials, and am really amazed about the possibilities offered by WPF... .Net Framework 3.0 and 3.5, I felt lucky enough to try them out now. Maybe I should be applying for a .Net 3.5 web account (since its free now) and try out the web-based functionalities. :D

To download Visual Studio Express 2008, click here.


Next stop, I'll wait for the SilverLight Refresh (which is September 2007 release now) to stabilize (as this version finally supports C# programming) and support Visual Studio 2008... It is another big thing to learn :D

It's been a long time since I last felt excited =D