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Chris Sells and Ian Griffiths’ PROGRAMMING WINDOWS PRESENTATION FOUNDATION is for programmers new to WPF as well as those with some experience. Get up to speed quickly writing WPF applications, then use the examples and disussions of the new programming features to understand how its complex features work. WPF will streamline both web and Windows applications programming. All are excellent guides promising lasting references.

Rating: 5 / 5

I read another book on WPF before this, I read a bunch of articles but none like the sell’s book are so practical and clear in explaining the approach to Windows Presentation Framework.

The book is not a “copy” of the documentation, Sells give a lot of tips on how to use WPF and XAML in the best way.

There is also an excellent appendix on XAML that give you all the essential things you need to start using it.
Rating: 5 / 5

Programming WPF is probably the first book on WPF I ever read (the 1st Edition) and the last one (2nd Edition) I’ll be buying (which is a good thing, since I have 7 WPF-related books now). The first edition was a real treat because there was nothing else available a the time and Chris and Ian really hit some topics (like Databinding) very well – so well that they set the standard for books to come. As each pre-release of WPF came out they dutifully updated the XAML and Framework calls of all the examples from the book. But with the production version of the .NET 3.0 Framework there was so much more that programmers needed to know. Ian took the WPF show on the road and Chris listened to a lot of feedback from the developer community – the results of which really come out in this new edition.

The 2nd Edition of Programming WPF comes in strong as the most complete text available on WPF. The authors’ diverse background lead to a great blend of clear and concise writing for a wide variety of topics. The introductory chapters are great for beginners just getting into WPF, but there is also great detail in the advanced chapters to get you well into topics such as: handling graphics, bitmaps, databinding (templates and stying), animations, 3D, text and flow documents, and more.

I like the way they take typically hard topics (e.g. Control Templates) and go deep with concrete examples and helpful code/apps like “Show Me The Template!” from Chapter 9. They also show that they understand “real programming” environments when they don’t just gloss over issues such as the interoperability of WPF and Windows Forms (which isn’t a stretch because they’ve written on Windows Forms as well).

A “taste of Silverlight” left me wanting more – maybe there will be a companion Silverlight book once 2.0 ships? The color section in the middle was helpful but awkward, as you read through it when you get to the center of the book and see color versions of pictures you are already past and glimpse pictures of what is to come. I applaud the inclusion of only 32 pages of basic XAML syntax – enough to give you an understanding of the language but not so much as to take over the book (some books can end up being 1/3 to 1/2 syntax and framework references, which is why you install the MSDN Library and Intellisense). I wanted to see something about Expression Blend or even Design as these tools become important when doing good UI design, but at 800+ pages already there really isn’t room (and I don’t know what I would have cut to make room).

While several of the other WPF books have been good to read through and learn from, I can see the Programming WPF book being one that will become a reference book to return to many times over when you have need for a certain feature of WPF.

Rating: 5 / 5