WPF and XAML are here to stay
New technologies that developers can take advantage of is emerging at the speed of a fire hose and developers are constantly having to reanalyze and retool year after year. But what technology vehicles do you jump on and commit to? What technologies are in it for the long haul? And what is just a fad and will quickly be replaced?
One technology that Microsoft is getting injected into nearly everything is WPF and XAML. What started out more as a cool, new user interface technology that let you push the limits of how application interact with users (or as some people put it; giving the developer more rope to hang themselves with), has become more and more a requirement for developers. To wear the cap of an official Microsoft developer today, you now need to know how to develop in WPF/Silverlight. Take a look at where Microsoft is going--mobile development, Cloud computing, Surface 2.0, Windows 8--and you see how these skills are quickly becoming the way of the land.
AppDev is keeping up with the curve. Those that have been with us for many years have witnessed our AppDev Learning Engine (ALE) go through a transformation into Silverlight where our student user interface is now 100% XAML-based. We have already enjoyed the freedom we get with XAML allowing us to create new user controls that greatly enhance the usability of our learning tools. But there is much more to be done and we are constantly trying out new features and enhancements to make your learning experience better.
How are you using WPF?