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WPF For PowerBuilder Developers. PowerBuilder Evolving with .NET. Windows Presentation Foundation. WPF is Microsoft's next generation presentation technology Applications can have rich visual appearances 3D graphics High definition playback etc…
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Windows Presentation Foundation • WPF is Microsoft's next generation presentation technology • Applications can have rich visual appearances • 3D graphics • High definition playback • etc… • WPF uses vector-based graphics and is resolution-independent
WPF Sample Contact Manager Contact Manager
WPF Sample Text Editor Text Editor
WPF Feature Highlights • Broad Integration • 3D graphics, video (HD), speech, rich document viewing • ...with one technology • Resolution Independence • Vector-based graphics render/resize to any screen resolution • Hardware Acceleration • Can take advantage of graphics card performance • …cont’d…
WPF Feature Highlights …cont’d… • Declarative Programming • XAML for markup • Rich Composition • Any control may “parent” another • Eventual functionality like… • …async video on each line of a DDLB!
Windows Presentation Foundation • XAML is the declarative markup language with which you may create complex WPF user interfaces • XAML allows separation of UI (markup) from runtime logic • XAML knowledge will not be required, just optional
Windows Presentation Foundation • The change is about the underlying presentation technology • Windows Forms applications use GDI+ • WPF application uses DirectX technology for rendering • DirectX can be rendered using hardware resources • Performance may be improved
Object Models: Win32 / WinForm vs. WPF • WPF has a different object model from Win32 and WinForm • We’re working to preserve the PowerBuilder model while incorporating the WPF “style” • Drastically reduces your learning curve for WPF
Object Models: Win32 / WinForm vs. WPF • For example, WPF controls have a “content” property • PowerBuilder will abstract that to the “Text” property • PowerBuilder will extend WPF controls <my:WPFButton Height="23" Margin="251,0,268,84" Name=“WPFButton1" VerticalAlignment="Bottom" Text="123" />
Object Models: Win32 / WinForm vs. WPF • WPF has introduced many different new concepts: • Dependency Properties, Attached Properties, Commands, Routed Events • A design goal of PowerBuilder 12 is to hide the details of these new concepts and keep the usage similar to existing PowerBuilder
Object Models: Win32 / WinForm vs. WPF • Our goal is to provide you with a “PowerBuilder Experience” when developing WPF applications
PowerBuilder 12WPF Application Architecture • Assemblies of the WPF runtime library • WPF DataWindow engine • New Managed database drivers
PowerBuilder WPF Window:Constraint on Controls • Win32 and WinForm Windows could be the parent of multiple controls • In WPF, a Window may have only one control • Workaround: • Place a Panel, Grid or Canvas, in the Window • We intend to put Canvas Panels in a migrated Window by default
Default “Panel” in the PowerBuilder WPF Window class • By default, a Grid panel will be put inside a Window for new WPF applications • Again, Canvas will be used for migrated applications • Approximating absolute positioning
Grid vs. Canvas • Grid: • Can take more advantage of WPF auto sizing • SizeToContent property is available • Can automatically size controls to length of text for localization/regionalization • Canvas: • Supports positioning elements with explicit coordinates • If we used Grid for migrated applications…position information would not be accurate enough
“InnerControl” Property • InnerControl • Arguably, the most important newly-introduced WPF control property • Allows reference to WPF control directly in PowerScript • Read Only (but properties like Content are writable) • In theory, WPF controls may be infinitely nested within any other WPF controls (one at a time) Cb_1.InnerControl.Content = “Some Contents”;
Third Party Controls • Third party visual controls may now be used in a WYSIWYG fashion in design mode • Conditional code blocks are no longer required for interoperability • When placed on the painter, the IDE will trigger a process to create a proxy object for the control • The proxy will be analogous to traditional OLE/ActiveX interfaces to minimize your learning curve
New Controls Courtesy of WPF Layouts with Panels: • Canvas • Grid • WrapPanel • StackPanel • DockPanel
New Controls Courtesy of WPF Canvas:
New Controls Courtesy of WPF StackPanel:
New Controls Courtesy of WPF WrapPanel Variations:
New Controls Courtesy of WPF DockPanel:
New Controls Courtesy of WPF For the following controls, we may… • Create standard runtime controls …or… • Support them though 3rd party controls (proxy objects) …TBD
New Controls Courtesy of WPF Expander (collapsible GroupBox):
New Controls Courtesy of WPF Expander (collapsible GroupBox):
New Controls Courtesy of WPF MediaPlayer: • Built on top of Windows Media Player • Formats: • WAV • WMA • MP3 • Etc…
New Controls Courtesy of WPF Document Viewer (XPS or Print Preview):
New Controls Courtesy of WPF SpeechRecognizer:
Right-to-Left Support FlowDirection Layout Property:
State of the DataWindow New Features: • From PowerBuilder 11.5 • New background properties • Support for PNG format • Tooltips for all control and column types • Rich Text Edit style • Support for 3rd party controls • May be used with a data binding mechanism in the detail band • Must be consistent with the column’s data type • Expressions are not supported
State of the DataWindow New Features… • XML DataWindow syntax • SRD syntax is still supported • Can run with limited security permissions • New export formats • Excel 2007 • XML paper specification (XPS) • Nested (and Composite) DataWindows • Display in normal, not print preview mode …cont’d…
State of the DataWindow New Features …(cont’d)… • Grid style • Grid line color is a property • Enablesort supports sorting the contents on a specific column • Label • Displays in normal mode, not print preview mode • Managed DataSources in the new Data Source Interface • ADO .NET • Web Services • The classic data sources are still supported The DataWindow will run as fully Managed Code
DataWindow Painter (of the future) In prototype
State of the DataWindow New Architecture: • Separation of • Core functionality • DataWindow objects • Presentation (rendering) functionality • DataWindow controls • Data access • The new Data Source Interface
WPF DataWindow Painter • WYSIWYG design surface for adding, moving, resizing, positioning of DataWindow elements • WYSIWYG Preview • Again, a familiar PowerBuilder experience • Support for 3rd party controls