This book shows you how to use the Microsoft Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) to write programs that run under Microsoft Windows. These programs can be either regular stand-alone Windows applications (which are now often called client applications) or front ends for distributed applications. The WPF is considered to be the primary application programming interface (API) for Microsoft Windows Vista, but you can also run WPF applications under Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or Windows Server 2003 after you have installed Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0.
Although you use the WPF for writing what are sometimes called "regular type Windows apps," these are definitely not your parents' Windows programs. The WPF includes a new look, a new philosophy concerning control customization, new graphics facilities (including animation and 3D), and a new programming interface.
The WPF actually has two interrelated programming interfaces. You can write WPF programs entirely using C# or any other programming language that complies with the .NET Common Language Specification (CLS). In addition, the WPF includes an exciting new XML-based markup language called the Extensible Application Markup Language (or XAML, pronounced "zammel"), and in some cases you can write entire programs in XAML. Generally, however, you will build your applications from both code and markup (as the title of this book implies). You'll use XAML for defining the user interface and visuals of your applicationincluding graphics and animationand you'll write code for handling user input events.
