Book Description

Your expert guide to designing and building dynamic user interfaces

Sharpen your application design and development skills using XAML—the declarative markup language used in Microsoft® Silverlight®, Windows® Presentation Foundation (WPF), and the Windows 8 Runtime APIs. Led by two XAML experts, you’ll learn practical ways to build rich, interactive user interfaces with data integration capabilities and support for multimedia, graphics, and animation. This hands-on guide is ideal for Microsoft .NET developers and web designers alike.

Discover how to:

• Control UI behavior and implement business logic with code-behind solutions
• Manage UI element positioning with the XAML layout system
• Use templates to customize UI elements—without affecting their functionality
• Apply different types of property and event systems in WPF and Silverlight
• Bind various kinds of data to your UI, and display them in the format you want
• Implement 2D and 3D vector graphics and animations
• Reuse control styles and properties to maintain consistency throughout your application

Table of Contents
Part I: XAML Basics
Chapter 1. Introducing XAML
Chapter 2. Object Elements and Attributes Download Now »

Book Description

Take advantage of the Code First data modeling approach in ADO.NET Entity Framework, and learn how to build and configure a model based on existing classes in your business domain. With this concise book, you’ll work hands-on with examples to learn how Code First can create an in-memory model and database by default, and how you can exert more control over the model through further configuration.

Code First provides an alternative to the database first and model first approaches to the Entity Data Model. Learn the benefits of defining your model with code, whether you’re working with an existing database or building one from scratch. If you work with Visual Studio and understand database management basics, this book is for you.

• Learn exactly what Code First does—and does not—enable you to do
• Understand how property attributes, relationships, and database mappings are inferred from your classes by Code First
• Use Data Annotations and the Fluent API to configure the Code First data model
• Perform advanced techniques, such as controlling the database schema and overriding the default model caching

This book is a continuation of author Julia Lerman’s Programming Entity Framework, widely recognized as the leading book on the topic.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Welcome to Code First Download Now »

Book Description

Pro Reactive Extensions and LINQ is a deep dive into the next important technology for .NET developers: Reactive Extensions. This in-depth tutorial goes beyond what is available anywhere else to teach how to write WPF, Silverlight, and Windows Phone applications using the Reactive Extensions (Rx) to handle events and asynchronous method calls.

Reactive programming allows you to turn those aspects of your code that are currently imperative into something much more event-driven and flexible. For this reason, it’s sometimes referred to as LINQ for Events.

Reactive programming hinges on the concept of the observable collection, as opposed to the simple enumerable collection with which we’re all familiar. For example, to extract data from a collection and add it to a list box, you would traditionally iterate through the list box, extracting each object in turn. This approach works fine, but it requires significant knowledge about the data you’re working with, which can be limiting. In Rx programming, you’re instead informed about each object in turn and then free to react to each notification however you like, which affords much greater flexibility.

This book shows you how reactive programming can be applied to a range of situations—from WPF applications to Windows Phone apps—to improve coding efficiency and boost performance.

What you’ll learn

• How to create, debug and manage reactive extensions in many situations Download Now »

Book Description

A team of MVP authors guides you through the .NET 4 Framework

Written by a group of experienced MVPs, this unparalleled book delves into the intricate—and often daunting—world of .NET 4. Each author draws from a particular area of expertise to provide invaluable information on using the various .NET 4, C# 4, Silverlight 4, and Visual Studio tools in the real world. The authors break down the vast .NET 4 Framework into easily digestible portions to offer you a strong foundation on what makes .NET such a popular and successful framework for building a wide range of solutions.

• Breaks down the .NET 4 Framework into easily understandable sections
• Features more than a dozen MVPs serving as authors, each of whom focuses on a particular area of expertise
• Covers such topics as Windows Presentation Foundation, Silverlight 4, Windows Communication Foundation, ASP.NET performance, the entity framework, and more
• Shares C# tips and tricks and .NET architecture best practices from a team of Microsoft MVPs

Real World .NET 4 and C# is the ultimate resource for discovering and understanding the .NET 4 Framework.

From the Back Cover
Unparalleled advice for using the most popular tools of the .NET Framework Download Now »

Book Description

Learn to build dynamic web sites with Microsoft WebMatrix

Microsoft WebMatrix is designed to make developing dynamic ASP.NET web sites much easier. This complete Wrox guide shows you what it is, how it works, and how to get the best from it right away. It covers all the basic foundations and also introduces HTML, CSS, and Ajax using jQuery, giving beginning programmers a firm foundation for building dynamic web sites.

• Examines how WebMatrix is expected to become the new recommended entry-level tool for developing web sites using ASP.NET
• Arms beginning programmers, students, and educators with all the information they need to start developing dynamic web sites, including design tips and layout advice
• Explains the Packages Administration tool, including how to use the Facebook Social and Web Helper packages
• Covers working with files, images, and databases; debugging and error handling; maintaining security; and site optimization

In the tried-and-true tradition of Wrox Beginning guides, Beginning ASP.NET Web Pages with WebMatrix gives novice programmers the knowledge and confidence they need to get going.

From the Back Cover
Learn to build dynamic web sites with Microsoft WebMatrix

Download Now »

Book Description

Fully updated for ASP.NET MVC 3. Delve into the features, principles, and pillars of the ASP.NET MVC framework—deftly guided by web development luminary Dino Esposito. ASP.NET MVC forces developers to think in terms of distinct components—Model, View, Controller—that make it easier to manage application complexity, while allowing strict control over the markup. Plunge into the framework’s internal mechanics and gain perspectives on how to use this programming model versus Web Forms, and begin building your own MVC-based applications quickly.

Table of Contents
Introduction

Part I ASP.NET MVC Fundamentals
Chapter 1 ASP.NET MVC Controllers
Chapter 2 ASP.NET MVC Views
Chapter 3 The Model-Binding Architecture
Chapter 4 Input Forms

Part II ASP.NET MVC Software Design
Chapter 5 Aspects of ASP.NET MVC Applications
Chapter 6 Securing Your Application
Chapter 7 Design Considerations for ASP.NET MVC Controllers
Chapter 8 Customizing ASP.NET MVC Controllers Download Now »