You do not have permission to edit this page, for the following reasons:

This IP address has been blocked from editing Wikipedia.
This does not affect your ability to read Wikipedia pages.
Most people who see this message have done nothing wrong. Some kinds of blocks restrict editing from specific service providers or telecom companies in response to recent abuse or vandalism, and can sometimes affect other users who are unrelated to that abuse. Review the information below for assistance if you do not believe that you have done anything wrong.

The IP address or range 34.200.0.0/16 has been blocked (disabled) by ‪JJMC89‬ for the following reason(s):

The IP address that you are currently using has been blocked because it is believed to be a web host provider or colocation provider. To prevent abuse, web hosts and colocation providers may be blocked from editing Wikipedia.
You will not be able to edit Wikipedia using a web host or colocation provider because it hides your IP address, much like a proxy or VPN.
We recommend that you attempt to use another connection to edit. For example, if you use a proxy or VPN to connect to the internet, turn it off when editing Wikipedia. If you edit using a mobile connection, try using a Wi-Fi connection, and vice versa. If you are using a corporate internet connection, switch to a different Wi-Fi network. If you have a Wikipedia account, please log in.
If you do not have any other way to edit Wikipedia, you will need to request an IP block exemption.

How to appeal if you are confident that your connection does not use a colocation provider's IP address:
If you are confident that you are not using a web host, you may appeal this block by adding the following text on your talk page: ((unblock|reason=Caught by a colocation web host block but this host or IP is not a web host. My IP address is _______. Place any further information here. ~~~~)). You must fill in the blank with your IP address for this block to be investigated. Your IP address can be determined here. Alternatively, if you wish to keep your IP address private you can use the unblock ticket request system. There are several reasons you might be editing using the IP address of a web host or colocation provider (such as if you are using VPN software or a business network); please use this method of appeal only if you think your IP address is in fact not a web host or colocation provider.

Administrators: The IP block exemption user right should only be applied to allow users to edit using web host in exceptional circumstances, and requests should usually be directed to the functionaries team via email. If you intend to give the IPBE user right, a CheckUser needs to take a look at the account. This can be requested most easily at SPI Quick Checkuser Requests. Unblocking an IP or IP range with this template is highly discouraged without at least contacting the blocking administrator.

This block will expire on 05:16, 2 September 2025.

Even when blocked, you will usually still be able to edit your user talk page, as well as email administrators and other editors.

For information on how to proceed, please read the FAQ for blocked users and the guideline on block appeals. The guide to appealing blocks may also be helpful.

Other useful links: Blocking policy · Help:I have been blocked
Your IP address is in a range that has been blocked on all Wikimedia Foundation wikis. The block was made by ‪Jon Kolbert‬. The reason given is Open proxy/Webhost: See the help page if you are affected .
- Start of block: 05:38, 21 February 2024
- Expiry of block: 05:38, 21 February 2029
Your current IP address is 34.200.250.87. The blocked range is 34.200.0.0/16. Please include all above details in any queries you make. If you believe you were blocked by mistake, you can find additional information and instructions in the No open proxies global policy. Otherwise, to discuss the block please post a request for review on Meta-Wiki. You could also send an email to the stewards VRT queue at stewards@wikimedia.org including all above details.

You can view and copy the source of this page:

((Short description|Graphical subsystem))
((Missing information|WPF's successor and the Avalonia framework|date=April 2020))
((Infobox software
| name                   = Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)
| author                 = [[Microsoft]]
| developer              = [[.NET Foundation]]
| released               = ((Start date and age|2006|11|21))
| latest release version = v8.0.0
| latest release date    = ((Start date and age|2023|11|14))<ref>((cite web|url=https://github.com/dotnet/wpf/releases/tag/v8.0.0 |title=v8.0.0 |date=2023-11-14 |website=github.com|access-date=2023-11-21 ))</ref>
| latest preview version = 
| latest preview date    = 
| programming language   = [[C Sharp (programming language)|C#]], [[C++]], [[C (programming language)|C]]
| operating system       = [[Microsoft Windows]]
| platform               = [[.NET Framework]], [[.NET]]
| genre                  = [[Software framework]]
| license                = [[MIT License]]
| website                = ((URL|https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/desktop/wpf/))
))

'''Windows Presentation Foundation''' ('''WPF''') is a [[free and open-source]] graphical subsystem (similar to [[WinForms]]) originally developed by [[Microsoft]] for rendering [[user interface]]s in Windows-based applications. WPF, previously known as "Avalon", was initially released as part of [[.NET Framework 3.0]] in 2006. WPF uses [[DirectX]] and attempts to provide a consistent programming model for building applications. It separates the user interface from [[business logic]], and resembles similar [[XML]]-oriented [[object model]]s, such as those implemented in [[XUL]] and [[Scalable Vector Graphics|SVG]].<ref>((cite book |last1=Nathan |first1=Adam |title=Windows Presentation Foundation Unleashed |date=2006 |publisher=Pearson Education |isbn=9780132715621 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TSDxCqUBt18C&q=Windows+Presentation+Foundation |language=en))</ref>

==Overview==
[[Image:DotNet3.0.svg|alt=dot net three point zero windows stack diagram|thumb|right|300px|This [[subsystem]] is a part of [[.NET Framework 3.0]].]]
WPF employs [[Extensible Application Markup Language|XAML]], an [[XML]]-based language, to define and link various interface elements.<ref>((cite web|url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms752059.aspx|title=XAML Overview (WPF)|last=dotnet-bot|website=msdn.microsoft.com|access-date=31 March 2018))</ref> WPF applications can be deployed as standalone desktop programs or hosted as an embedded object in a website. WPF aims to unify a number of common [[user interface]] elements, such as 2D/3D rendering, fixed and adaptive [[Document file format|documents]], [[typography]], [[vector graphics]], runtime [[animation]], and pre-rendered media. These elements can then be linked and manipulated based on various events, user interactions, and [[data binding]]s.<ref>((cite book |last1=Sells |first1=Chris |last2=Griffiths |first2=Ian |title=Programming WPF: Building Windows UI with Windows Presentation Foundation |date=2007 |publisher="O'Reilly Media, Inc." |isbn=9780596554798 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=558i6t1dKEAC&q=Windows+Presentation+Foundation |language=en))</ref>

WPF [[runtime library|runtime libraries]] are included with all versions of [[Microsoft Windows]] since [[Windows Vista]] and [[Windows Server 2008]].  Users of [[Windows XP]] SP2/SP3 and [[Windows Server 2003]] can optionally install the necessary libraries.<ref>((cite web|url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/netframework/bb188202.aspx|title=.NET|website=Microsoft|access-date=31 March 2018))</ref><ref>((cite web|url=http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyId=10CC340B-F857-4A14-83F5-25634C3BF043&displaylang=en|title=Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 Download|website=microsoft.com|access-date=31 March 2018))</ref>

[[Microsoft Silverlight]] provided functionality that is mostly a subset of WPF to provide embedded web controls comparable to [[Adobe Flash]]. 3D runtime rendering had been supported in Silverlight since Silverlight 5.<ref>[http://www.silverlight.net/learn/overview/what%27s-new-in-silverlight-5 Silverlight Learning Resources]. Silverlight.net. Retrieved on 2013-08-29.</ref>

At the [[Microsoft Connect]] event on December 4, 2018, [[Microsoft]] announced releasing WPF as open source project on [https://github.com/dotnet/wpf GitHub]. It is released under the [[MIT License]]. Windows Presentation Foundation has become available for projects targeting the [[.NET Core|.NET]] software framework, however, the system is not cross-platform and is still available only on Windows.<ref name="OpenSourcingGuiMartin">((cite web |url=https://www.infoq.com/news/2018/12/msft-open-source-wpf-winforms | title=Microsoft Open Sources WPF, WinForms, and WinUI | last=Martin  | first=Jeff | work=InfoQ | date=4 December 2018|access-date=2018-12-06 ))</ref><ref name="OpenSourcingGuiHanselman">((cite web |url=https://www.hanselman.com/blog/AnnouncingWPFWinFormsAndWinUIAreGoingOpenSource.aspx | title=Announcing WPF, WinForms, and WinUI are going Open Source | last=Hanselman | first=Scott | date=4 December 2018|access-date=2018-12-06 ))</ref>

==Features==

===Direct3D===
Graphics, including desktop items like windows, are rendered using [[Direct3D]].  This allows the display of more complex graphics and custom themes, at the cost of [[Graphics Device Interface|GDI's]] wider range of support and uniform control theming. It allows Windows to offload some graphics tasks to the [[graphics processing unit|GPU]]. This reduces the workload on the computer's [[central processing unit|CPU]]. GPUs are optimized for parallel pixel computations. This tends to speed up screen refreshes at the cost of decreased compatibility in markets where GPUs are not necessarily as powerful, such as the [[netbook]] market.

WPF's emphasis on vector graphics allows most controls and elements to be scaled without loss in quality or [[pixelization]], thus increasing accessibility. With the exception of Silverlight, Direct3D integration allows for streamlined 3D rendering.  In addition, interactive 2D content can be overlaid on 3D surfaces natively.<ref>((cite web|url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa663364.aspx|title=Introducing Windows Presentation Foundation|website=msdn.microsoft.com|access-date=31 March 2018))</ref><ref name="tims">((cite web | url = http://blogs.msdn.com/tims/archive/2007/07/27/what-s-new-in-wpf-3-5-here-s-fifteen-cool-features.aspx | title = What's New in WPF 3.5? Here's Fifteen Cool Features... | access-date = 2007-10-14))</ref>

===Data binding===
* WPF has a built-in set of data services to enable application developers to bind and manipulate data within applications. It  supports four types of data binding:
*# one time: where the client ignores updates on the server.
*# one way: where the client has read-only access to data.
*# two way: where client can read from and write data to the server
*# one way to source: where the client has write-only access to data
*[[Language Integrated Query|LINQ]] queries, including ''LINQ to XML'', can also act as data sources for data binding.<ref name="tims"/>
* Binding of data has no bearing on its presentation. WPF provides data templates to control presentation of data.
* A set of built-in controls is provided as part of WPF, containing items such as button, menu, grids, and list box.
* Dependency Properties can be added to Behaviours or Attached Properties to add custom binding properties.
* A powerful concept in the WPF is the logical separation of a control from its appearance.
** A control's template can be overridden to completely change its visual appearance.
** A control can contain any other control or layout, allowing for a high degree of control over composition.
*Features [[retained mode]] graphics. Repainting the display isn't always necessary.

===Media services===
* The WPF provides an integrated system for building user interfaces with common media elements like vector and raster images, audio, and video.  WPF also provides an animation system and a 2D/3D rendering system.<ref>[http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms742562.aspx Graphics and Multimedia]. Msdn.Microsoft.com. Retrieved on 2013-08-29.</ref>
* WPF provides shape primitives for 2D graphics along with a built-in set of brushes, pens, geometries, and transforms.
* The 3D capabilities in WPF are a subset of the full-feature set provided by Direct3D. However, WPF provides tighter integration with other features like user interfaces, documents, and media. This makes it possible to have 3D user interfaces, 3D documents, or 3D media.
* There is support for most common image formats: BMP, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, [[Windows Media Photo]], GIF, and ICON.
* WPF supports the video formats [[WMV]], [[MPEG]] and some [[Audio Video Interleave|AVI]] files by default, but since it has [[Windows Media Player]] running beneath, WPF can use all the codecs installed for it.

===Templates===
* In WPF you can define the look of an element directly, via its properties, or indirectly with a template or style. At its simplest a style is a combination of property settings that can be applied to a UI element with a single property attribute. Templates are a mechanism for defining alternative UI for portions of your WPF application.  There are several template types available in WPF (ControlTemplate, DataTemplate, HierarchicalDataTemplate, and ItemsPanelTemplate).
'''Control templates'''
* Underlying all UI controls in WPF is a new composition model. Every control is composed of one or more ‘visuals’. These visual sub-elements are turned into a hierarchical visual tree by WPF and eventually rendered by the GPU. Because WPF controls are not wrappers for standard Windows controls their UI can be radically changed without affecting the normal behavior of the control.
* Every control in WPF has a default ‘template’ that defines its visual tree. The default template is created by the control author and is replaceable by other developers and designers. The substitute UI is placed within a ControlTemplate.
'''Data templates'''
* WPF has a flexible data binding system. UI elements can be populated and synchronized with data from an underlying data model. Rather than showing simple text for the bound data, WPF can apply a data template (replaceable UI for .NET types) before rendering to the visual tree.

===Animations===
* WPF supports time-based animations, in contrast to the frame-based approach. This decouples the speed of the animation from how the system is performing.
* WPF supports low level animation via timers and higher level abstractions of animations via the Animation classes.
** Any WPF element property can be animated as long as it is registered as a dependency property.
** Animation classes are based on the .NET type of property to be animated. For instance, changing the color of an element is done with the ColorAnimation class and animating the width of an element (which is typed as a double) is done with the DoubleAnimation class.
* Animations can be grouped into Storyboards.
** Storyboards are the primary way to start, stop, pause and otherwise manipulate the animations.
* Animations can be triggered by external events, including user action.<ref name="anim"/>
* Scene redraws are time triggered.<ref name="anim">((cite web | url = http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms752312.aspx | title = Animation overview | publisher = [[MSDN]] | access-date=2007-10-14))</ref>
* Presentation timers are initialized and managed by WPF.<ref name="anim"/>
* Animation effects can be defined on a per-object basis, which can be accessed directly from [[Extensible Application Markup Language|XAML]] markup.<ref name="anim"/>

===Imaging===
* WPF can natively access [[Windows Imaging Component]] (WIC) code and APIs allowing developers to write image codecs for their specific image file formats.

===Effects===
* WPF 3.0 provides for Bitmap effects (BitmapEffect class), which are raster effects applied to a Visual. These raster effects are written in unmanaged code and force rendering of the Visual to be performed on the CPU and not hardware accelerated by the GPU.  BitmapEffects were deprecated in .NET 3.5 SP 1.
* .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 adds the Effect class, which is a Pixel-Shader 2.0 effect that can be applied to a visual, which allows all rendering to remain on the GPU.
* The Effect class is extensible, allowing applications to specify their own shader effects.
* The Effect class, in .NET 3.5 SP1 and 4.0, ships with two built-in effects, BlurEffect and DropShadowEffect. There are no direct replacements for OuterGlowBitmapEffect, EmbossBitmapEffect and BevelBitmapEffect, previously provided by the deprecated BitmapEffect class. However, there are other ways of achieving the same results with the Effect class. For example, developers can get an outer glow effect by using the DropShadowEffect with its ShadowDepth set to 0.
* Although the BitmapEffect class was marked as deprecated in .Net Framework 3.5 SP1, its use was still allowed and these effects would still render correctly. In .Net Framework 4.0 the BitmapEffect class was effectively deprecated - code referencing BitmapEffect still builds without errors, but no effect gets actually rendered.

===Documents===
* WPF natively supports paginated documents. It provides the <code>DocumentViewer</code> class, which is for reading fixed layout documents. The <code>FlowDocumentReader</code> class offers different view modes such as per-page or scrollable and also [[reflowable document|reflows text]] if the viewing area is resized.
* Natively supports [[XML Paper Specification]] documents.
* Supports reading and writing paginated documents using [[Open Packaging Conventions]].

===Text===
* WPF includes a number of text rendering features that were not available in [[Graphics Device Interface|GDI]]. This is the first Microsoft programming interface to expose [[OpenType]] features to software developers, supporting OpenType, TrueType, and OpenType CFF ([[Compact Font Format]]) fonts.
* Support for OpenType typographic features includes:
** [[Ligature (typography)|Ligatures]]
** [[Text figures|Old-style numerals]] (for example, parts of the glyph hang below the text baseline)
** [[Swash (typography)|Swash]] variants
** Fractions
** [[Superscript]] and [[subscript]]
** [[Small caps]]
** Line-level [[Justification (typesetting)|justification]]
** [[Ruby character]]s
** [[Font substitution|Glyph substitution]]
** Multiple [[Baseline (typography)|baselines]]
** Contextual and Stylistic Alternates
** [[Kerning]]
* WPF handles texts in [[Unicode]], and handles texts independent of global settings, such as system locale. In addition, fallback mechanisms are provided to allow writing direction (horizontal versus vertical) handled independent of font name; building international fonts from composite fonts, using a group of single-language fonts; composite fonts embedding. Font linking and font fallback information is stored in a portable XML file, using composite font technology.<ref>((cite web|url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms742190(VS.85).aspx|title=Typography in Windows Presentation Foundation|website=msdn.microsoft.com|access-date=31 March 2018))</ref> The XML file has extension ''((Not a typo|.CompositeFont))''.
* The WPF text engine also supports built-in [[spell checking]]. It also supports such features as automatic line spacing, enhanced international text, language-guided line breaking, [[hyphen]]ation, and justification, bitmap effects, transforms, and text effects such as shadows, blur, glow, rotation etc. Animated text is also supported; this refers to animated glyphs, as well as real-time changes in position, size, color, and opacity of the text.
* WPF text rendering takes advantage of advances in [[ClearType]] technology, such as sub-pixel positioning, natural advance widths, Y-direction anti-aliasing, [[Hardware acceleration|hardware-accelerated]] text rendering, as well as aggressive caching of pre-rendered text in video memory.<ref>((cite web|url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms749295.aspx|title=ClearType Overview|last=dotnet-bot|website=msdn.microsoft.com|access-date=31 March 2018))</ref> ClearType cannot be turned off in older WPF 3.x applications.<ref>((cite web|url=http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/forums/en-US/wpf/thread/83a5fa3f-dc75-42c8-86df-61e6af6edd41/|title=Disable Antialiasing|website=social.msdn.microsoft.com|access-date=31 March 2018))</ref> Unlike the ClearType in GDI or GDI+, WPF ClearType does not snap glyphs to pixels horizontally, leading to a loss of contrast disliked by some users.<ref>((cite web|url=http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/forums/en-US/wpf/thread/07508928-b217-4c76-bf50-edcba545fadf/#page:2|title=My first thoughts on WPF with VS 2008 RTM and a few questions|website=social.msdn.microsoft.com|access-date=31 March 2018))</ref>  The text rendering engine has been rewritten in WPF 4.0, correcting this issue.<ref>[http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2009/10/26/wpf-4-vs-2010-and-net-4-0-series.aspx WPF 4 (VS 2010 and .NET 4.0 Series) - ScottGu's Blog]. Weblogs.asp.net. Retrieved on 2013-08-29.</ref>
* The extent to which glyphs are cached is dependent on the video card. [[DirectX]] 10 cards are able to cache the font glyphs in [[video memory]], then perform the composition (assembling of character glyphs in the correct order, with the correct spacing), alpha-blending (application of anti-aliasing), and RGB blending (ClearType's sub-pixel color calculations), entirely in hardware. This means that only the original glyphs need to be stored in video memory once per font (Microsoft estimates that this would require 2 MB of video memory per font), and other operations such as the display of anti-aliased text on top of other graphics&mdash;including video&mdash;can also be done with no computation effort on the part of the CPU. DirectX 9 cards are only able to cache the alpha-blended glyphs in memory, thus requiring the CPU to handle glyph composition and alpha-blending before passing this to the video card. Caching these partially rendered glyphs requires significantly more memory (Microsoft estimates 5 MB per process). Cards that don't support DirectX 9 have no hardware-accelerated text rendering capabilities.

===Interoperability===
* [[Windows Forms]] is also possible through the use of the <code>ElementHost</code> and <code>WindowsFormsHost</code> classes.
To enable the use of WinForms, the developer executes this from their WPF C# code:
  System.Windows.Forms.Integration.WindowsFormsHost.EnableWindowsFormsInterop();

===Alternative input===
* WPF supports [[Traditional animation#Digital ink-and-paint|digital ink]]-related functionality.
* WPF 4.0 supports multi-touch input on [[Windows 7]] and above.

===Accessibility===
* WPF supports [[Microsoft UI Automation]] to allow developers to create accessible interfaces.
* This [[API]] also allows automated test scripts to interact with the UI.<ref>((cite web|url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms747327.aspx|title=UI Automation Overview|last=Xansky|website=msdn.microsoft.com|access-date=31 March 2018))</ref>

==XAML==
((Main|Extensible Application Markup Language))

Following the success of [[markup language]]s for web development, WPF introduces eXtensible Application Markup Language ([[Extensible Application Markup Language|XAML]]; ((IPAc-en|ˈ|z|æ|m|əl))), which is based on [[XML]]. XAML is designed as a more efficient method of developing application user interfaces.<ref>((cite book |last1=MacDonald |first1=Matthew |title=Pro WPF in VB 2010: Windows Presentation Foundation in .NET 4 |date=2010 |publisher=Apress |isbn=9781430272403 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F-gMZkAlUDUC&q=WPF+introduces+eXtensible+Application+Markup+Language&pg=PA23 |language=en))</ref>
The specific advantage that XAML brings to WPF is that XAML is a completely [[declarative programming language|declarative]] language, allowing the developer (or designer) to describe the behavior and integration of components without the use of [[procedural programming]]. Although it is rare that an entire application will be built completely in XAML, the introduction of XAML allows application designers to more effectively contribute to the application development cycle. Using [[Extensible Application Markup Language|XAML]] to develop user interfaces also allows for separation of model and view, which is considered a good architectural principle. In XAML, elements and attributes map to classes and properties in the underlying APIs.

As in web development, both layouts and specific themes are well suited to markup, but [[Extensible Application Markup Language|XAML]] is not required for either. Indeed, all elements of WPF may be coded in a [[Microsoft .NET|.NET]] language ([[C Sharp (programming language)|C#]], [[VB.NET]]). The XAML code can ultimately be compiled into a managed assembly in the same way all .NET languages are.

==Architecture==
[[Image:WPF.svg|thumb|The WPF architecture. Blue elements are Windows components; brown ones are WPF components.]]
((anchor|Media Integration Layer))
The architecture of WPF spans both [[managed code]] and [[native code]] components. However, the public [[API]] exposed is only available via managed code. While the majority of WPF is in managed code, the composition engine which renders the WPF applications is a native component. It is named '''Media Integration Layer''' (MIL) and resides in <code>milcore.dll</code>. It interfaces directly with [[DirectX]] and provides basic support for 2D and 3D surfaces, timer-controlled manipulation of contents of a surface with a view to exposing animation constructs at a higher level, and [[compositing]] the individual elements of a WPF application into a final 3D "scene" that represents the UI of the application and renders it to the screen.<ref name="milcore">((cite web | url = http://www.simplegeek.com/PermaLink.aspx/a09c8a32-b4d0-47ce-8186-0c5e7beae66b | title = MIL information | author = Chris Anderson | access-date = 2007-10-14))</ref><ref name="arch">((cite web | url = http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms750441.aspx | title = WPF Architecture | publisher = [[MSDN]] | access-date = 2007-10-14))</ref> The [[Desktop Window Manager]] also uses the MIL for desktop and window composition.<ref name="WPFMilCoreDWM">((cite web |url=http://blogs.msdn.com/b/greg_schechter/archive/2006/06/09/623566.aspx |title=How underlying WPF concepts and technology are being used in the DWM |last=Schechter |first=Greg |date=June 9, 2006 |publisher=[[Microsoft]] |work=MSDN Blogs |access-date=2015-07-27))</ref> The media codecs are also implemented in unmanaged code, and are shipped as <code>windowscodecs.dll</code>.<ref name="milcore"/> In the managed world, PresentationCore (<code>presentationcore.dll</code>) provides a managed wrapper for MIL and implements the core services for WPF,<ref name="milcore"/> including a property system that is aware of the dependencies between the setters and consumers of the property, a message dispatching system by means of a <code>Dispatcher</code> object to implement a specialized event system and services which can implement a layout system such as measurement for UI elements.<ref name="arch"/> PresentationFramework (<code>presentationframework.dll</code>) implements the end-user presentational features, including layouts, time-dependent, story-board based animations, and data binding.<ref name="arch"/>

WPF exposes a property system for objects which inherit from <code>DependencyObject</code>, that is aware of the dependencies between the consumers of the property, and can trigger actions based on changes in properties. Properties can be either hard coded values or expressions, which are specific expressions that evaluate to a result. In the initial release, however, the set of expressions supported is closed.<ref name="arch"/> The value of the properties can be inherited from parent objects as well. WPF properties support ''change notifications'', which invoke bound [[code-behind|behaviors]] whenever some property of some element is changed. Custom behaviors can be used to propagate a property change notification across a set of WPF objects. This is used by the layout system to trigger a recalculation of the layout on property-changes, thus exposing a [[declarative programming]] style for WPF, whereby almost everything, from setting colors and positions to animating elements can be achieved by setting properties.<ref name="arch"/> This allows WPF applications to be written in [[Extensible Application Markup Language|XAML]], which is a declarative mark-up language, by binding the keywords and attributes directly to WPF classes and properties.<ref>((cite web |title=Create a WPF application in Visual Studio |url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/framework/wpf/getting-started/walkthrough-my-first-wpf-desktop-application |website=docs.microsoft.com |language=en-us))</ref>

The interface elements of a WPF application are maintained as a class of <code>Visual</code> objects. Visual objects provide a managed interface to a ''composition tree'' which is maintained by Media Integration Layer (MIL). Each element of WPF creates and adds one or more ''composition nodes'' to the tree. The composition nodes contain rendering instructions, such as clipping and transformation instructions, along with other visual attributes. Thus the entire application is represented as a collection of composition nodes, which are stored in a buffer in the system memory. Periodically, MIL walks the tree and executes the rendering instructions in each node, thus compositing each element on to a DirectX surface, which is then rendered on screen. MIL uses the [[painter's algorithm]], where all the components are rendered from back of the screen to the front, which allows complex effects like transparencies to be easily achieved. This rendering process is hardware accelerated using the GPU.<ref name="arch" /> The composition tree is cached by MIL, creating a [[Retained mode|retained mode graphics]], so that any changes to the composition tree needs only to be incrementally communicated to MIL. This also frees the applications of managing repainting the screen; MIL can do that itself as it has all the information necessary. Animations can be implemented as time-triggered changes to the composition tree. On the user visible side, animations are specified declaratively, by setting some animation effect to some element via a property and specifying the duration. The [[code-behind]] updates the specific nodes of the tree, via <code>Visual</code> objects, to represent both the intermediate states at specified time intervals as well as the final state of the element. MIL will render the changes to the element automatically.<ref>((cite web |title=WPF Architecture |url=https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/framework/wpf/advanced/wpf-architecture |website=docs.microsoft.com |language=en-us))</ref>
All WPF applications start with two threads: one for managing the UI and another background thread for handling rendering and repainting.<ref name="threading">((cite web | url = http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms741870.aspx | title = Threading Model | publisher = [[MSDN]] | access-date = 2007-10-14))</ref> Rendering and repainting is managed by WPF itself, without any developer intervention. The UI thread houses the Dispatcher (via an instance of <code>DispatcherObject</code>), which maintains a queue of UI operations that need to be performed (as a tree of <code>Visual</code> objects), sorted by priority. UI events, including changing a property that affects the layout, and user interaction events raised are queued up in the dispatcher, which invokes the handlers for the events. Microsoft recommends that the event handlers only update the properties to reflect new content for application responsiveness, with the new content being generated or retrieved in a background thread.<ref name="threading"/> The render thread picks up a copy of the visual tree and walks the tree calculating which components will be visible and renders them to Direct3D surfaces. The render thread also caches the visual tree, so only changes to the tree need to be communicated, which will result in updating just the changed pixels. WPF supports an extensible layout model. Layout is divided into two phases: ''Measure''; and ''Arrange''. The ''Measure'' phase recursively calls all elements and determines the size they will take. In the ''Arrange'' phase, the child elements are recursively arranged by their parents, invoking the [[layout algorithm]] of the layout module in use.<ref name="arch"/><ref>((cite web | url = http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms745058.aspx | title = The Layout System | publisher = [[MSDN]] | access-date = 2007-10-14))</ref>

==Tools==
A number of development tools are available for developing Windows Presentation Foundation applications.

===Microsoft tools===
* [[Microsoft Visual Studio]] is a developer-oriented [[Integrated Development Environment|IDE]] that contains a combination XAML editor and WPF visual designer, beginning with Visual Studio 2008.
* Prior to Visual Studio 2008, the [[Visual Studio#Designer|WPF designer]] add-in, codenamed Cider, was the original release of a WYSIWYG editor for creating WPF windows, pages, and user controls. It was available for Visual Studio 2005 as a ''Visual Studio 2005 extensions for .NET Framework 3.0 [[Betaware|CTP]]'' for the initial release of WPF.<ref>Retrieved from http://www.microsoft.com/en-au/download/details.aspx?id=23072.</ref>
* [[Microsoft Visual Studio Express]] 2008 and later editions, particularly Visual C# Express and Visual Basic Express, also have the WPF designer integrated.
* [[Microsoft Blend]] is a designer-oriented tool that provides an artboard for the creation of WPF applications with 2D and 3D graphics, text and forms content. It generates [[Extensible Application Markup Language|XAML]] that may be exported into other tools and shares solution (sln files) and project formats (csproj, vbproj) with Microsoft Visual Studio.
* [[Microsoft Expression Design]] is a bitmap and 2D-vector graphics tool for exporting to [[Extensible Application Markup Language|XAML]].
* [[XAMLPad]] is a lightweight tool included in the .NET Framework SDK. It can create and render XAML files using a split screen UI layout. It also provides a tree view of the markup in a panel.

===Third-party tools===
* [[SharpDevelop]], an open-source .NET IDE, includes WPF application design abilities. It is a free alternative to Visual Studio.<ref>((cite web|url=http://icsharpcode.net/OpenSource/SD|title=SharpDevelop @ic#code|first=Christoph|last=Wille|website=icsharpcode.net|access-date=31 March 2018))</ref>
* [[PowerBuilder|PowerBuilder .NET]] by Sybase is a 4GL tool that translates PowerBuilder code, graphical objects to XAML and allows deploying the application as a WPF target.<ref>[http://www.sybase.com/products/modelingdevelopment/powerbuilder Rich Application Development Tool/Declarative Programming Environment | PowerBuilder - Sybase Inc]. Sybase.com. Retrieved on 2013-08-29.</ref>
*[https://www.syncfusion.com/wpf-ui-controls Essential Studio for WPF] by Syncfusion is a package of over 100 modern WPF UI controls for building beautiful, high performance line-of-business WPF applications.<ref>((Cite web|title=WPF controls for your modern Desktop Apps|url=https://www.syncfusion.com/wpf-ui-controls|access-date=2021-02-17|website=www.syncfusion.com|language=en))</ref>
*[https://avaloniaui.net/XPF Avalonia XPF] by Avalonia is a cross-platform, binary-compatible fork of WPF that supports Windows, macOS and Linux.<ref>((Cite web|title=Avalonia XPF - Cross-Platform WPF|url=https://avaloniaui.net/XPF|access-date=2023-02-26|website=www.avaloniaui.net|language=en))</ref>

==Deployment==
WPF's deployment model offers both '''standalone''' and '''XAML Browser Applications''' (XBAP, pronounced "ex-bap") flavors. The programming model for building either type of application is similar.

Standalone applications are those that have been locally installed on the computer using software such as [[ClickOnce]] or [[Windows Installer]] (MSI) and which run on the desktop. Standalone applications are considered ''full trust'' and have full access to a computer's resources.

[[XAML Browser Applications]] ([[XBAP]]s) are programs that are hosted inside a [[web browser]]. Pre-.NET4 XBAP applications run in a ''partial trust'' [[Sandbox (computer security)|sandbox]] environment, and are not given full access to the computer's resources and not all WPF functionality is available. The hosted environment is intended to protect the computer from malicious applications. XBAPs can run as fully trusted applications in .NET 4, with full access to computer resources. Starting an XBAP from an HTML page or vice versa is seamless (there is no security or installation prompt). Although one gets the perception of the application running in the browser, it actually runs in an out-of-process executable different from the browser.

===Internet Explorer===
As of the release of .NET Framework 3.0, XBAPs would only run in IE.

===Firefox support===
With the release of .NET Framework 3.5 SP1, XBAP also runs in Mozilla Firefox using the included extension. On October 16, 2009, Mozilla added the Firefox plugin and extension to its add-ons blocklist, because of a remotely exploitable serious security vulnerability, in agreement with Microsoft.<ref name="FirefoxBlock">((cite web | url = http://blog.mozilla.com/security/2009/10/16/net-framework-assistant-blocked-to-disarm-security-vulnerability/ |title=NET Framework Assistant Blocked to Disarm Security Vulnerability |access-date=2009-10-17))</ref> Two days later, the block was removed. On Windows 7, the Firefox plugin does not run by default.<ref name="FirefoxOnWindows7">((cite web | url = http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc716877.aspx |title=Firefox Add-ons to Support .NET Application Deployment |access-date=2010-09-07))
</ref> A reinstallation of the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 will install the plugin and add support for XBAP applications on Firefox.<ref name="FirefoxOnWindows7Solutions">((cite web | url=http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/wpf/thread/747c6b78-a821-4498-a37f-1b79197de803 |title=Xbap plugin for firefox in Windows 7  | access-date=2010-09-29))
</ref> Alternatively, hard-copying the plugin [[Dynamic-link library|DLLs]] from a working Windows XP/Vista installation to the plugin directory of Mozilla Firefox will also reinstate support for XBAP applications.<ref name="FirefoxOnWindows7Solutions" /> The WPF plugin DLLs reside in the following directories (depending on the Framework version):

; 3.5 [SP1]
: C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5\WPF\NPWPF.dll
; 4.0
: C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\WPF\NPWPF.dll

==Microsoft Silverlight==
((Main|Microsoft Silverlight))
Silverlight (codenamed WPF/E) is a deprecated cross-browser [[browser plugin]] which contained WPF-based technology (including XAML)<ref>((cite web|url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/asp.net/bb187358.aspx|title=The Official Microsoft ASP.NET Site|website=The Official Microsoft ASP.NET Site|access-date=31 March 2018))</ref> that provided features such as video, vector graphics, and animations to multiple operating systems including [[Windows 7]], [[Windows Vista]], [[Windows XP]], and [[Mac OS X]]. Microsoft sanctioned a limited number of third-party developers to work on ports for certain [[Linux]] distributions.<ref name="Moonlight">((cite web | url = http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2007/09/04/silverlight-1-0-released-and-silverlight-for-linux-announced.aspx |title=Silverlight 1.0 Released and Silverlight for Linux Announced |access-date=2007-09-05))</ref> Specifically, it was provided as an add-on for [[Mozilla Firefox]], [[Internet Explorer 6]] and above, [[Google Chrome]] 42 and below and [[Safari (web browser)|Apple Safari]].

==.NET Micro Framework==
The [[.NET Micro Framework]] includes a GUI object model loosely based on WPF, although without support for XAML.

==References==
((Reflist))

==Bibliography==
* [[Adam Nathan]]: ''Windows Presentation Foundation Unleashed (WPF)'', December 21, 2006, Sams Publishing, ((ISBN|0-672-32891-7))
* [[Chris Anderson (writer)|Chris Anderson]]: ''Essential Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)'', April 11, 2007, Addison-Wesley, ((ISBN|0-321-37447-9))
* Chris Sells, Ian Griffiths: ''Programming WPF'', August 28, 2007, O'Reilly Media, ((ISBN|0-596-51037-3))
* [[Arlen Feldman]], [[Maxx Daymon]]: ''WPF in Action with Visual Studio 2008'', November 21, 2008, Manning Publications, ((ISBN|1-933988-22-3))

==External links==
((Portal|Free and open-source software))
* [http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms754130.aspx MSDN Library: Windows Presentation Foundation]
* [http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms742190.aspx Rich typography with Windows Presentation Foundation]
* [http://blogs.msdn.com/b/wpfsdk/ Windows Presentation Foundation User Education]

((.NET Framework))
((Microsoft APIs))
((Microsoft FOSS))
((Widget toolkits))
((Authority control))

[[Category:.NET terminology]]
[[Category:2006 software]]
[[Category:Formerly proprietary software]]
[[Category:Free and open-source software]]
[[Category:Microsoft application programming interfaces|Presentation Foundation]]
[[Category:Microsoft free software]]
[[Category:Microsoft Windows multimedia technology]]
[[Category:Software using the MIT license]]
[[Category:Widget toolkits]]
[[Category:Windows-only free software]]

Pages transcluded onto the current version of this page (help):

Windows Presentation Foundation (edit)
Template:.NET Framework (edit)
Template:Ambox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Anchor (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Authority control (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Catalog lookup link (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Cite book (view source) (protected)
Template:Cite web (view source) (protected)
Template:EditAtWikidata (view source) (protected)
Template:Hlist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:IPAc-en (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:ISBN (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Icon (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Infobox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Infobox software (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Infobox software/simple (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:MONTHNAME (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:MONTHNUMBER (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Main (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Main other (view source) (protected)
Template:Microsoft APIs (edit)
Template:Microsoft FOSS (edit)
Template:Missing information (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Navbox (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Not a typo (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Pagetype (view source) (protected)
Template:Plainlist (view source) (protected)
Template:Plainlist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:Portal (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Reflist (view source) (protected)
Template:Reflist/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Template:SDcat (view source) (protected)
Template:Short description (view source) (protected)
Template:Short description/lowercasecheck (view source) (protected)
Template:Sic (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Start date and age (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Template other (view source) (protected)
Template:Time ago (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Tooltip (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Tooltip/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Trim (view source) (protected)
Template:URL (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Widget toolkits (edit)
Template:Wikidata (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Yesno (view source) (protected)
Template:Yesno-no (view source) (template editor protected)
Template:Yesno-yes (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Anchor (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Arguments (view source) (protected)
Module:Authority control (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Authority control/config (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Catalog lookup link (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Category handler (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/blacklist (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/data (view source) (protected)
Module:Category handler/shared (view source) (protected)
Module:Check for unknown parameters (view source) (protected)
Module:Check isxn (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Citation/CS1 (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/COinS (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Date validation (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Utilities (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/Whitelist (view source) (protected)
Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Date (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Disambiguation/templates (view source) (protected)
Module:EditAtWikidata (view source) (protected)
Module:Format link (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Hatnote (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Hatnote/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Hatnote list (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:IPAc-en (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:IPAc-en/data (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:IPAc-en/phonemes (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:IPAc-en/pronunciation (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Icon (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Icon/data (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Infobox (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Infobox/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:InfoboxImage (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Labelled list hatnote (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Message box (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box/ambox.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Message box/configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Namespace detect/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Namespace detect/data (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar/configuration (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbar/styles.css (view source) (protected)
Module:Navbox (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Navbox/configuration (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Navbox/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Pagetype (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/config (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/disambiguation (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/setindex (view source) (protected)
Module:Pagetype/softredirect (view source) (protected)
Module:Portal (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Portal/images/f (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Portal/styles.css (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:SDcat (view source) (protected)
Module:String (view source) (protected)
Module:TableTools (view source) (protected)
Module:Time ago (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:URL (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Unsubst (view source) (protected)
Module:Wd (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Wd/i18n (view source) (template editor protected)
Module:Wikitext Parsing (view source) (protected)
Module:Yesno (view source) (protected)

Return to Windows Presentation Foundation.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Presentation_Foundation"