Microsoft Technology Practice Capability document. WPF and Silverlight Building Rich Interactive Applications with XAML. Overview

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1 Microsoft Technology Practice Capability document Overview Microsoft has taken giant leaps in the Presentation Layer. WPF and Silverlight make use of XAML (extensible Application Markup Language) for definition of the presentation elements. ITC Infotech has made significant investments in adopting these technologies. This document gives an overview of our experience with WPF and Silverlight the next generation Presentation Layer technologies from Microsoft. Technology and Tools At a minimum, the following tools and technologies are needed to build an effective WPF or Silverlight application Visual Studio 2005 or 2008 Expression Blend XAML C# or VB.Net.Net Framework 3.x Our approach to new technologies Early adopter Focus team of around 10 people Research on any existing material or samples Share learning with wider audience Create POC Create sample applications Create applications for internal use Projects and Samples The following projects and prototypes are showcased in this document Silverlight Application: MTR WPF live project: ikey Burner WPF/XAML Browser Application (XBAP) UI Prototype: Aircraft Mass and Balance WPF Desktop Functional Prototype: Smart Chat WPF and Silverlight Building Rich Interactive Applications with XAML One of the stated mandate on technology practices is to examine emerging 'new generation products' and if there are significant market potentials for such new generation products, then ITC Infotech needs to be ahead of the curve and be in a state of readiness to launch the service offerings backed up by world class competencies and capabilities in such products. Microsoft Practice has taken this mandate in a significant manner in the last 12 months and some of the work on new generation products such as WPF, WCF, MS Silverlight including Web 2.0 components from Microsoft is showcased in this document. Our belief is similar to that of Microsoft corporation in terms of 'eating its own dog food' and these proofs of concepts and applications amply demonstrate this principle. S. Janardhanan, Chief Technology Officer ITC Infotech s Microsoft Technology Practice is fully geared to accept challenges in the Rich Interactive Applications space both in the windows desktop applications and browser based applications. Many months of focused research and practice with the beta releases of.net 3, Silverlight and preview releases of Expressions Blend has enabled us to be adapt to the needs of new age user interfaces, navigation and interactivity. Some of the projects and POC undertaken by ITC Infotech in these areas are showcased in this document.

2 Introduction Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) WPF provides a unified framework for building applications with rich user interfaces and interactivity. It is built on top of the.net Framework and makes use of the managed and unmanaged code. WPF programming model allows the developers to write code once and deploy it as a standalone installed application or in a browser. Microsoft Silverlight Microsoft Silverlight is a cross-browser, cross-platform, and cross-device plug-in for delivering the next generation of.net based media experiences and rich interactive applications for the Web. Silverlight offers a flexible programming model that supports AJAX, VB, and C # and integrates with existing Web applications. Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML) XAML is a markup language for declarative application programming. It is a tools-supported, XMLbased user interface design language that maps XML markup tags to objects in the.net Framework, enabling designers and developers to collaborate on delivering superior user experiences. Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and Silverlight application user interfaces are created in XAML. Development Environments Visual Studio and Expression Studio are tools used by the developers and UI designers. Expression Studio is primarily used by the UI designers to create the layouts, styles, animations, etc. Visual Studio is used by the developers to write the code behind to take care of the functionality and processing. Both Visual Studio and Expression Studio make use of the same project definition structure. Hence a project created in Visual Studio can be opened in Expression Studio and vice versa. XBAP (stands for XAML Browser Application) XBAP is a WPF application run in the browser. XBAP runs sand-boxed in Internet Explorer and has restrictions when compared to a WPF desktop application. Though WPF and Silverlight use XAML, there are variations in these. 2

3 A basic comparison of WPF Desktop application v/s WPF Browser Application v/s Silverlight application is given below: Item WPF Desktop application WPF Browser application Silverlight application (XBAP) Application Type Windows desktop Browser application Browser application application OS Supported Windows XP and Vista Windows XP and Vista Windows, Linux, OS X Browsers supported NA Internet Explorer on Windows XP or Vista IE, Firefox, Safari, etc on (Windows, Mac, Linux).Net Framework 3.x Yes Yes No Required on Client PC? Features All OS features supported Runs sandboxed in IE; missing some features and permissions in WCF and Runs sandboxed in major browsers. Heavily reduced feature sets. OS; Suitability Desktop applications Browser based intranet Internet applications applications RIA (Rich Internet - - Application) RIA (Rich INTERACTIVE Application) Development Tools Visual Studio, Expression Studio Visual Studio, Expression Studio Visual Studio, Expression Studio User Interface language XAML XAML XAML and HTML The following sections in this document showcase some of the prototypes and projects undertaken by ITC Infotech in these technologies. 3

4 (1) MTR Silverlight Application Department: Talent Management - Recruitment Technologies VS2005, ASP.Net, HTML, XML, JavaScript, AJAX, CSS, C#, Silverlight MS SQL Server 2005 Other tools used FxCop, Profiler, Re-Sharper, NUnit, SVN Agile Programming Methodology SCRUM 8 weeks(4 Sprints) Team Size 3 This application developed for Talent Management department of ITC Infotech provides the workflows involved in recruitment starting from candidate applying for a job through candidate evaluation and selection. The application gives the interviewers and recruiters dashboards of candidate status. An intuitive user interface provides the recruiter all information needed to schedule interviews involving multiple candidates and multiple interviewers. Interviewers Drag drop Candidates Silverlight UI features Recruiters can schedule interviews in 2 simple steps: (a) Drag & drop interviewers into the appropriate row and column, (b) click on appropriate interview type icon Gives snapshot of the day in one screen Prevents double booking and overloading of interviewers 4

5 (2) ikey Burner WPF Desktop (Smart Client) Application Customer Profile: IGT is a leading supplier of gaming machines in United States. They have presence in other countries as well where they sell the same products. Technologies VS2008, C#, WPF, MS SQL Server 2005 Other tools used FxCop, Profiler, Re-Sharper, VSS Agile Programming Methodology SCRUM 8 weeks Team Size 5 Business Situation: Presently client is selling their product AVP in domestic market and they need to expand the same in the international market. They wish to extend the facility of burning licenses in ikey1000 to their international subsidiaries. Solution: All valid licenses of client s product include a USB key SafeNet ikey1000. This key contains licensing information of the product. This mechanism is used to prevent piracy of the popular product AVP. Ikey Burner Application can burn / deactivate AVP license at their international subsidiaries. Though there is difference of systems/processes between US and International, the licensing solution will be identical from a technical perspective and so no change is required on the product side (AVP). Benefits Central Admin Console AVP Burn License internationally De-activate License internationally Reports Audit trail and logging No need to send field personnel to the local subsidiaries. 5

6 (3) Prototype: Aircraft Mass and Balance WPF Browser Application (XBAP) Travel and Transportation Vertical Technologies VS2008, WPF, C# 4 weeks Team Size 3 This is a UI prototype of Cargo aircraft flight planning. Users can define the parameters, drag-drop the ULDs onto the empty spaces in the aircraft. System will help in optimizing the mass and balance. There is also a flight simulation. Drag drop 6

7 (4) Prototype: Smart Chat WPF Smart Client Application Technologies VS2008, WPF, VB.Net, WCF 4 weeks Team Size 2 This is a UI + Functional prototype of a Chat application. Unconventional UI layouts are demonstrated in this application. Windows style is not necessarily traditional! Buttons don t necessarily have to be rectangular Vista style angle window ---- End of document