WPF_For_PowerBuilder_Developers

							WPF For
PowerBuilder
Developers
PowerBuilder Evolving with .NET




   PowerBuilder
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



   PowerBuilder
WPF Sample       Contact Manager




  PowerBuilder
WPF Sample       Text Editor




  PowerBuilder
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…

   PowerBuilder
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!




   PowerBuilder
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




   PowerBuilder
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




   PowerBuilder
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




   PowerBuilder
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" />




   PowerBuilder
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




   PowerBuilder
Object Models:
Win32 / WinForm vs. WPF



  Our goal is to provide you with a
   “PowerBuilder Experience” when
   developing WPF applications




   PowerBuilder
PowerBuilder 12
WPF Application Architecture



 Assemblies of the
WPF runtime library

 WPF DataWindow
engine

 New Managed
database drivers




   PowerBuilder
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




   PowerBuilder
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




   PowerBuilder
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



   PowerBuilder
“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”;


   PowerBuilder
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

   PowerBuilder
New Controls Courtesy of WPF

 Layouts with Panels:

  Canvas
  Grid
  WrapPanel
  StackPanel
  DockPanel




   PowerBuilder
New Controls Courtesy of WPF

 Canvas:




   PowerBuilder
New Controls Courtesy of WPF

 Grid:




   PowerBuilder
New Controls Courtesy of WPF

 StackPanel:




   PowerBuilder
New Controls Courtesy of WPF

 WrapPanel Variations:




   PowerBuilder
New Controls Courtesy of WPF

 DockPanel:




   PowerBuilder
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


   PowerBuilder
New Controls Courtesy of WPF

 Expander (collapsible GroupBox):




   PowerBuilder
New Controls Courtesy of WPF

 Expander (collapsible GroupBox):




   PowerBuilder
New Controls Courtesy of WPF

 MediaPlayer:

  Built on top of Windows Media Player
  Formats:
      WAV
      WMA
      MP3
      Etc…




   PowerBuilder
New Controls Courtesy of WPF

 Document Viewer (XPS or Print Preview):




   PowerBuilder
New Controls Courtesy of WPF

 SpeechRecognizer:




   PowerBuilder
Right-to-Left Support

 FlowDirection Layout Property:




   PowerBuilder
Theme Support




  PowerBuilder
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



   PowerBuilder
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…
   PowerBuilder
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

   PowerBuilder
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




   PowerBuilder
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




   PowerBuilder