This morning we released the first public community technology preview of "WPF/E". You can install it here, and then try out a few of the early samples that show off some of its capabilities below (note: some of the servers might not have finished propagating the samples, so check back later if the links don't work):
"WPF/E" delivers a small client runtime that enables AJAX developers and designers to deliver richer, cross-platform, interactive web experiences. It will allow applications to go beyond what can be done with pure HTML today, and will enable sites to significantly improve the client user experience by blending HTML UI, Dynamic Vector Graphics, Animation and Media into a seamless cross-platform browser experience.
"WPF/E" accomplishes this by providing a rich graphics engine that can be used on any HTML page and which adds browser support for vector graphics, animation, and declarative XAML UI markup (the declarative XAML format enables search engine optimization of interactive content as well as better authoring via WYSIWYG tools). WPF/E also provides built-in video and audio codec support for WMV, WMA and MP3 content. This means you can now easily stream interactive video content to any browser without requiring any additional install or runtime (Windows Media Player is not required).
"WPF/E" is implemented as a small client-side runtime that users download and install once for their browser (the CTP is a 1.1Mb download, and can be configured to "download on demand" the first time a user visits a page that uses "WPF/E" content). This first CTP runs on both Windows and Macintosh systems (both x86 and PowerPC), and supports IE, FireFox and Safari browsers.
What makes "WPF/E" really nice from a developer perspective is that it is easy to integrate it within existing HTML pages and sites. Developers can write standard JavaScript within an HTML page to directly manipulate and program against any XAML DOM element, storyline animation, or video within "WPF/E". This enables developers to easily add WPF/E assets to their existing AJAX-enabled HTML solutions today, and be able to use a single code-base with a consistent AJAX framework to work against
both the HTML and XAML DOMs on the page at the same time. "WPF/E" can be used with any AJAX framework (it has no dependencies on any client-side AJAX implementation). We'll obviously also deliver deep integration with ASP.NET AJAX, Visual Studio, and the new Expression Studio designer-tools as well. We'll also be providing "WPF/E" integration with .NET managed code next year.
To learn even more about "WPF/E", check out this Channel9 video about the project:
You can also review the CTP documentation here. I'll also be posting a number of "WPF/E" tutorials (including ones that show off nice ASP.NET AJAX integration) over the next few weeks on my blog here as well.
I think you are going to find it a very exciting technology to take advantage of, and that it is going to enable you to significantly improve the user experience of your web applications going forward.
Thanks,
Scott
