Chapter 15. Interoperability with Win32, Windows Forms, and ActiveX

In this Chapter

Embedding Win32 Controls in WPF Applications Embedding WPF Controls in Win32 Applications Embedding Windows Forms Controls in WPF Applications Embedding WPF Controls in Windows Forms Applications Embedding ActiveX Controls in WPF Applications

Windows Presentation Foundation, especially in its first release, lacks some features that previous technologies already have. When creating a WPF-based user interface, you might want to exploit such features. For example, WPF currently doesn’t include some of the standard controls that Windows Forms already has: DateTimePicker, MonthCalendar, NumericUpDown, MaskedTextBox, NotifyIcon, DataGridView, and more. Windows Forms also has support for multiple document interface (MDI) window management, wrappers over additional Win32 dialogs and APIs, and various handy APIs like Screen.AllScreens (which returns an array of screens with information about their bounds). Win32 has controls like an IP Address text box (SysIPAddress32) that have no equivalent in either Windows Forms or WPF. Windows Vista introduces Win32-based “glass” effects, task dialogs, and a new wizard framework that don’t have first-class exposure to WPF. And tons of ActiveX controls exist for the purpose of embedding rich functionality into your own software.