4. Advanced Xaml

The power of xaml extends well beyond the introductory areas you were exposed to in the last chapter. In this chapter, you learn about advanced solutions that can be accomplished with Xaml in LOB applications. You learn about the text-based controls that provide professional runtime layouts and then discover the parts, states, and template model that Silverlight uses to provide maximum flexibility for designing controls. You learn about data templates that are used to transform raw data into visually appealing information.

In addition, you delve deeper into the power of the designer/developer workflow and learn how to generate design-time data that is visible in the Visual Studio designer and Expression Blend. You create reusable UI behaviors and triggers, extend your applications to provide a natural user interface (NUI) capable of responding to touch and gesture inputs, and learn the nuances of building application themes that can be reused across projects.