British Library's Turning The Pages project now in Silverlight

The British Library's Turning The Pages project is currently featuring 5 treasures from across the United Kingdom. In addition to the Windows Vista version (specifically a WPF browser app a.k.a. XBAP) of the app, there's now a new Silverlight version for broader browser and platform reach.

I love this app and often use it as an example to explain what I do in Microsoft to lay persons. A tip for the authors of the Silverlight 1.0 flavor of the app: it'd be cool to see mousewheel support for the Zoom function. Here's a post from Pete that explains the approach.

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Using WCF In An XBAP

Steve Maine confirmed to Rob and me that Windows Communication Foundation (WCF, codename "Indigo") will work in partial trust in upcoming .NET Framework v3.5. This means you can now use HTTP binding in WCF from within a XAML Browser Application (XBAP).

What does this mean? Well, using WCF you will now get parity for things for which you have been using ASMX within your XBAP. Secure communication is possible via transport layer security only.

Not all WCF features are available from within an XBAP though. This means you cannot currently host services, have duplex communications, use non-HTTP transports, or use WS-* protocols. Please use the WCF Forum or the WPF Forum to tells us what you think. We'd love to hear your feedback on this feature.

For the differences between ASMX 2.0 and WCF, see this article. If you already have ASMX services for which you were using an ASMX client, here's how to migrate ASMX to WCF. I should add, you are already able to access a WCF service using an ASMX client.

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Xceed WPF DataGrid - For Free

For real. WPF didn't ship with a DataGrid control in .NET Framework 3.0. The fine folk at Xceed Software recognized that and have now released an enterprise strength WPF DataGrid control to the community. They have a beautiful demo XBAP called Xceed DataGrid for WPF LiveExplorer that lets you see the control in action and use it for yourself.

Get the Xceed DataGrid control. [Requires .NET Framework 3.0 or Windows Vista]

Thanks to Mike for the tip.

Tags: WinFX, NetFX3, WPF, DataGrid, Xceed, XBAP

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Dominoken

KF sent us a link to this beautiful XAML Browser Application (XBAP) created by Bascule for the Windows Vista launch in Japan:

DOMINOKEN

Requires .NET Framework 3.0 or Windows Vista. I've seen it several times, changing the camera angle and zoom settings. Never gets old!

Tags: WinFX, NetFX3, WPF, XBAP, 3D, Windows Vista

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