.NET BLOG

Not all WPF applications are written using XAML. There are some causes why the developer wants to accomplish his goal without using XAML. For example:

• There is no know-how of XAML and no time to learn it in depth but the need to create - for example - animations.
• WPF should be used in environments where XAML is not available (micro framework).
• The user interface should be generated at runtime.

But how can you create a WPF application without XAML?

First of all it’s the simpliest way to create a standard WPF application using Visual Studio. Delete the default files App.xaml and Window1.xaml (the code-behind files are deleted automatically if you delete the XAML files). The advantage of this way is that all references are included for you. If you create a blank solution you have to add the needed references manually:

• WindowsBase
• PresentationCore
• PresentationFramework

The next step is to add a new class App.cs to your project. This class inherits Application and contains the needed entry point:

public class App : Application
{
    [STAThread]
    static void Main(string[ args)
    {
        Application app = new Application();
        app.Run(new MainWindow());
    }
}

This will create a new instance of Application. Furthermore the Run-method is called to start the application using a new instance of MainWindow which we will create in the next step.

public class MainWindow : Window
{
    StackPanel mainPanel = null;
    Label label1 = null;
    Button button1 = null;

    private void InitializeComponent()
    {
        mainPanel = new StackPanel();
        mainPanel.Name = “MainPanel”;
        mainPanel.Orientation = Orientation.Vertical;

        label1 = new Label();
        label1.Content = “Code Only App”;
        label1.FontSize = 18;

        button1 = new Button();
        button1.Content = “Close”;

        mainPanel.Children.Add(label1);
        mainPanel.Children.Add(button1);

        this.Content = mainPanel;
    }

    public MainWindow()
    {
        InitializeComponent();

        Init();

        button1.Click += new RoutedEventHandler(button1_Click);
    }

    void button1_Click(object sender, RoutedEventArgs e)
    {
        Application.Current.Shutdown(0);
    }

    private void Init()
    {
        this.Title = “Code Only App”;
        this.Height = 300;
        this.Width = 300;
    }
}

MainWindow inherits from Window which means that MainWindow represents a window to display. Within InitializeComponents our needed elements are instantiated and added to the content of the window to get displayed.

And here is a screenshot showing the result (of course you can use custom styles and templates to get it look like a little bit better).

This is a very simple example but it is - of course - possible to implement a much more complex application.