MSDN Magazine - August 2008 - (Page 95)

Wicked code Craft Custom Controls For Silverlight 2 Jeff Prosise one of the many features that distinguishes Silverlight™ look and behavior and provides a helpful first look at control de2 from Silverlight 1.0 is support for controls. Silverlight 2 features a rich and robust control model that is the basis for the controls included in the platform and for third-party control packages. You can also use this control model to build controls of your own. But for developers unfamiliar with the Windows® Presentation Foundation (WPF) control model, building that first Silverlight custom control can be a daunting experience. At the time of this writing— just before the release of Silverlight 2 Beta 2—there was precious little documentation available, and a quick Web search turned up few tutorials to show the way. While I’m on that topic, it’s a good time to note that although I am using Beta 2, there will likely be further changes before the final release. When learning to write custom controls for a new platform, I often begin by trying to duplicate some of the built-in controls: buttons, listboxes, and so on. They may seem simple on the outside, but controls such as these invariably expose key features of the control model and test one’s knowledge of the same. Plus, you can’t build a super-duper-multicolor-multithreaded-all-in-one-do-it-all widget control if you can’t first build a simple push button. The best way to learn about Silverlight 2 custom controls is to build one—step by step, piece by piece. You not only learn about the parts that make up a control, but how the parts fit together. The following tutorial describes how to build a SimpleButton control that duplicates important aspects of the built-in Button control’s velopment, Silverlight style. Step 1: Create a New Silverlight Project The first step in creating a custom control is to fire up Visual Studio® 2008 (make sure you’ve installed the Silverlight add-in for Visual Studio so you can create Silverlight projects) and create a project. Normally you’d create a Silverlight class library project so the control can be compiled into its own assembly and added as a reference to projects that will use it. I’ll take a slightly different path and create a This article is based on the Beta 2 version of Silverlight 2. All information herein is subject to change. This article discusses: • The WPF control model • creating control templates • deriving controls • Adding events Technologies discussed: Silverlight 2 code download available at: msdn.microsoft.com/magazine/cc135911 August 2008 95 http://msdn.microsoft.com/magazine/cc135911

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of MSDN Magazine - August 2008

MSDN Magazine - August 2008 Toolbox CLR Inside Out Basic Instincts Cutting Edge Patterns in Practice Data 2.0 - Expose And Consume Data In A Web Services World Biztalk EDI - Build A Robust EDI Solution With BizTalk Server Silverlight - Create Animations With XAML And Expression Blend Write On! - Create Web Apps You Can Draw On With Silverlight 2 Wicked Code - Craft Custom Controls For Silverlight 2 Team System Foundations Windows With C++ Concurrent Affairs Going Places { End Bracket }

MSDN Magazine - August 2008

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