This print for content only-size & color not accurate 7" X 9-1/4" / casebound / malloy

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Note

Earlier editions of this text included three (fairly lengthy) chapters dedicated to the Windows Forms API.

Given that WPF is poised to become the preferred toolkit for .NET GUI development, this edition has consolidated

Windows Forms/GDI+ coverage to this single chapter. However, those who have purchased this book can down-

load the previous Windows Forms/GDI+ chapters in PDF format from the Apress website for free.

The Windows Forms Namespaces

The Windows Forms API consists of hundreds of types (classes, interfaces, structures, enums,

and delegates) that are organized within various namespaces of the System.Windows.Forms.dll

assembly. Figure 27-1 shows these namespaces displayed through the Visual Studio 2008 object

browser.

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Figure 27-1.

The Windows Forms namespaces of System.Windows.Forms.dll

By far and away, the most important namespace is System.Windows.Forms. From a high level,

the types within the System.Windows.Forms namespace can be grouped into the following broad

categories:

•

Core infrastructure: These are types that represent the core operations of a Windows Forms

program (Form, Application, etc.) and various types to facilitate interoperability with legacy

ActiveX controls.

•

Controls: These are types used to create rich UIs (Button, MenuStrip, ProgressBar,

DataGridView, etc.), all of which derive from the Control base class. Controls are 

configurable at design time and are visible (by default) at runtime.

•

Components: These are types that do not derive from the Control base class but still provide

visual features to a Windows Forms program (ToolTip, ErrorProvider, etc.). Many compo-

nents (such as the Timer and BackgroundWorker) are not visible at runtime, but can be

configured visually at design time.

•

Common dialog boxes: Windows Forms provides a number of canned dialog boxes for com-

mon operations (OpenFileDialog, PrintDialog, ColorDialog, etc.). As you would hope, you

can certainly build your own custom dialog boxes if the standard dialog boxes do not suit

your needs.

Given that the total number of types within System.Windows.Forms is well over 100 strong, it

would be redundant (not to mention a terrible waste of paper) to list every member of the Windows

Forms family. As you work through this chapter, you will gain a firm foundation upon which to

build. However, be sure to check out the .NET Framework 3.5 SDK documentation for further

details.