Scott Van Vliet

Book Announcement: Professional .NET Development with the Windows Presentation Foundation

After weeks of anticipation, I’m very excited to announce my first co-authoring expedition with Wrox – Professional .NET Development with the Windows Presentation Foundation!  I’m working with two fantastic co-authors – Shawn Livermore (ASP.NET 2.0 Instant Results) and Chris Andrade (Masters of Flash: The 2002 Annual) – so expect nothing but great things in this book!

I’ll be using this blog as a means to post teasers and snippets from the trenches.  If you have any ideas for our book (e.g. want to see something done in WPF vs. WinForms; have a great idea for a sample application) please share them with us!

Gmail Is (Was) Down

Gmail is (was) down.  I think this is the first error I've EVER received when using Google's services (which I've been using since late 1999 / early 2000.)  

XAML Grid.RowDefinitions Syntax in DataTemplate Disallowed

As noted in the WinFXReadme.htm file included with the WinFX January CTP, the preferred syntax for RowDefinitions and Column Definitions is as outlined in the following XAML listing.

<Window x:Class="TestApplication.Window2"

    xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/avalon/2005"

    xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/xaml/2005"

    Title="Test Window"

    >

  <Window.Resources>

    <DataTemplate x:Key="MyTemplate">

      <Grid>

        <Grid.RowDefinitions>

          <RowDefinition Height="100" />

        </Grid.RowDefinitions>

      </Grid>

    </DataTemplate>

  </Window.Resources>

    <Grid>

      <Grid.ColumnDefinitions>

        <ColumnDefinition Width="100" />

        <ColumnDefinition Width="Auto" />

      </Grid.ColumnDefinitions>

      <TextBlock Grid.Column="0" Grid.Row="0">My Label</TextBlock>

      <ContentControl Grid.Column="1" Grid.Row="0" ContentTemplate="{StaticResource MyTemplate}" />

    </Grid>

</Window>

Although this is the preferred syntax and will compile, it will fail at runtime with the following error.

BamlParseException was unhandled

Error at element 'Grid' in markup file 'Window2.xaml' : The property 'RowDefinitions' cannot be set as a property element on Template.  Only Triggers and Resources are allowed as property elements..

Note that if you include the RowDefinition element at the root of the Grid element (e.g. <Grid><RowDefinition> vs. <Grid><Grid.RowDefinition>) the ContentControl binds and renders as expected.  Thus, I'm really not sure if this error is just misleading based on schema issues, or if Grid.RowDefinition and/or RowDefinition elements cannot be included in a DataTemplate.  I'll post more on this as I dig into it further.

Move to Neudesic

With 2006 well underway, I’m pleased to announce an exciting change in my career.  After spending nearly 3 years with Hitachi Consulting, I’ve decided to part ways and explore another opportunity.

I’ve now joined Neudesic, a top-notch Microsoft-focused consulting firm based in Irvine, CA.  There are tons of bright individuals working for Neudesic, and I am honored to be joining the team and working with them.

To find out more about Neudesic, visit our Web site at http://www.neudesic.com/.

I’ll be posting some other exciting news as soon as I get the green light J

Gelukkig NieuwJaar! (Happy New Year!)