Professional Visual Basic 2012 and .NET 4.5 Programming

Features Shared by All XAML Platforms

The XAML markup language is a variant of XML, and basic XAML syntax is the same for all three XAML platforms. The objects used in the XAML may vary; each platform has its own libraries, which may contain objects not available in other XAML platforms. But the syntax used to declare the objects used in a user interface are the same for all three.

The three platforms also share the way visual elements are sized and arranged. This is known as the layout system. The layout system is part of the way visual elements and other objects are composed into a complete user interface. This aspect of XAML is usually called the composition model, and it is also the same in all three platforms.

User interfaces normally work with data, and need a way to expose data values in the interface. XAML has a sophisticated data binding subsystem for this purpose, and its fundamental features work the same in all three platforms.

To present lists of data items to users, XAML allows a user interface developer to create a data template that determines what the user will see for a particular item. This is one of the most powerful capabilities of XAML, and again works fundamentally the same in all three platforms.

Finally, XAML includes ways to customize and refine user interfaces via styles and control templates. Styles are a standard way of setting a family of properties for visual elements, and while the properties affected may change with the three platforms, the way ...