我们所期待的WPF/E到底是什么样子？

这一阵对wpf/e这个东西比较关注，前几天它改名叫做Silver Light了，不知道改这个名字什么意图，刚刚去微软看了Mike Harsh的blog，他是微软wpf/e产品组的Program Manager，页面链接如下：

http://blogs.msdn.com/mharsh/archive/2006/12/06/what-is-wpf-e-really.aspx

这里我看到一个人的评论，觉得说得很好。

# re: What is WPF/E really?

Tuesday, December 12, 2006 4:34 PM by Daryl C

WPF/E is not interesting or useful in its current form.  It's a glorified video player.

## Michael Harsh said: "HTML provides flow text layout, text input, tabular and flow layout panels, and a simple set of UI controls.  WPF/E provides media playback, vector graphic drawing and animation support.  The two sets of capabilities compliment one another." ##

If people on the WPF/E team honestly think that "layout and UI controls" are HTML's *strengths*, something has gone horribly horribly wrong at Microsoft.

Getting a table or CSS-based page to render consistently on IE, Firefox and Safari at a variety of screen sizes would drive an angel to take up swearing.

When you say "simple UI controls" what you really mean is "anything more complicated than a button has to be hand-coded in DHTML or round-tripped from the server."

These are the things you want to borrow from HTML?  Michael, these are the things web developers have been looking to chuck overboard since about 1996.  Good bye, FORM tag, and good riddance.

## Michael Harsh said: "HTML elements can be created, accessed and modified using javascript running on a web page.  WPF/E elements can be created, accessed and modified using javascript running on a web page." ##

News flash, Michael: People hate javascript.  Even a lot of people who write javascript for a living hate javascript, and I don't blame them.

The things web developers need most are:

1. Predictable, flexible, well-defined layout algorithms.  Like XAML's Canvas, TableLayout, and FlowLayout.

2. A good UI coding environment.  Something ike WPF, or for that matter, Windows Forms.  If you think a serious application can be built using javascript and DHTML, please don't do any software development.  Think of the people who will have to use your product: what did they ever do to you??

3. Code written in anything other than javascript.  Not setting the bar too high, but a typed language would be nice.  Oh, and for many types of online applications, it will have to be compiled rather than interpreted.

These are the three things web developers need right now in order to create rich, interactive applications.  And for reasons I can't explain, these are the things the WPF/E team has removed from WPF.

What's left is a video player, and YouTube already had that covered. 

说实话，刚开始的时候，我对wpf/e非常期待，我觉得它包含了CLR，使用C#编程，提供类似Tree和DataGrid这样的控件，支持数据绑定，等等等等，可是，它怎么就是这么一个东西呢？

如Daryl C所言， 我们对HTML早已厌倦，对于JavaScript无可奈何，这个时候，我们期待的仅仅是这么一个东西么？Daryl C把这个东西认为是只剩video player了，我觉得还稍微不止一些，我感觉剩下的就是一个类似VML的矢量图形渲染核心，加上media player的功能，这个东西能够跟Flash或者Flex或者Appollo抗衡吗？

我很怀疑。我觉得这个东西拿去跟SVG竞争还勉强有些前途，要说这个就是RIA，哦，我觉得有点好笑。

唉，怎么说呢，世上的事情，本来就是期望的多，得到的少，幸好的是Silver Light的正式版本还不发布，说不定它就延期，就专门等到加了一些好东西呢？可是这么一来，不是被Adobe抢了先手么？打了半天雷，落下几滴雨，可怜啊。

不管了，这个东西提供了也好，我先拿来做VML的替代工具玩玩。