14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is bridging the gap between design and development as far as software is concerned with XAML via Windows Presentation Foundation. Tim Sneath, Microsoft group manager for client platforms, addressed the issue of the incongruence between the development process and the design of the graphical interface for a piece of software, pointing to the traditional building scenarios. In Sneath's perspective, XAML is a facile solution that manages to permit design to complement the program, producing in the end a cohesive experience for the end user. Of course that the basis for this is nothing else but the Windows Presentation foundation.
"WPF and Silverlight revolutionize the process by bringing the designer into the heart of the process. XAML becomes the shared substrate that can be used by both designers and developers to communicate their intent. Finally, the designer is not divorced from the development process: using a tool like Expression Blend to produce XAML, their artistry is no longer the inspiration for the final interface design, it is the final design. For the developer, they no longer have to waste time recreating controls that already exist in the toolbox simply because the designer has implemented a different visual representation; they can concentrate on the engineering challenges that will create the rich engine that powers the interface", Sneath explained.
Of course that Microsoft's view on connecting development and design via XAML on top of the Windows Presentation Foundation is far from being a standard. The fact of the matter is that the Redmond company has been accused of tying the Extensible Application Markup Language to the Windows operating system. The criticism reached quite drastic proportions as Microsoft is in fact working to impose its own standard, while scraping markup languages, such as HTML, XUL or SVG, with the focus placed on HTML. Still, for the developers who want to see what XAML and the Windows Presentation Foundation can offer them, Microsoft has made available The New Iteration whitepaper authored by Karsten Januszewski and Jaime Rodriguez.