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What is WPF?

Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) is a unified presentation subsystem for Windows®, exposed through WinFX, the managed-code programming model for Windows Vista™ that extends the Microsoft® .NET Framework. WPF consists of a display engine and a managed-code framework. WPF unifies how Windows creates, displays, and manipulates documents, media, and user interface (UI), enabling developers and designers to create visually stunning, differentiated user experiences.

WPF is based on managed code but uses a markup language, Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML), to make building applications much easier for designers. XAML-based applications currently support C# and Microsoft® Visual Basic® .NET. If you write a WPF application entirely in procedural code, you can use any common language runtime (CLR) language.

For more information about WPF, see the Windows Presentation Foundation section on MSDN, or see WPF reference materials in this User Guide.