Today I’d like to recomment a book to you. It’s called XAML in a Nutshell (O’Reilly, 2006; ISBN: 0596526733) by Lori A. MacVittie.

For those of you who don’t know already XAML is a .NET technology. It’s a markup language that can be used to help create desktop applications, web pages, and printable documents.

It stands for Extensible Application Markup Language and is pronounced as zammel ([zæ:mɛl]).

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XAML generally follows XML syntax rules, just as any other XML-based markup language does. Each XAML element has a name and one or more attributes. Attributes correspond directly to object properties, and the name of the XAML element exactly matches the name of a CLR class definition.

XAML is pure markup, which means that while the names of event handlers are specified as attributes, you must implement the actual logic of the event handler in code. If you’re familiar with ASP.NET programming techniques, then you’ll be familiar with the term codebehind, which refers to the code “behind” a XAML interface element that is responsible for providing application logic such as event handlers.
It can be implemented in either C# or VB.NET. In both cases, the code can be placed inline in the XAML file, although this contradicts best practices in separating the presentation and application logic layers.

A XAML file can be compiled into a .baml (Binary XAML) file, which may be inserted as a resource into a .NET Framework assembly. At run-time, the framework engine extracts the .baml file from assembly resources, parses it, and creates a corresponding WPF visual tree or workflow.

When used in Windows Presentation Foundation, XAML is used to describe visual user interfaces. WPF allows for the definition of both 2D and 3D objects, rotations, animations, and a variety of other effects and features.

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Here’s an overview of what to expect:

• Introducing XAML
• Getting Started
• XAML Basics
• Layout and Positioning
• Resources
• Storyboards and Animations
• Elements
• Controls
• Shapes and Geometry
• Layout
• Animations and Transformations
• Events

Along with this, you get eight appendices covering the major parts of the XAML technology.

This excellent book gives the reader a quick reference to XAML with examples. In other words, this book provides documentation of all core components and presents detailed discussions on features such as animation, resources, and layout that will help you on your way to becoming a XAML developer.
Even if you’ve never before heard of XAML, this book will give a good starting point to begin your investigations into this new technology…

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The best comes last. You can get a preview online on google’s books: [link]