I bet you didn't know... (Who's using WPF and Vista)
by Don Burnett
Well this week has saw some monumental news, a new improved version of WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) was just released this week and it seems to be very well received by anyone, but have you been watching who's doing applications with WPF.. My motivation for writing this article, was a small article from OSNEWS.com which seemed to be claiming that WPF was still not really used by anyone for business applications and that even with the new version it still might have performance issues.
The article made me smile, because you almost know that a product is hitting mainstream success when an article like this appears about it on that site. Considering the fact that I work with WPF EVERY day now, I know how far from the reality of the matter the information in the article is suggesting. What can you expect from an online site that advocates mostly non-Microsoft solutions ??. The reader comments are also disappointing as well, it's mostly just responders who never have used WPF or worked with it. The few who have responded haven't explored current functionality and new features (like control virtualization), or the new DirectX/Direct3D integration including GPU shaders, or even the new controls over on Codeplex.com/WPF..
Either way, I decided now would be a great time to show you a few uses for WPF in the enterprise..
Autodesk's AutoCAD 2009
The "ribbon" (most people recognize this UI technology from Office 2007) that you see here is the latest standard in UI design to quickly navigate features of an application.. It nicely translates here to Autodesk's own navigation system for AutoCAD 2009. WPF is also making it's way into other products and as well as other features like Vista's live preview for switching screens..
Lawson Smart Office
Enterprise business support? LOB applications, fast? Efficient? Integrated? YES on all counts.. Successful? YES.. See Lawson's Site for further details.
Entellium's RAVE CRM
This one hit the ground running, as a downloadable application that adds value through better features and navigating functionality, while competitor's CRM packages were only web based and had to be completely internet connected all of the time this one has the right set of balanced features that only a "smart client application" Like WPF and Windows Vista can provide.. According to ZDNET's article on the package, the company is enjoying, "..Win rates against Rave’s main competitors, Salesforce.com and ACT, are above 90%. And most tellingly of all, the direct marketing cost to acquire each customer is a stunning 82% lower, at less than $1,000. Not surprisingly, Rave has now overtaken the browser-based eSuite product as a percentage of new acquisitions."
How prevalent is WPF in CRM applications? Microsoft also themselves use WPF features and functionality in it's own Dynamics product line as well..
Interknowlogy
This company started out with a 3D collaboration client for viewing AutoCAD files with WPF, and has been doing amazing things ever since..
VitruView
VitruView is an amazing application that InterKnowlogy has built for the Microsoft Surface. It’s based on a prototype of a WPF application it was originally built for their client: InterMountain Healthcare.
VitruView was designed to help with angiography procedures in a catheter lab – it is essentially a 3d multi-touch application for heart surgeries that persists data in Microsoft HealtVault.
They used 3D heart models from a partner, Zygote, the world’s leader in 3D anatomical models and textures. VitruView provides the users the ability to zoom and rotate a 3D virtual image of the human heart. And since it runs on the Microsoft Surface you do not use a mouse – you use your hands! And with your hands you annotate inside and outside the heart by placing Stents and marking lesions. You can even add and remove arteries by drawing with your fingers. Clearly you need to see this thing in action, but watching a video of it is the next best thing.
Product Advantages (According to InterKnowlogy) :
- It is a Microsoft Surface application – Surface is a 30 inch tabletop display whose unique abilities allow for several people to work independently or simultaneously. All without using a mouse or a keyboard.
- It is .NET, It is WPF, and it’s 3D
- It persists and reads data securely from Microsoft HealthVault – an online location for secure storage of your health record information.
- It is another amazing application produced from the technical leadership of Kevin Kennedy.
- It freaks people out when they see it. It has been called the best application that the Surface has…by numerous Microsoft people.
- It’s arguably the most awesome application they have ever built…and that is quite a bold statement if you look back at all the amazing software we have built over the years.
Angiographer
Angiographer is built on the Windows Presentation Foundation and leverages the managed 3D functionality to animate the heart as well as the built-in tablet/ink integration to build gesture recognition features. Coronary arteries are rendered as actual three dimensional spline extrusions as the user moves the stylus across the surface of the heart.
Despite containing well over fifty thousand triangles, the heart models rotates smoothly even on average graphics processors. Angiographer also makes extensive use of WPF’s vector graphics engine and control styling to create an unique immersive interface that is simple to use yet still visually compelling.
iZoofari is online custom application built by InterKnowlogy for San Diego Zoo which greatly enhances the visitor experience.
Utilizing Microsoft Silverlight 2.0, Windows Server 2008, SQL Server® 2008, Visual Studio 2008, and the .NET Framework 3.5, the iZoofari application serves visitor content to users and provides business intelligence capabilities to improve Zoo operations.
Robert Erhardt, San Diego Zoo CIO says “30-40% of the sightseer time spent at the Zoo was figuring out how to get around". Visitors now will be able to plan their route in advance. iZoofari will not only show the chosen exhibits but also display a wealth of animal facts, trivia and photographs along an optimum route through the park. The application also tracks visitor patterns and collects rich data which is of immense value to all departments at the Zoo.
C-ME Collective Molecular Environment
The C-ME project and solution is extremely successful on many fronts and has been covered in the world-wide press.
3D Collaborator
The application is a Collaborative Client application where Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) is used to view and annotate AutoCAD© DWF 2D and 3D drawings.
BUNKSPEED.COM's HyperDrive
From the Microsoft Case Study:
"HyperDrive is a product visualization tool that helps companies transform engineering data into realistic on-screen prototypes. Initially, Bunkspeed targeted the automotive industry with this product. Automotive designers, for example, can use the product to create high-end images of entire cars or car-part models (such as headlight assemblies) and evaluate different finishes in various lighting conditions. The on-screen images enable designers to reduce the number of physical prototypes they must build, which lowers costs and speeds design decisions. Because these capabilities apply easily across industries, Bunkspeed has quickly expanded its customer base to a variety of businesses in the industrial design industry."
Windows Presentation Foundation gave their developers a unified programming model for building smart-client user experiences that incorporate 2-D and 3-D user interfaces, media, and documents. This technology allowed Bunkspeed to create a visually dynamic UI that the company needed to appeal to a broader customer segment.
Why Windows Presentation Foundation??
Quoting the white paper: "Windows Presentation Foundation supports advanced hardware-accelerated graphics and sophisticated controls, simplifies our development effort, and provides greater separation of the business and presentation logic."-Arne Claassen, Senior Developer, Bunkspeed
That says it all to me..
Okay one last thing and you can buy this for yourself today, an HP Touchsmart PC.. It's Media Center components are all WPF based... Pretty amazing, all in all.. And no, unlike the video below you don't get live fingerprints that walk around set off cannons and ride in balloons around your screen, though it would be cool if you did..
