The Quest for the Ultimate GUI Framework
a day ago
- #Windows
- #WPF
- #GUI
- The author prefers Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) for their visualization capabilities and dislikes command-line interfaces.
- GUIs are not perfect; bad GUIs can frustrate users, pushing them back to command terminals.
- The post focuses on technologies for creating GUIs, particularly in Windows, excluding web UIs.
- Win32 User Interface was dominant in the 1990s and early 2000s, with HWND as its core entity.
- Customizing Win32 controls was difficult, often requiring subclassing or creating controls from scratch.
- Layout management in Win32 was primitive, with controls placed using pixel coordinates.
- Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC) and Windows Template Library (WTL) were developed to simplify Win32 GUI programming.
- Visual Basic was popular for its drag-and-drop interface and ease of use, though it's now outdated.
- .NET introduced Windows Forms (WinForms), which improved upon Win32 but still had limitations.
- Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) revolutionized UI development with DirectX rendering, XAML, and powerful data binding.
- WPF's performance issues and Microsoft's shift to 'Metro' and Universal Windows Platform (UWP) led to its stagnation.
- UWP and WinUI were geared towards touch devices, making them less suitable for traditional desktop applications.
- Current Microsoft UI frameworks are fragmented, with no clear direction for desktop app development.
- Alternative libraries like wxWidgets, GTK, Qt, Dear ImGui, and Avalonia offer cross-platform solutions.
- Dear ImGui, an Immediate Mode GUI library, is highlighted for its flexibility and performance.
- Microsoft's lack of focus on desktop apps has left developers seeking third-party solutions.
- The author plans to explore Dear ImGui for future projects due to its potential.