Core WPF Assemblies and Namespaces                                         

Like any .NET technology, WPF is represented by several assemblies. The Visual Studio WPF project
templates automatically set references to the necessary assemblies. However, if you build WPF apps using
other IDEs or via msbuild.exe, you will need to set references manually. The following key libraries are
managed .NET assemblies:
























Although these assemblies provide hundreds of types within numerous namespaces, consider this partial list
of WPF namespaces:
     •        You will encounter other namespaces during the remainder of this class.
     •        Again, consult the .NET Framework SDK documentation for full details.






























These three core WPF assemblies work in conjunction with two lower-level libraries, milcor.dll and
WindowsCodecs.dll. Most WPF developers will never need to work directly with these lower-level libraries.
In a nutshell, these two libraries provide a mapping layer between the managed WPF libraries and the
underlying OS kernel / D
WPF Assemblies and Namespaces
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WPF Assembly


Meaning in Life



WindowsBase.dll
Defines the base infrastructure of WPF, including dependency
properties support.

While this assembly contains types used within the WPF
framework, the majority of these types can be used within other
.NET applications.

PresentationCore.dll
This assembly defines numerous types that constitute the
foundation of the WPF GUI layer.



PresentationFoundation.dll
This assembly—the ‘meatiest’ of the three—defines the WPF
controls types, animation and multimedia support, data binding
support, and other WPF services.

For all practical purposes, this is the assembly you will spend
most of your time working with directly.


WPF Namespace

Meaning in Life

System.Windows
Here you will find core types such as Application and Window that
are required by any WPF desktop project.

System.Windows.Controls
Here you will find all of the expected WPF widgets, including types
to build menu systems, tool tips, and numerous layout managers.

System.Windows.Markup
This namespace defines a number of types that allow XAML
markup and the equivalent binary format, BAML, to be parsed.

System.Windows.Media
Within these namespaces you will find types to work with
animations, 3D rendering, text rendering, and other multimedia
primitives.

System.Windows.Navigation
This namespace provides types to account for the navigation logic
employed by XAML browser applications / desktop navigation apps.

System.Windows.Shapes
This namespace defines basic geometric shapes (Rectangle, Polygon,
etc.) used by various aspects of the WPF framework.
Services