I was recently asked to put together a comparison of WPF Everywhere to evaluate it against other portable presentation-layer solutions. .NET Framework 3.0 Everywhere could very well be the new name of this cross platform buccaneer.

.NET 3.0 E is a feature subset of the CLR (Common Language Runtime/.NET Framework) and the recently released Windows Presentation Foundation, which provides C# / .NET developers with the ability to create and deploy UI and lightweight applications across platforms like Mac, Linux, and numerous devices.

WPF E will offer a vector UI runtime library, to a great extent like Macromedia Flash Player provides in the present day. So why use something other than Flash? Well, today’s Flash player has a significant position on the web enabled rich media market but it fails to address one serious need: The ability to present Microsoft Office material on multiple platforms.

Sure, Office is a Microsoft’s product, so why should Flash ever try and support it? Today’s businesses require more compelling UI, rich presentation, and the ability to provide media from existing and familiar sources. Flash simply lacks the ability to easily interoperate and integrate with many of the Office products of today and the applications developed around the Office product line.

Considering that Office is one of the few applications Microsoft has released for Mac OS X and the best selling software on Macintosh today, plus with the growing popularity of Mac OS (especially after the Intel release), you can bet your bottom dollar that there’s a growing demand for cross platform presentation-layer and user interface solutions. WPF Everywhere is the solution.

Enough with my hype, let’s look at how they stack up in comparison. My partner in saving the world and co-founder of TAVOS Media Networks, Jose Arocha, put together this basic outline comparing the advantages of using several widely available presentation formats, integrated with a web based user interface, and here is what we came up with:

Comparison table of presentation formats and applications needed for an interactive integrated presentation and user experience.
 

The only solution with a perfect 10 is WPF E. This was not an easy conclusion to come to, taking into consideration that WPF-E is still not released to the public yet, which weighs in on our final decision to roll it out in the end.

From the experience I have with WPF, I think we are looking at the silver bullet for UI, presentations, and compelling user experience. Here is an interesting but incomplete, in my opinion, presentation of WPF-E


Apple, say hello to your new friend!