[mu_killnine]

That's a pretty fair criticism. But once you've gotten it, it's very powerful (incredible data binding!). And I think we need to be sure to separate WPF from "XAML".

XAML, for certain, is here to stay for quite a while. I recall talking to Carl Franklin about how Windows 8's UI layer is written in XAML. Given that, I think it's fair to say that the time you invest in XAML won't be wasted if you're a Windows developer. WPF may fade into the background, but WinRT will continue to mature and broaden as a platform (esp. as Windows 10 opens the door to cross-device compatibility)

[maxxxxx]

Good luck finding a company that uses Win 8 so you can actually deploy a WinRT app.

And wait until they lose interest in WinRT too like they have done with every new technology quickly.

[mu_killnine]

My guess is most companies will skip Win8 like they skipped Vista. Windows 10 looks to be what enterprise will rally around.

But for fat applications, what's your alternative? Java is, at best, parity with something like WinRT but can't leverage the benefits that MS can bring to users with its native platform (assuming a big, MS-centric enterprise). WPF, as we've already said, isn't going to get any more of the pie. Let's not kid ourselves about Winforms or platforms that haven't even embraced data binding.

In the meantime, you can't cross off Xamarin as a means to bring these WinRT applications to even more device types.

[Thieum22]

Winforms has data binding.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ef2xyb33

WPF main advantage over Winforms is XAML vs tool-generated designer class IMHO. Most of the other concepts have their equivalents in both technology.

[ygra]

In my eyes WPF's advantage usually boiled down to:

  • databinding (which it shares with most other things coming from MS; I think even VB had it; interestingly enough, it's somewhat absent everywhere else)

  • decoupling behaviour from visuals

  • somewhat related to the last point: templating

Especially the last two are what makes WPF awesome. Databinding is just the glue that's needed for the other two to work awesomely. Being able to say »I want this to work like a ToggleButton but look slightly different« (and keeping all the behavioural logic in place without needing to reimplement it) and »I define how my data will look like in terms of the same containers and controls that I build my UI with and (usually) have no performance disadvantage« are the things that are really nice. I take a collection of things, databind them to a ListBox, use a DataTemplate to control how each of them looks and am able to use normal controls in said template that can interact with the data and are not just images pasted onto the UI (like in Swing or Android). And all that without the need to write a single line of code that moves my data from code to UI (or back).

[maxxxxx]

WPF data binding is vastly superior to Winforms.