Updated July 2026

WPF with MVVM and C#

Class Duration

35 hours of live training delivered over 5 days.

Student Prerequisites

Professional C# programming experience
Familiarity with Git
No prior WPF, XAML, or MVVM experience required

Target Audience

C# developers who need to build maintainable Windows desktop applications and want to learn WPF the right way from the start: with the MVVM pattern as the architectural backbone rather than an afterthought. Ideal for teams starting new WPF projects, developers moving from web or WinForms backgrounds, teams porting existing Windows Forms, MFC, or traditional Win32 applications to WPF, and organizations that want testable desktop codebases. Developers who already know WPF and MVVM basics and want the full application-lifecycle picture (custom controls, performance, packaging) should consider Building Powerful Desktop Apps with WPF. Teams who need their XAML skills to reach mobile and other desktop platforms can continue to Build Cross-Platform Apps with .NET MAUI.

Description

This hands-on course teaches WPF on its current foundation, .NET 10 with Microsoft's evolving Fluent theming, with MVVM and clean C# architecture woven in from the first hour, not bolted on at the end. WPF remains a fully supported, actively developed part of modern .NET, and the premier framework for serious Windows desktop work. Participants build up from XAML layout and WPF's uniquely powerful data binding through the full MVVM stack using CommunityToolkit.Mvvm and its source generators: observable view models, relay commands, validation, messaging, and view-model-first navigation with dependency injection. Data-heavy UI, async patterns, and styling and theming complete the picture, and the course closes with unit testing view models: the payoff MVVM promises. All work happens in realistic business applications, with agentic AI coding assistants used throughout for generating XAML, scaffolding view models, and reviewing binding errors, with participants learning to direct and verify that work.

Learning Outcomes

Explain WPF's architecture, its place in the current .NET desktop landscape, and when it is the right choice.
Build responsive layouts with WPF's panel system and compose UIs from reusable user controls.
Apply data binding fluently: modes, paths, converters, collection views, and binding diagnostics.
Structure applications with MVVM: view models, commands, and strict separation from view code.
Use CommunityToolkit.Mvvm source generators to eliminate MVVM boilerplate.
Implement validation, messaging between view models, and view-model-first navigation with dependency injection.
Bind and edit large data sets with collection virtualization and master-detail patterns.
Style and theme applications with resources, styles, templates, and the Fluent theme.
Write unit tests for view models and application logic, keeping views thin by design.
Use agentic AI coding assistants effectively for XAML generation, view model scaffolding, and refactoring toward MVVM.

Training Materials

Comprehensive courseware is distributed online at the start of class. All students receive a downloadable MP4 recording of the training.

Software Requirements

A Windows machine with Visual Studio 2026 (Community edition is sufficient), the .NET 10 SDK, and Git. Access to an agentic AI coding assistant is required; a free tier is sufficient.

Training Topics

WPF and the Modern .NET Desktop

WPF's place in the .NET 10 desktop landscape
Application model and startup
Fluent theming and modern visuals
Project structure and tooling in Visual Studio 2026
XAML Hot Reload and designer workflow
Agentic AI coding assistants in XAML and C# work

XAML Foundations

XAML syntax, namespaces, and markup extensions
Layout panels: Grid, StackPanel, DockPanel, WrapPanel
Fine-tuning layout: margin, padding, alignment, and transforms
Core controls and content model
Resources and resource dictionaries
Styles and setters

Data Binding in Depth

Binding modes, paths, and sources
Dependency properties and the WPF property system
INotifyPropertyChanged and change notification
Value converters and string formatting
ElementName, RelativeSource, and DataContext flow
Debugging bindings and binding diagnostics

MVVM Fundamentals

Why MVVM: testability, separation, longevity
View, view model, and model responsibilities
CommunityToolkit.Mvvm and source generators
Observable properties without boilerplate
Design-time data and tooling support

Commands and User Interaction

Routed events and the WPF input architecture
ICommand and the command pattern
RelayCommand and AsyncRelayCommand
CanExecute logic and UI state
Input gestures and keyboard support
Async operations: progress, cancellation, error surfacing

Dependency injection with the .NET Generic Host
Service abstractions for dialogs and platform features
View-model-first navigation strategies
Messaging between view models
Composition of views: user controls and data templates

Working with Collections and Data

ObservableCollection and collection binding
CollectionView: sorting, filtering, grouping
Master-detail interfaces
Virtualization for large data sets
Async data access with EF Core and services

Validation and Forms

Validation approaches in WPF
ObservableValidator and data annotations
INotifyDataErrorInfo and error templates
Form workflows: dirty tracking, save guards

Styling, Templating, and Theming

Control templates and lookless controls
Data templates and template selectors
Triggers and visual states
Fluent theme, dark mode, and accent colors
Application-wide theming strategies

Testing MVVM Applications

Unit testing view models
Faking services behind interfaces
Testing commands, validation, and navigation logic
What stays untested in the view, by design
Reviewing AI-generated view models and tests

MVVM in Practice

Anti-patterns: code-behind creep, fat view models
Sharing state across view models
Performance basics: binding cost, startup time
Preparing for growth: modular application structure