Winform Smart Client vs. MVVM + Prism

Question

Is Windows Forms Simart Client Obsolete? And should it be replaced by Prism (and / or MVVM)? Should I take care of the Smart Client?

Another question that might be related to what are the performance differences between Winforms and WPF besides all the cool stuff in wpf like data binding and 3D? Does WPF work for Windows 2000 and Pre2000? This question is important because it can very much decide which platform you are going to use winforms or WPF when you have to support old OSs (for example, in NHS)?

Answer 1

When working with both Smart Client Software Factory software and WPF + MVVM, I would of course consider the SCSF “legacy”. I would not use it in a new project. Firstly, it is based on WinForms, but perhaps more importantly, it is a bloated structure. This is cumbersome and does not lend itself to good testing. I found that after developing the application with him for most of 5 years, that framework simply “interfered” too often.

I can't talk to Prism, but after my experience with SCSF, I shy away from any ready-made frameworks. When I started working with WPF and MVVM, I wrote my own frameworks. Indeed, the only thing I needed was a good IoC container (StructureMap was my choice) and an EventAggregator (two interfaces and one class implementation that I wrote myself, borrowing directly from Jeremy Miller's blog post). Other than that, I go with a direct WPF and MVVM development model.

Given a desktop application with a green field, my choice would be WPF, MVVM, and STructureMap.

Answer 2

I think your first question pretty much comes down to WPF vs. Winforms , which was answered earlier.

However, regarding your second question about WPF on Win2000 and earlier, WPF is part of .NET 3.0, and you need at least XP SP2 or Win2003 Server for .NET 3.0, as you can see here , so if you want to use it. NET in pre XP, you have to stick with WinForms.