Welcome to .NET Desktop Documentation

Overview

.NET desktop development allows you to build a wide range of applications for the Windows operating system. Whether you're creating business applications, developer tools, or engaging user experiences, .NET provides the frameworks, libraries, and tools to bring your vision to life.

This section provides comprehensive documentation for building desktop applications using:

  • Windows Forms (WinForms): A mature and widely-used framework for building traditional Windows desktop applications.
  • Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF): A powerful UI framework that offers advanced features for creating visually stunning and highly interactive applications.
  • Universal Windows Platform (UWP): For building modern apps that can run across all Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices.
  • .NET MAUI (Multi-platform App UI): The evolution of Xamarin.Forms, enabling you to build native apps for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android from a single codebase.

Getting Started

Begin your journey into .NET desktop development with these essential guides:

Key Technologies & Frameworks

Windows Forms (WinForms)

WinForms is ideal for rapidly building data-driven line-of-business applications. It offers a rich set of pre-built controls and a straightforward event-driven programming model.

Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)

WPF leverages XAML for declarative UI definition, providing powerful styling, templating, and data binding capabilities. It's built on a vector-based rendering engine for high-fidelity graphics.

Universal Windows Platform (UWP)

UWP apps are built for the Windows ecosystem, offering a consistent experience across devices and access to platform-specific features like live tiles and notifications.

.NET MAUI

.NET MAUI is the modern, cross-platform framework for building native applications from a single codebase, targeting Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS.

Tutorials & Guides

Explore step-by-step tutorials to learn specific concepts and build common application patterns.

Best Practices & Advanced Topics

Dive deeper into advanced subjects and discover best practices for building robust and maintainable desktop applications.