Difference in creating Application object in WPF and WinForms

Question

Why is there a difference in the way the Application object is created in WinForms and WPF?

-> In WinForms we never created the Application object. It was always available (I believe it was Singleton pattern). In WPF, although hidden in App.g.cs we need to instantiate one.

-> In WinForms it was a sealed class, but in WPF the way to go is to inherit it.

Is this done:

• to be able to define the application in Xaml (App.xaml)
• due to introduction xbap/navigation projects?

What benefits does it really provide?

Answer 1

I don't know that the design decision is entirely motivated by the desire to be able to define the Application object in XAML. But that's reason enough, it seems to me.