I'm a .net developer looking for an application/GUI framework. I've really only found 1 example of what I am looking for which was provided in a DevExpress KB aricle.
Does anybody have any opinions on this example or can recommend something that resembles this that might be better to use. I like the Outlook look and feel so the example given is right along the lines of what I'm looking for, I just think there might be something better out there.
Thanks in advance.
You are probably looking for something like the Smart Client - Composite UI Application Block. I am not aware of similar frameworks for .NET and tend to think that most companies develop custom solutions for their projects.
There is the SharpDevelop Core. It is very good, but there's one caveat: while version 4 is now in WPF, it doesn't follow the Model-View-ViewModel pattern. If you want something similar that's also MVVM, I suggest SoapBox Core disclaimer: I wrote it. It's open source (LGPL) just like SharpDevelop, but it uses MEF for extensibility, which will be part of .NET 4, rather than the a custom add-in architecture.
The components from ComponentArt are very good, I have purchased and use these, and can recommend them.
I have alo since started using jQuery, Using this with a combination of Custom ASP.NET WebControl and UserControls, once can create some very responsive and lightweight GUI components. Definately worth a look if you need to keep things simple or need something specific.