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| 02 Dec 2013 07:37 PM |
I've recently been working on a little library of mine called MetroSharp. MetroSharp (henceforth Metro#) is a UserControl set which provides .NET Developers with a large collection of MetroUI themed controls for their application. I've made some progress (prntscr/28cdcp - created using Metro#), but I've recently come to ask myself a question: is it worth making such a custom interface? What are the benefits of making a giant control library that very few people will use?
Another question to have in mind is compatibility. Metro# uses a few Windows-specific API calls that aren't available on Windows XP or lower. Would it be acceptable to release a library that only works on three (now four because of Win8.1) versions of Windows?
Another (not so related question) relates to the theming of the application. Many developers are strong advocates for letting the end-user decide as to theme of their application via the Windows Theme Changer. Would a custom-themed application's user base be affected due to forcing the theme? Also, is it worth wasting development time to implement options to allow the user to use custom WinForms Controls? Why/why not?
This is literally a thread of questions that can be turned into discussions if you wish. I wasn't going to post these here originally, but then I thought "well it'll be more on topic than the rest of page one."
Again, feel free to discuss these random questions at will. Feel free to ask more if you want. |
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cntkillme
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| Joined: 07 Apr 2008 |
| Total Posts: 44956 |
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| 02 Dec 2013 08:06 PM |
"XP will be deprecated early 2014" but but- :( |
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| 02 Dec 2013 08:17 PM |
I can definitely believe that XP is a much more advanced operating system as far as development, rather windows 8.
That's just me though... |
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Bytecoded
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| Joined: 01 Dec 2013 |
| Total Posts: 59 |
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| 02 Dec 2013 08:21 PM |
" is it worth making such a custom interface? What are the benefits of making a giant control library that very few people will use?"
>Yes, it is worth it. If you make the library efficient and helpful, people will spread the word to other developers.
"Another question to have in mind is compatibility. Metro# uses a few Windows-specific API calls that aren't available on Windows XP or lower. Would it be acceptable to release a library that only works on three (now four because of Win8.1) versions of Windows?"
>I have no knowledge in windows, sorry. However, my Macintosh does have the .NET framework, and I would find it useful if you can allow Mac users to use this library.
"Another (not so related question) relates to the theming of the application. Many developers are strong advocates for letting the end-user decide as to theme of their application via the Windows Theme Changer. Would a custom-themed application's user base be affected due to forcing the theme? Also, is it worth wasting development time to implement options to allow the user to use custom WinForms Controls? Why/why not?"
> |
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| 02 Dec 2013 08:28 PM |
| Alright. Thanks for the feedback guys. |
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| 02 Dec 2013 08:58 PM |
| I would create a little theme setting button and dialog built into the main form and just allow the developer to disable it if they really don't want it. Then just inherit theme from the parent form of the control. This does look like something useful even though it might not be something that is widely used. |
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| 03 Dec 2013 10:24 AM |
I don't know anyone who uses windows XP.
It seems to be only school computers and library computers, and some people who think anything after Windows XP is crap. |
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| 03 Dec 2013 11:02 AM |
This is a genuine question, not meant to be condescending if the answer is no, so I hope it isn't interpreted as such.
Have you actually done anything other than extended existing controls and changed the default appearance?
Also this is WPF right? |
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| 03 Dec 2013 03:48 PM |
@trapping: The answer is yes and no. .NET is picky when it comes to UserControls. Some can be inherited and custom drawn, others not so much. For some, yes. I simply inherit and custom draw it. For others, no. I have to make them from scratch.
The forms are handled at runtime. Simply call this.InitializeMetro(); (possible with extension methods) and tada. |
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| 03 Dec 2013 03:52 PM |
Oh, and this isn't WPF. There's already a really good library for WPF called Mahapps.Metro. It's amazing. I could never compete.
I figured WinForms was the best way to go. There's only one library similar to this, but it's pretty limited and bulky. |
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