In this tutorial, basic Graphical User Interface (GUI) programming using
Windows Forms, Menus and Graphics Objects is covered. Sample applications such
as Simple Interest and Matrix Grid will help you to familiarize
with common frequently used Namespaces. Usage of various Namespaces such as
System.Drawing, System.ComponentModel,
System.Windows.Forms etc and Windows event handlers are illustrated in this
tutorial. A brief explanation of all important Namespaces and classes are given
below. Please go through MSDN for
a detailed explanation about all these Namespaces and their members.
System.Drawing- The System.Drawing
namespace provides access to GDI+ basic graphics functionality. The Graphics
class provides methods for drawing to the display device. Classes such as Rectangle
and Point encapsulate GDI+ primitives. The Pen
class is used to draw lines and curves, while classes derived from the abstract
class Brush are used to fill the interiors of
shapes.
Some of the classes in the System.Drawing namespace are:
|
Bitmap |
Encapsulates a GDI+ bitmap, which consists of the pixel
data for a graphics image and its attributes. A Bitmap
object is an object used to work with images defined by pixel data. |
|
Brush |
Classes derived from this abstract base class define
objects used to fill the interiors of graphical shapes such as rectangles,
ellipses, pies, polygons and paths. |
|
Font |
Defines a particular format for text, including font
face, size and style attributes. This class cannot be inherited. |
|
Graphics |
Encapsulates a GDI+ drawing surface. This class cannot
be inherited. |
|
Pen |
Defines an object used to draw lines and curves. This
class cannot be inherited. |
System.ComponentModel- The System.ComponentModel
namespace provides classes that are used to implement the run-time
and design-time behavior of components and controls. This namespace includes the
base classes and interfaces for implementing attributes and type converters,
binding to data sources and licensing components.
Some of the classes in System.ComponentModel namespace are:
|
ArrayConverter |
Provides a type converter to convert Array
objects to and from various other representations. |
|
ByteConverter |
Provides a type converter to convert 8-bit unsigned
integer objects to and from various other representations. |
|
StringConverter |
Provides a type converter to convert string objects to
and from other representations. |
|
TypeConverter |
Provides a unified way of converting types of values to
other types, as well as for accessing standard values and subproperties. |
System.Windows.Forms- The System.Windows.Forms
namespace contains classes for creating Windows-based applications that take
full advantage of the rich user interface features available in the Microsoft
Windows operating system. The classes in this namespace can be grouped into the
following categories: Controls, Components and Common Dialog Boxes
Some of the classes in this System.Windows.Forms namespace are:
|
Button |
Represents a Windows button control. |
|
CheckBox |
Represents a Windows check box. |
|
CheckedListBox |
Displays a ListBox in which
a check box is displayed to the left of each item |
|
ColorDialog |
Represents a common dialog box that displays available
colors along with controls that allow the user to define custom colors. |
|
ComboBox |
Represents a Windows combo box control. |
|
DataGrid |
Displays ADO .NET data in a scrollable grid. |
|
MainMenu |
Represents the menu structure of a form. |
|
MessageBox |
Displays a message box that can contain text, buttons
and symbols that inform and instruct the user. |
|
TextBox |
Represents a Windows text box control. |