For several years now, there have been many opinions that WPF is ending its life, because now there is so much talk that it is possible to write desktop applications in JS. And Microsoft is pushing the WinRT platform to the masses for developing new applications.
Reasons for concern why WPF is considered irrelevant by some
There is an opinion that desktop development has stopped in its development and there are several preconditions for this. One of them is a stop, or even better to say stagnation, in the base itself, in visual framework WPF.
New Microsoft strategy
Now Microsoft is actively moving under the slogan "clouds and mobility first", which leads to a departure from the traditional desktop application model and the active use of WPF.
Windows Store
Publishing WPF applications to the Windows Store is not possible. It's possible to make a business card app that downloads and installs a full-blown app, but that looks like a workaround. However, Microsoft is trying to form some kind of conditioned reflex, like Apple and Android users, that all applications are installed only through the Store. This is also a bit of a wake-up call against WPF.
Mobile market
This is the twilight zone for WPF, as it was never intended to be a mobile development tool. This role was intended for Silverlight for Windows Phone, but everyone knows the fate of this idea. The realities of the world are now such that we consume more and more content using mobile devices and many develop mobile versions for the main programs. If this is your case, then most likely you will use a technology stack other than WPF.
BUT there are also positives for the future of WPF
OS market inertia
The inertia of the OS market is a blessing. This is a good thing for WPF right now, because business and private users don't instantly upgrade to new OS versions for a variety of good reasons: it costs money, it takes time, it's always a risk, and it's often just not useful.
For companies, migrating to a new operating system is always a headache and a problem. You need to make sure that all services, all your developments are compatible. Make sure that vendors can provide appropriate expertise and support, train their staff. In general, the transition to a new OS can take 2 years or more. According to statistics, for about 50% of computers WinRT functions are not available, for them there is a natural option - WPF.
ALM inertia
Business support for WPF will be strong, because it is already a stable technology for which there are specialists, and you can build your processes on it.
Line of Business (LOB) Application
Local business applications are an area where WPF is at its best. Why?
Because a lot of experience has been accumulated in developing applications in WPF and deploying them in the system. Because it is a .Net platform, which in itself is already a mature product. If companies have enough applications on .Net, then there is no reason to stop and move to another stack. It is much easier to use existing programmers to cover all business needs. In addition, the integration of applications on the same platform will be much easier.
What does Ranet OLAP offer for BI applications using WPF or HTML technology
- Analytical information right on time. Ranet OLAP extracts data from the warehouse and presents information in the intuitive form of a pivot table in seconds.
- Flat learning curve. Working with Ranet OLAP interface doesn’t require any special training. It is understandable for both programmers and non-technical specialists.
- Business intelligence reporting software Ranet OLAP is easily extendable and integrated into inherited systems or other developers’ systems.
- Analysis Edition for OLAP reveals insidious facts. Using filters and graphic extensions in OLAP allows detecting hidden patterns and trends of company’s activities.
- It is comfortable. Using OLAP software, you can retrieve the required data anywhere, wherever in the world you are. Cool graphic extensions and controls assist you in making visible and informative reports, that can be exported into MS Excel or an .xml file.
Migrate your WPF projects to UWP (Universal Windows Platform) or Web using the new version of Ranet OLAP 4.1.
If you, as a developer or user, are thinking about migrating your BI application from WPF to UWP or HTML, then in this case Ranet OLAP is one of the best solutions in this class of systems. Ranet OLAP has versions for both WPF and HTML platforms, as well as extensive experience in migrating client’s BI projects from one platform to another using a special converter.
For those customers who work now with WPF-applications, but plan to migrate them to HTML, we offer to take advantage of our promotion and purchase Universal license at a special price. The offer is valid until December 31, 2022.
If you work with BI projects, you are interested in issues related to best practices and trends in WPF or Web applications, you would like to find colleagues and like-minded people - welcome to the ranks of Ranet OLAP users. We have a lot to tell each other!
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Great news: new Ranet OLAP 4.1 is released