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A common library for Avalonia or WPF with MVVM programming model

atc-net.github.io/repository/atc-xaml-toolkit

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ATC.Net WPF, WinUI, and Avalonia

This is a base libraries for building WPF, WinUI, or Avalonia application with the MVVM design pattern.

📑 Table of Contents

🎁 Key Features

🏗️ MVVM Foundation

  • ViewModelBase - Base class with INotifyPropertyChanged
  • MainWindowViewModelBase - Main window lifecycle management
  • ViewModelDialogBase - Dialog-specific ViewModels
  • ObservableObject - Lightweight observable pattern

⚡ Commands

  • RelayCommand / RelayCommand<T> - Synchronous commands with CanExecute support
  • RelayCommandAsync / RelayCommandAsync<T> - Async/await commands for responsive UIs with cancellation token support
  • Automatic CanExecute refresh - Commands automatically update UI state
  • Error handling support - Built-in IErrorHandler interface for graceful error management

🔔 Messaging System

Decouple your ViewModels with a powerful messaging infrastructure:

  • Messenger - Central message bus for app-wide communication
  • GenericMessage<T> - Send typed messages between components
  • NotificationMessage - Simple notifications with optional callbacks
  • PropertyChangedMessage<T> - Broadcast property changes across ViewModels

Perfect for scenarios like:

  • Cross-ViewModel communication without direct references
  • Event aggregation patterns
  • Plugin architectures
  • Loosely-coupled component communication
// Send a message
Messenger.Default.Send(new GenericMessage<User>(currentUser));

// Receive a message
Messenger.Default.Register<GenericMessage<User>>(this, msg =>
{
    var user = msg.Content;
    // Handle the user...
});

Learn more: Messaging System Documentation

🎭 Behaviors

Attach declarative behaviors to UI elements without code-behind. All behaviors work seamlessly across WPF, WinUI, and Avalonia platforms.

EventToCommandBehavior

Execute commands in response to any UI event, eliminating the need for code-behind event handlers.

  • Works with any routed or standard .NET event
  • Optional CommandParameter for passing custom data
  • PassEventArgsToCommand to access event details
  • Perfect for maintaining clean MVVM architecture
<!-- WPF Example -->
<Button Content="Save">
    <i:Interaction.Behaviors>
        <behaviors:EventToCommandBehavior 
            EventName="Click"
            Command="{Binding SaveCommand}" />
    </i:Interaction.Behaviors>
</Button>

Learn more about EventToCommandBehavior

AnimationBehavior

Provides simple, declarative animations for UI elements without writing animation code.

  • 8 animation types: FadeIn, FadeOut, SlideInFromLeft/Right/Top/Bottom, ScaleIn, ScaleOut
  • Trigger-based or auto-start animations
  • Customizable duration
  • GPU-accelerated for smooth performance
<Border Background="LightBlue" Padding="20">
    <i:Interaction.Behaviors>
        <behaviors:AnimationBehavior 
            AnimationType="FadeIn"
            Duration="1000"
            AutoStart="True" />
    </i:Interaction.Behaviors>
    <TextBlock Text="I fade in automatically!" />
</Border>

Learn more about AnimationBehavior

FocusBehavior

Manages focus for UI elements declaratively through XAML properties.

  • HasInitialFocus - Set focus when element loads
  • IsFocused - Two-way bindable focus state
  • SelectAllOnFocus - Automatically select text in TextBox
  • FocusTrigger - Trigger focus from ViewModel
<TextBox Width="300">
    <i:Interaction.Behaviors>
        <behaviors:FocusBehavior 
            IsFocused="{Binding IsFieldFocused, Mode=TwoWay}"
            SelectAllOnFocus="True" />
    </i:Interaction.Behaviors>
</TextBox>

Learn more about FocusBehavior

KeyboardNavigationBehavior

Enables custom keyboard navigation with arrow keys, Enter, Escape, and Tab through declarative command bindings.

  • Arrow key navigation (Up, Down, Left, Right)
  • Action keys (Enter, Escape, Tab)
  • Enable/disable toggle
  • Perfect for grids, lists, and custom controls
<Border Focusable="True">
    <i:Interaction.Behaviors>
        <behaviors:KeyboardNavigationBehavior
            UpCommand="{Binding NavigateUpCommand}"
            DownCommand="{Binding NavigateDownCommand}"
            LeftCommand="{Binding NavigateLeftCommand}"
            RightCommand="{Binding NavigateRightCommand}"
            EnterCommand="{Binding SelectCommand}" />
    </i:Interaction.Behaviors>
</Border>

Learn more about KeyboardNavigationBehavior

Complete Behaviors Documentation: Behaviors Overview

🎨 Value Converters

Extensive collection of ready-to-use XAML converters for WPF, WinUI, and Avalonia:

Bool Converters

  • BoolToInverseBoolValueConverter
  • BoolToVisibilityCollapsedValueConverter
  • BoolToVisibilityVisibleValueConverter
  • BoolToWidthValueConverter
  • MultiBoolToBoolValueConverter (AND/OR logic)
  • MultiBoolToVisibilityVisibleValueConverter

String Converters

  • StringNullOrEmptyToBoolValueConverter
  • StringNullOrEmptyToInverseBoolValueConverter
  • StringNullOrEmptyToVisibilityVisibleValueConverter
  • StringNullOrEmptyToVisibilityCollapsedValueConverter
  • ToLowerValueConverter / ToUpperValueConverter

Null Converters

  • NullToVisibilityCollapsedValueConverter
  • NullToVisibilityVisibleValueConverter

See detailed Value Converters documentation

⚙️ Source Generators

Eliminate boilerplate with powerful code generation:

  • [ObservableProperty] - Auto-generate properties with change notification
  • [ComputedProperty] - Auto-detect dependencies for computed properties and generate automatic notifications
  • [RelayCommand] - Auto-generate command properties from methods
  • [ObservableDtoViewModel] - Auto-generate ViewModel wrappers for DTOs/POCOs with:
    • IsDirty tracking for change detection
    • InnerModel access to underlying DTO
    • Support for readonly properties
    • Method proxy generation
    • Selective generation with IgnorePropertyNames and IgnoreMethodNames
    • Automatic validation attribute copying with EnableValidationOnPropertyChanged and EnableValidationOnInit
    • Support for [ComputedProperty] with automatic dependency tracking
  • [DependencyProperty] (WPF & WinUI 3) - Auto-generate dependency properties
  • [StyledProperty] (Avalonia) - Auto-generate styled properties
  • [AttachedProperty] (WPF, WinUI 3 & Avalonia) - Auto-generate attached properties
  • [RoutedEvent] (WPF only) - Auto-generate routed events

Note: Classes using [DependencyProperty], [AttachedProperty], [StyledProperty], or [RoutedEvent] must either inherit from UserControl/DependencyObject/FrameworkElement, or have a class name ending with "Attach", "Behavior", or "Helper" (e.g., DragBehavior, CheckBoxHelper).

Learn more about each generator:

🚀 Performance Optimizations

  • BooleanBoxes - Cached boolean boxing for reduced memory allocations
  • WeakAction/WeakFunc - Memory-leak prevention for event handlers and callbacks
  • PropertyDefaultValueConstants - Shared default values for common property types

🔧 Utilities

  • DesignModeHelper - Detect design-time vs runtime for better designer experience
  • Base Converter Classes - ValueConverterBase and MultiValueConverterBase for creating custom converters
  • Error Handling - IErrorHandler interface for centralized command error management

🚀 Quick Start

Installation

Install via NuGet Package Manager or .NET CLI:

For WPF:

dotnet add package Atc.XamlToolkit.Wpf

For WinUI:

dotnet add package Atc.XamlToolkit.WinUI

For Avalonia:

dotnet add package Atc.XamlToolkit.Avalonia

Basic Usage

// Create a ViewModel with source-generated properties and commands
public partial class MainViewModel : ViewModelBase
{
    [ObservableProperty]
    private string userName;

    [ObservableProperty]
    private bool isLoading;

    [RelayCommand]
    private async Task LoadDataAsync()
    {
        IsLoading = true;
        // Load data...
        IsLoading = false;
    }
}

📖 Read the full Getting Started Guide for a complete walkthrough.

Requirements

NuGet Packages Provided in this Repository

Nuget package Description Dependencies
NuGet Version Base package with ViewModelBase, ObservableObject Atc & Atc.XamlToolkit.SourceGenerators
NuGet Version RelayCommand, MainWindowViewModelBase for WPF Atc.XamlToolkit.SourceGenerators
NuGet Version RelayCommand, MainWindowViewModelBase for WinUI Atc.XamlToolkit
NuGet Version RelayCommand, MainWindowViewModelBase for Avalonia Atc.XamlToolkit

📚 Documentation

Get Started

Core Concepts

Advanced Topics

Platform-Specific (WPF Only)

Source Generator Examples

Example for ViewModel classes with source generation:

MVVM Source Generation

For more details, see the MVVM section.

🎯 Complete Feature List

Core MVVM Components

Component Description Package
ViewModelBase Base ViewModel with INotifyPropertyChanged Atc.XamlToolkit
MainWindowViewModelBase Main window lifecycle management Atc.XamlToolkit.Wpf/WinUI/Avalonia
ViewModelDialogBase Dialog-specific ViewModels Atc.XamlToolkit
ObservableObject Lightweight observable pattern Atc.XamlToolkit

Commands

Command Description Async Support
RelayCommand Synchronous command No
RelayCommand<T> Synchronous command with parameter No
RelayCommandAsync Asynchronous command Yes
RelayCommandAsync<T> Asynchronous command with parameter Yes

All commands support:

  • ✅ CanExecute with automatic refresh
  • ✅ Error handling via IErrorHandler
  • ✅ Auto-generation via [RelayCommand] attribute
  • ✅ Cancellation token support for async commands

Messaging System

Type Purpose
Messenger Central message bus
GenericMessage<T> Typed message passing
NotificationMessage String-based notifications
NotificationMessageAction Messages with callbacks
NotificationMessageAction<T> Messages with parameterized callbacks
PropertyChangedMessage<T> Property change broadcasts
NotificationMessageWithCallback Generic callback support

Source Generators

Generator Platform Description
[ObservableProperty] WPF, WinUI, Avalonia Auto-generate observable properties
[ComputedProperty] WPF, WinUI, Avalonia Auto-detect dependencies for computed properties and generate automatic property change notifications
[RelayCommand] WPF, WinUI, Avalonia Auto-generate command properties
[DependencyProperty] WPF, WinUI Auto-generate dependency properties
[StyledProperty] Avalonia Auto-generate styled properties (Avalonia's equivalent to DependencyProperty)
[AttachedProperty] WPF, WinUI, Avalonia Auto-generate attached properties
[RoutedEvent] WPF only Auto-generate routed events (WPF's EventManager pattern not available in WinUI/Avalonia)
[ObservableDtoViewModel] WPF, WinUI, Avalonia Auto-generate DTO wrapper with readonly properties, method proxies, IgnorePropertyNames/IgnoreMethodNames, IsDirty, InnerModel, automatic validation attribute copying, and [ComputedProperty] support

Note on Routed Events: Routed events are a WPF-exclusive feature that uses EventManager.RegisterRoutedEvent() and supports event bubbling/tunneling through the visual tree. WinUI 3 and Avalonia use different event systems and do not support custom routed events. See the RoutedEvents documentation for detailed platform comparison.

Value Converters

Bool Converters (WPF, WinUI & Avalonia):

  • BoolToInverseBoolValueConverter
  • BoolToVisibilityCollapsedValueConverter
  • BoolToVisibilityVisibleValueConverter
  • BoolToWidthValueConverter
  • MultiBoolToBoolValueConverter
  • MultiBoolToVisibilityVisibleValueConverter

String Converters (WPF, WinUI & Avalonia):

  • StringNullOrEmptyToBoolValueConverter
  • StringNullOrEmptyToInverseBoolValueConverter
  • StringNullOrEmptyToVisibilityVisibleValueConverter
  • StringNullOrEmptyToVisibilityCollapsedValueConverter
  • ToLowerValueConverter
  • ToUpperValueConverter

Null Converters (WPF, WinUI & Avalonia):

  • NullToVisibilityCollapsedValueConverter
  • NullToVisibilityVisibleValueConverter

Performance Optimizations

Optimization Benefit
BooleanBoxes Zero-allocation boolean boxing
WeakAction Memory leak prevention
WeakFunc<T> Memory leak prevention with return values
PropertyDefaultValueConstants Shared default values

Utilities

Utility Purpose
DesignModeHelper Detect design-time vs runtime
ValueConverterBase Base class for custom converters
MultiValueConverterBase Base class for multi-value converters
IErrorHandler Centralized error handling

🌟 Why Choose Atc.XamlToolkit?

  • ✅ Modern - Built for .NET 9 with latest C# features
  • ✅ Cross-platform - Supports WPF, WinUI 3, and Avalonia
  • ✅ High Performance - Optimized for minimal allocations
  • ✅ Source Generators - Eliminate boilerplate code
  • ✅ Well Documented - Comprehensive documentation and examples
  • ✅ Battle Tested - Used in production applications
  • ✅ Open Source - MIT licensed and community-driven

How to contribute

Contribution Guidelines

Coding Guidelines

About

A common library for Avalonia or WPF with MVVM programming model

atc-net.github.io/repository/atc-xaml-toolkit

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wpf avalonia components-library

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License

MIT license
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