Advice on approach of modular app...

[AC [MVP MCMS]]

I'm somewhat of a noob when it comes to WinForm development (all of my work
is within ASP.NET, serivces, and libraries). Currently in the design/scope
stage of a pet project, I'm looking for a bit of advice or direction as to
the best approach. The app is essentially a research & analysis tool where
there will be lots of raw data views with some visualization using charts &
graphs... it's also quite modular. Each "module" will have a specific
role... for instance one would be used to manage the data (import/granular
scrubbing), one for one type of research on the data, another for another
type of research, etc. For example, in Outlook, each module would be
Mail/Contacts/Tasks/Calendar.

I assume the best way is not to create giant panels and show/hide them when
a specific button/menu/tab is clicked as it won't be very performant but
rather create controls and load/dispose when needed.

I plan to use the latest VS2005 RC release as my foundation (using some 3rd
party stuff like Infragistics NetAdvantage... not sure if that matters for
this discussion) and have been reading through Chris Sells' book (granted,
it's for the v1.x Framework, but I'm assuming WinForms v1.x->2.0 is similar
to ASP.NET v1.x->2.0: it's not a complete change to what we're doing, just
makes many tasks easier like the BackgroundWorker for example).

Any pointers on the approach or best practices? I don't think I'm looking
for a SDI/MDI debate... just not sure as to where to go from here.

Thanks in advance...

 

[Bob Powell [MVP]]

Your application architecture screams MVC to me... Maybe a pluggable
architecture too.

Unfortunately there isn't much in the way of Winforms MVC stuff that really
hits the nail on the head.


--
Bob Powell [MVP]
Visual C#, System.Drawing

Ramuseco Limited .NET consulting
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[AC [MVP MCMS]]

Thanks Bob!

I've seen some MVC stuff out there... haven't used it much. Got any fav
links you wanna pass along for some offline reading (cross country flight
coming up this weekend).

--
----------------------------------------
-AC [MVP MCMS]
www.andrewconnell.com
www.andrewconnell.com/mvp

 

[Christo Bahchevanov]

Hello AC,

The app is essentially a research & analysis tool where
there will be lots of raw data views with some visualization using charts &
graphs... it's also quite modular.

I plan to use the latest VS2005 RC release as my foundation (using some 3rd
party stuff like Infragistics NetAdvantage...

If your application needs professional data visualization you can try
Nevron Chart for Windows Forms (ASP.NET edition is also available).
Nevron Chart - 100% managed code, extremely feature rich and extendable
component. You can download the fully functional evaluation version.
Now part of Nevron .NET Vision which features: Chart for .NET, Diagram
for .NET and User Interface Suite.

Please let me know if you need additional information.

Sincerely,
Christo Bahchevanov
Nevron LLC - Professional Data Visualization
Email: (e-mail address removed), (e-mail address removed)
http://www.nevron.com