Markup Trace, a small business in the Netherlands, provides tailored development advice for both the novice and experienced entrepreneur. The company specializes in putting developers back on track in the areas of Windows Forms, WPF, Windows 8 Store applications, Windows Phone 8 applications, and small electronic devices. As a startup owner, Robert Rijkse works hard to main-tain a competitive advantage for his company while building on a low-cost budget.
The Challenge
Rijkse needed to build a desktop application that would also interact with both web and mobile devices. His application needed to measure data from sensors, configure and schedule resources, define tasks, and validate data received from sensors. The app needed to be able to perform a task on the basis of validation rules and trigger relays.
The Solution
By pairing Essential Studio for WPF with Syncfusion’s free icon creator tool, Metro Studio, Rijkse was able to build this dynamic application, Greenhouse, quickly and efficiently. There are several controls for WPF within the Essential Studio suite that helped Rijkse achieve his goals. To define and manage resources per resource type and define a basic template per resource, Rijkse utilized the SfDataGrid control. The SfSchedule control then helped him schedule the resources and define a periodic validation template through appointments.
The Gantt control then enabled Rijkse to define tasks and combine them with the appointments, which allowed for quick rescheduling possibilities. The SfChart Overview control meant Rijkse could quickly view data and detect any changes.
Finally, Rijkse was able to add modularity into the navigation by implementing the DockingMan-ager and GroupBar controls. Built-in themes also provided great flexibility in modifying the look and feel of the application. Essential Studio for WPF was able to meet Rijkse’s requirements without compromising his low-cost budget. The Greenhouse module is now hosted in a WPF application and is WinRT-ready.
Demo Module of Greenhouse
The Benefits
- Over 30 customizable chart types.
- Out-of-the-box features.
- Blazingfast performance.
