✅ is there a Winforms API reference?

i have to build a winforms app as part of this school project i'm doing, and i'm opting not to use VS or the designer. i need an API reference and found this https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/system.windows.forms?view=windowsdesktop-9.0 but I want to ask if everything i'm going to need for the UI stuff is under System.Windows.Forms or are there other namespaces I'd need to look at? right now i'm mainly interessted in the controls, layout managers, etc that I'd need to put together a basic, non-functioning UI
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.
11 Replies
jcotton42
jcotton423w ago
that is indeed where all the Forms stuff is, but also
and i'm opting not to use VS or the designer
why? @enrico11011
enrico11011
enrico11011OP3w ago
Vs is kinda slow on my laptop, and the screen's small so its kinda cluttered by default
jcotton42
jcotton423w ago
If you were doing WPF, sure. But Forms without the designer is ah deeply unpleasant
enrico11011
enrico11011OP3w ago
Im already using vs code for a bunch of other programming languages (mainly python) so making the project with the CLI and working through there was just easier and faster for me Oh im sure, im still not sure if were expected to do all this "manually" so im covering my bases
jcotton42
jcotton423w ago
Professors can be weird sometimes, but I cannot imagine one genuinely expecting you to do anything but the most trivial Forms UI entirely by hand. Even if you do most of your C# work in VSC, I strongly suggest you at least do the UI layout in VS.
leowest
leowest3w ago
I will second jcotton on this one writing winform with no designer is just awful if it was wpf that's fine because wpf have hot reload which lets u see the ui live as u do changes to it while your app is running winform does not and it has a lot of peculiarities which the designer helps u see plus u will waste a lot of time fine tunning position of things because u will have to run the app adjust run again over and over as oppose to just drag drop be done it would make a lot more sense if u did the entire thing in a console app so you have all the logic of the app and then just do the ui on visual studio and migrate the code
enrico11011
enrico11011OP3w ago
Sure, ive already asked im just waiting for a reply If he lets us use it then ill use it At the same time this kinda is a a "simple" ui so i wouldnt be surprised if he doesnt Ill try to be ready either way Yeah thats the plan. Im reading up on Entity Framework and ill start with thr "data layer" stuff on a console app and then port the stuff over when im ready to start the ui
leowest
leowest3w ago
that would be better but again do use vs for the designer u wont regret even if its slow $close
MODiX
MODiX3w ago
If you have no further questions, please use /close to mark the forum thread as answered
jcotton42
jcotton423w ago
Make sure you're looking at the docs for EF Core... unless, god help you, you're being made to use the old stuff.
enrico11011
enrico11011OP3w ago
will do, thank you @jcotton42 @leowest

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