The Patterns & Practices team has been hard at working creating a new UI based application block, this one geared specifically toward providing flexible smart client (WinForms) interfaces using Visual Studio 2005 Beta 2. The CAB uses the concepts of SmartParts, WorkItems, Controllers, and Views, to create an extensible MVC architecture.

The Composite UI Application Block is a framework for creating user interfaces for Smart Client or Windows Forms applications. Based on an MVC architecture pattern, the CAB allows developers to create UI components as separate, discrete units (SmartParts, similar in concept to WebParts in SharePoint) that can then be orchestrated via the concept of a WorkItem.

In addition to the framework for dynamically working with SmartParts, the CAB also provides access to services needed by an application. These service can involve data access, web service calls or any other custom business logic. Also provided is a very useful State mechanism by which properties can have their data stored and retrieved automatically from the CAB state mechanisms.

To download the Composite UI Application Block, visit the Patterns & Practices Community Site.

[Via The Server Side]