Question

I don’t understand the purpose of the WPF browser appliction. Is it simply another way of serving information through a browser, or is it not intended to be used for external deployment?

Answer 1

WPF Browser applications allow you to create very rich, application style UI’s deployable via the web, using coding languages windows developers already likely have in their toolset. The downsides are that the users must must have .net installed, and use IE to access the application, considerably limiting the size and scope of your audience. WPF browser applications are very similar to Java applications in that they run in a virtual machine on the client. As it runs on the client, all data access and communication with the server must be done through WCF or web services.

With ASP.NET you have considerably more cross browser compatibility and support, giving you access to a much larger audience, with the possible downside of learning new libraries and the ASP.NET programming model. ASP.NET also provides a rich data access model and data control support. Silverlight is another interesting option based on .NET and WPF, as it is supported by a wide variety of browsers and provides similar rich user interface experiences. It can als be run out of the browser, disconnected if neccesary.

** Update based on Comment Request ***
The big advantage to Silverlight out of browser, is that you get most of the Rich, windows application style functionality, with a web deployable model and tiny install (4-6MB). Silverlight also supports an auto update feature which is VERY nice if you have a large user base.

Microsoft’s Official description (propaganda 🙂 )here

Silverlight Out Of Browser
Enables users to place their favorite Silverlight applications directly onto their PC and Mac, with links on the desktop and start menu—all without the need to download an additional runtime or browser plug-in. Further, the new experience enables Silverlight applications to work whether the computer is connected to the Internet or not—a radical improvement to the traditional Web experience. Features include:

Safe and secure. Leveraging the security features of the .NET Framework, Silverlight applications run inside a secure sandbox with persistent isolated storage. These applications have most of the same security restrictions as traditional web apps and so can be trusted without security warnings or prompts, minimizing user interruptions.

Smooth installation. Because Silverlight applications are stored in a local cache and do not require extra privileges to run, the installation process is quick and efficient.
Auto-update. Upon launch, Silverlight applications can check for new versions on the server, and automatically update if one is found.
Internet connectivity detection. Silverlight applications can now detect whether they have Internet connectivity and can react intelligently including caching a users’ data until their connection is restored.