I enjoy developing for the web, HTML/CSS/JavaScript are easy to debug and see what is going on with tools built into modern browsers such as Chrome/Firefox and simple things such as view-source
But with WPF, I’m constantly getting into moments where I think something should happen and it just doesn’t. I eat up a lot of time in frustration trying to figure out why a damn button is a certain color or text isn’t showing up, etc, etc.
How do you make WPF bearable? Am I missing out on any tools? I know I can prototype in tools such as kaxaml but it doesn’t always translate into the real thing.
I want an “Inspect element” when doing WPF!
Snoop is the closest thing to Firebug you’re likely to get. One thing I can’t stress enough though is to watch the Output window while the app is running – it will tell you when styles/brushes/whatever fail to load.
Also, if you’re working in a big project and are having issues with a control or style, pull it out to a separate dummy solution and see if the problem persists. XAML isn’t as bad as CSS when it comes to weird inheritance issues, but it can really help you see what’s going on.