Several technologies have leveraged XAML since .Net 3.0 : WPF, WF, Silverlight, XPS.

State of XAML 2006

• Need language evolution
• Make it faster
• Compilation, debugging, obfuscation, localization, FxCop, VS Integration
• A lot of people write their own parser => XAML ready framework

In .Net 4, we will ship XAML 2009.

XAML 2009

• x:Reference name (Backward and forward references) and target attribute (possibility to point to a reference)
• built-in types (set of basic types)
• generics (x:TypeArguments)
• arbitrary key types (x:Key)
• beyond method names (no more markup compilation, and delegates)
• better declarative type authoring (x:SchemaType)
• w:FactoryMethod

XAMLPad enhancements to represent the XAML Data Model is too flexible : OMV (Object – Members – Values

System.Xaml.dll in .Net 4.0.

• a November 2008 CTP will be released, will work on .Net 3.5
• XAML to objects processing: XamlReader.Load. XML Node to XAML Node and XAML Node to Objects + type resolution.
• XamlXmlReader (XML => XAML)

in .Net 4.0, WF vocabulary will get richer (DataFlow) and a rich WCF vocabulary will be introduced. Thus, you can have an entire application (UI + Business Logic + Services invocation + Workflow) implemented in XAML.

To benefit from XAML, have your framework XAML ready. Ride the XAML wave.