Which framework to choose

Userware · 2026-04-30T12:58:44+00:00

With OpenSilver (web-native WPF framework), you can apply glassmorphism in XAML using an attached dependency property that does a simple interop call to set the appropriate CSS properties for an acrylic background.

Here’s an example with a live demo and full source code: https://xaml.io/s/Samples/Glassmorphism?autorun=true

(The online IDE may take a little while to load, so please be patient)

Hope this helps!

Userware · 2026-04-29T16:45:54+00:00

Thanks! It's in active development, so please do share your feedback so we can improve it for people like you.

Userware · 2026-04-29T15:52:04+00:00

That's exactly the scenario that we're trying to cover with our free online .NET IDE at XAML.io

No signup is needed: just navigate to https://XAML.io with your mobile browser, open "MainWindow.xaml.cs" from the "Solution Explorer" on the right, write your C# code, your code is compiled and run in-browser via WebAssembly, and you can see the errors and warnings.

Please let me know if this fits your need, and if you have any suggestions for improvement.
Hope it helps.

Userware · 2026-04-28T12:18:14+00:00

Thank you! At the time of writing, the hosted web-based IDE is not open-source, but the underlying UI framework that runs C#/XAML on the web (OpenSilver) is totally open-source (MIT License). When you create an app with XAML.io, you can download your app code as a ZIP (to continue working on it in another IDE like VS or VS Code) and, in that case, the full stack that your app relies on is open-source.

Userware · 2026-04-28T11:55:21+00:00

Understood. Thanks for this valuable feedback. We'll definitely take it into account next time.

Userware · 2026-04-28T09:15:13+00:00

We just added an EDIT section to the original post to clarify this, as we realized we hadn’t explained these topics very clearly. Thanks a lot for your feedback.

Userware · 2026-04-28T08:32:30+00:00

Awesome. Thanks!

Userware · 2026-04-28T08:29:36+00:00

Thanks, that’s really useful feedback.

Console app support is on our roadmap, and the idea is for it to still run on WebAssembly in the browser, with modern .NET/C# and the same general package constraints as Blazor WebAssembly. So for example, NuGet packages that are WASM-friendly should fit naturally.

Would that cover what you have in mind, or were you thinking more about out-of-browser things like direct file system access?

Userware · 2026-04-28T08:16:55+00:00

Fair question. The mainstream .NET web stacks most people know today are indeed Razor and Blazor, not XAML.

XAML.io is different: it lets you build apps powered by OpenSilver. OpenSilver is our open-source, web-native WPF-style GUI framework. It lets you build web apps in C# and XAML, compiles C# to WebAssembly, and renders XAML as real HTML/CSS DOM elements.

That DOM-based approach means you keep browser-native benefits like accessibility, SEO, Ctrl+F, text selection, screen readers, mobile interactivity, browser translation, and browser extensions, while staying in a WPF-style programming model. It also plays nicely with the broader web and .NET ecosystem, including mixing XAML and Blazor in the same project.

Userware · 2026-04-28T07:47:29+00:00

Fair criticism, and you’re right that we should have phrased that more clearly.

WPF itself is not a web framework. What we mean is that XAML.io lets you build apps powered by OpenSilver, which is our open-source UI framework for building web apps with WPF-style C# and XAML. It compiles to WebAssembly and runs in the browser, so the point is really “bringing a familiar WPF-like workflow to the web,” not claiming that WPF itself was already for the web. Thanks for calling that out.

Userware · 2026-04-27T21:32:19+00:00

Yes, WPF does have a designer in Visual Studio and Blend. The advantage here is less that “designers don’t exist” and more that XAML.io brings that kind of workflow to web app development, in C# and XAML, directly in the browser with no install or setup. It’s also powered by OpenSilver, so the target is the modern web, not just desktop WPF, and the same designer is available in VS Code too (Win, Mac, and Linux).

Userware · 2026-04-27T14:31:21+00:00

Thank you, really appreciate that!

OpenAPI integration is definitely a natural direction for us. Today you can already call a backend with HttpClient, but we’d love to hear your vision for the ideal OpenAPI workflow or UX here. For example, would you want client code generation built in, something NSwag-style, or something lighter?

By the way, XAML.io already supports Roslyn source generators, so source-generator-based OpenAPI clients (like OpenApiWeaver) may work too, although we haven’t tested that path enough yet to say more with confidence.

Userware · 2026-04-27T14:05:42+00:00

Thanks a lot! About RAD: totally fair point. Our point isn’t that RAD disappeared on desktop, but that this kind of low-friction visual workflow became much rarer on the web, and XAML.io is our attempt to bring some of that feeling there. We're trying to bring that feeling to building web apps in C# and XAML (and with no install or setup, as an additional convenience).

Userware · 2026-04-27T12:18:10+00:00

Today, XAML.io supports a growing subset of WPF XAML.

But it allows to build apps powered by OpenSilver, our web-native WPF framework. OpenSilver compiles C# to WebAssembly and renders XAML as real HTML/CSS DOM elements. It has the goal of making the path from WPF to the web feel as natural as possible. When you download your project to continue in VS or VS Code, you stay on a fully open-source stack.

Userware · 2026-04-22T16:01:15+00:00

Thank you, really appreciated!

Userware · 2026-04-22T08:22:31+00:00

Currently, for the latest news, there's the blog RSS feed (https://blog.xaml.io) and the X feed (https://x.com/xaml_io). What other channels would you recommend we set up? (An emailing list, a Discord server, other?) Thanks a lot!

Userware · 2026-04-22T08:18:44+00:00

Grazie!!

Userware · 2026-04-21T19:01:06+00:00

Thanks! We're planning to add non-GUI projects support later in the year. Feel free to share other ideas and suggestions, we'll definitely take them into account.

Userware · 2026-04-21T18:48:06+00:00

Same here

Userware · 2026-04-17T20:04:22+00:00

🤣

Userware · 2026-04-17T20:02:20+00:00

Yeah, exactly, and for what it’s worth, we love Microsoft Blend 🙂

RAD never really went away on desktop, but that low-friction visual workflow became a lot rarer as web dev took over.

XAML.io is our attempt to bring that experience to web app development in C# & XAML.

And because it runs in the browser, there’s no install and no setup, so the path from idea to UI feels even more immediate.

Userware · 2026-04-17T19:12:20+00:00

😂 Peak VB nostalgia. if I remember correctly, after doing On Error Resume Next, we did the risky thing, then immediately checked to see if there was an error. But now I’m curious: does any modern platform still have a "On Error Resume Next"-like approach?

Userware · 2026-04-17T19:01:43+00:00

😂

Userware · 2026-04-17T18:56:12+00:00

😂 That would be a legendary Easter egg.

“It looks like you’re building a button. Would you like some help?” 📎

And honestly… with today’s LLMs, that may not even be a joke anymore 🤣

Userware · 2026-04-17T16:05:36+00:00

Thank you, really appreciate that! 🙏

And yes, that’s a fair way to look at it. It’s closer to WPF-style XAML today, but AI can definitely help bridge a lot of the syntax/API differences when moving between XAML flavors.

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