This is a video tutorial to introduce beginners to how to use both MVVM (Model-View-ViewModel) and MEF (Managed Extensibility Framework) with Silverlight (should work for versions 3 and 4). Of course, some ''veterans'' may want to watch as well in case you've missed some of the fundamentals, or have a clever way to do something that you can share ...

In my last post, I showed you how to dynamically load modules on demand using the latest MEF release in Silverlight 3. This post, I will take you through managing regions with MEF. This will enable us to have a 100% MEF-based solution in Silverlight 3 if the only pieces of PRISM we were using were the dynamic module loading and region ...

Recently I've been having lots of conversations about the Managed Extensibility Framework (MEF), the Composite Application Library (CAL or PRISM), and how they relate. One point of confusion that many people has comes when they try to force the two solutions to work together. In a recent conversation, I mentioned that PRISM has some great ...

If you develop software, chances are you you've worked with Inversion of Control containers and the Dependency Injection pattern. Many frameworks exist to address how to marry concrete implementations to abstract classes and interfaces. A few popular ones on the .NET platform include: AutofacCastle WindsorManaged Extensibility Framework ...

Series recap: PRISM, MEF, and MVVM Part 1 of 3: Unity GluePRISM, MEF, and MVVM Part 2 of 3: Making PRISM MEF FriendlyPRISM, MEF, and MVVM Part 3 of 3: Dynamic MEF Modules in PRISM In the final part of this series, I will show a dynamically loaded module (using PRISM) that takes full advantage of MEF. Here is a preview of the final product, ...

In the first part of this series, we explored using the Unity container to bind the view model to the view. The next logical step is to explore how to use MEF. PRISM provides several useful mechanisms that relate directly to views and modules, such as the region manager and the module manager. This allows us to dynamically assign views to regions ...

PRISM, also known as Composite WPF, has established itself as a very popular framework for building modular, scalable Silverlight applications. A newer contender, the Managed Extensibility Framework (MEF), has also grown in popularity. In fact, these two frameworks have left people scratching their heads wondering which one to use, when, how, and ...

See how to use MEF's ''ExportProvider'' to create a custom export process to allow bringing resources into a page as imports.

I've been enjoying learning more about the Managed Extensibility Framework (MEF) and exploring various ways to integrate it with applications. After toying with MEF on Silverlight for awhile, I began to wonder about using it to export/import UI pieces or even define data elements in XAML. After a tweet to @gblock confirmed there was not native ...

In preparing for an upcoming talk I'll be giving on the Managed Extensibility Framework (MEF), I wanted to demonstrate how fast and easy it is to use in a sample, reference application. This application creates a dynamic plugin. I first link a plugin and show it active, then I create a second plugin and show how it is dynamically added to the ...