I want to build a management system using Windows Presentation Foundation. I know there's Expression Blend for Graphics design and VS for C# code.
my question is, should i build all UI first using Blend (Buttons, Windows, other elements) and then writing all code (Data bindings, database connections, etc.) or should i build it one step at a time ?
It's my first time using this tech, I've used Windows forms in the past and i want to implement some good-looking graphics in my app.
WPF is intended to make following either UI-first, code-first, or parallel approaches possible - particularly with an MVVM architecture.
However, I suggest starting by putting together a vertical slice through all layers of your application. Reality tends to bite, and depending on how you put your architecture together you will undoubtedly come across many issues that impact your chosen approach.
Since UI is important to you, "Blendability" (the ability to use blend alongside a VS solution) is likely to be a requirement. In this case, you'll want to research carefully how to create a solution structure that will support this.
I think you should take it one step at a time. Don't worry about too many frills in the UI, you can always add to it more later. Keep in mind how you want it to look, and afterwards you can create better looking styles etc. in Blend.
I personally use Visual Studio for most of my development, even the UI. I use blend for creating templates or styles mostly. It used to be that blend was superior to Visual Studio in the designer support, but with VS2012 it has gotten quite good. Also, Blend has a learning curve, it would take some time to get used to. Since you are new, I would suggest not overcomplicating things for you.
The number one thing you need to know about WPF vs. Winforms is complete separation of UI/App logic. It is often much easier to create "ViewModels" with properties and bind those properties to the GUI. If you try to get too involved manipulating GUI elements from code, you'll start digging yourself into a deep hole. The GUI should be databindings, triggers, behaviors, templates, etc.
