Avalonia Book — Table of Contents

Part I — Foundations you can’t skip

  1. Welcome to Avalonia and MVVM
  2. Set up tools and build your first project
  3. Your first UI: layouts, controls, and XAML basics
  4. Application startup: AppBuilder and lifetimes

Part II — Building beautiful and useful UIs

  1. Layout system without mystery
  2. Controls tour you’ll actually use
  3. Fluent theming and styles made simple
  4. Data binding basics you’ll use every day
  5. Commands, events, and user input
  6. Working with resources, images, and fonts

Part III — Application patterns that scale

  1. MVVM in depth (with or without ReactiveUI)
  2. Navigation, windows, and lifetimes
  3. Menus, dialogs, tray icons, and system features
  4. Lists, virtualization, and performance
  5. Accessibility and internationalization
  6. Files, storage, drag/drop, and clipboard
  7. Background work and networking

Part IV — Cross‑platform deployment without headaches

  1. Desktop targets: Windows, macOS, Linux
  2. Mobile targets: Android and iOS
  3. Browser (WebAssembly) target
  4. Headless and testing

Part V — Rendering, tooling, optimization, and contributing

  1. Rendering pipeline in plain words
  2. Custom drawing and custom controls
  3. Performance, diagnostics, and DevTools
  4. Design‑time tooling and the XAML Previewer
  5. Build, publish, and deploy
  6. Read the source, contribute, and grow

Part VI — Advanced interactivity, markup, and platform integration

  1. Advanced input system and interactivity
  2. Animations, transitions, and composition
  3. Markup, XAML compiler, and extensibility
  4. Extended control modules and component gallery
  5. Platform services, embedding, and native interop

Part VII — Code-first UI without XAML friction

  1. Code-only startup and architecture blueprint
  2. Layouts and controls authored in pure C#
  3. Bindings, resources, and styles with fluent APIs
  4. Templates, indexers, and dynamic component factories
  5. Reactive patterns, helpers, and tooling for code-first teams

Part VIII — Headless unit testing that gives confidence

  1. Headless platform fundamentals and lifetimes
  2. Unit testing view-models and controls headlessly
  3. Rendering verification and pixel assertions
  4. Simulating input and automation in headless runs
  5. CI pipelines, diagnostics, and troubleshooting

Part IX — Appium automation done right

  1. Appium fundamentals for Avalonia apps
  2. Environment setup, drivers, and device clouds
  3. Element discovery, selectors, and PageObjects
  4. Cross-platform scenarios and advanced gestures
  5. Stabilizing suites, reporting, and best practices