Hands-On Labs, The Core of .NET

HOL04 Hands-On Lab: Transforming Desktop Applications into AI-Powered Azure Web Apps

04/29/2024

8:30am - 6:00pm

Gianluca Pivato

Chief Technology Officer

Ice Tea Group

Levie Rufenacht

Software Developer

Ice Tea Group

This hands-on lab is presented by Wisej.net.

The future of business applications lies in browser-based solutions and cross-platform apps. Microsoft is setting standards with Office 365: Users are looking for powerful web-based applications that are also available as an app for all major operating systems: Windows, Mac, Android and iOS.

But how can complex software solutions from the Windows world be converted into web-based and cross-platform apps? How do you migrate a client/server code stack that has grown over the years into a modern, future-proof architecture that works across different platforms? In many cases, rewriting is not an option due to time & cost reasons. A multitude of risks, scarce resources and the complexity of existing solutions call for alternatives.

Wisej.NET is a powerful framework based on .NET that can be used to implement web-based and hybrid applications with high productivity. Switching from Windows Forms or WPF to Wisej.NET is possible with manageable effort. There are even migration paths for outdated technologies such as Visual Basic 6.

This workshop offers a "hands-on" introduction to programming and migration with Wisej.NET. First, we will build a web application using Wisej.NET and deal with the principle of single-page applications, including data binding and debugging.

In the second part, we will look at migration paths for Windows Forms and WPF-based applications, to migrate a simple desktop application together. In this context, we will also talk about general aspects of web-based programming such as background tasks, dynamic controls, reporting, PDF generation, and much more.

In the third part of the workshop we will introduce Wisej.NET Hybrid, which can be used to realize apps based on MAUI.NET for different platforms. We will look at concepts for realizing online/offline and fallback-capable apps that work on all major platforms such as Windows, MacOS, Android and iOS. Afterwards we will realize and debug a first hybrid app "hands-on" together.

In the fourth part of the workshop, we will look at the integration of AI capabilities within LOB apps using Wisej.AI. Wisej.AI is an extension of the Wisej.NET Framework, which allows developers to add AI functionalities into their Wisej.NET applications. Leveraging the infrastructure of Wisej.NET, Wisej.AI opens avenues for data extraction and automation within browser-based solutions and cross-platform apps. Wisej.AI can be used to add Copilot functionality to existing Wisej.NET applications.

Attendee Requirements: