Help needed for solution between Telerik RadControls and DevExpress DXperience (WPF)

Question

At work, we evaluate the WPF interface component libraries for purchase in future projects and narrowed it down to a choice between Telerik RadControls and DevExpress DXperience Enterprise, both of which look very capable and seem to offer what we want. Unfortunately (due to time limitations) I did not have much time to try out the libraries, so I am interested in the experience of other people, especially with the components of diagrams and gridview, and how well the components support the MVVM pattern.

All the things discussed, which of the two will make life easier and provide the best results in the long run?

Thanks James

Answer 1

I have already investigated this, but I will not express my opinion, since it is subjective.

What I will do is this sentence:

• they have approximately the same level of support for MVVM, they are looking for properties that you can bind or not bind. Check out small things like the Width property on the grid columns.

• what you really need to look at is performance, and don’t just look at the supplier’s own examples, do your own tests. Then I think that you will find that one set definitely performs the other.

• consult your roadmap for your product at a reasonable distance to the future and see if you will use any other components in the package, and if so, check them as well, that is, you do not want you to be stuck with a bunch of Silverlight controls that suck

• Check the support forums for each provider. IMVHO is of great importance here, one of these suppliers answers questions faster and more constructively than others

• take time to complete a thorough thorough test ; skimping on this and saving a little time can now cost you a lot of time to develop and maintain down the track

Answer 2

We were longtime devExpress WinForms developers. We are now doing more with WPF and will use Silverlight 5.

We went through the same analysis that you encountered about three months ago, especially for our WPF / Silverlight shift. We downloaded the trial version of Telerik, expecting that we are likely to sign Premium. I think that Telerik components are easier to implement with MVVM, and they are, since the company is more experienced in .NET issues; however, I will say that DevExpress always has a solution (including code), and they are developing their new versions for one code base for WPF / Silverlight (which is already true for Telerik, as I recall).

Both of these companies have a little learning curve, so be sure to check out the support! Browse the forums for company responses to user publications. On the DevExpress surface, all support messages, including bugs and the organization of their site, are much better than Telerik. Also, check the inventory (and date) of the video / written manuals. That's where, in my opinion, DevExpress shines and what held us back.

Good luck

Answer 3

At the top, I partially relate to Telerik, as I have used them for a while and have a relationship with them.

I did not use DevExpress Silverlight controls, but I had to use their asp.net controls in a couple of years. Maybe something has changed with them, but from the support, ease of use and perspectives of the samples that are important to me, it’s good that I have nothing to say from experience.

Moving on, you can find code samples for Telerik in the installation folder. Find the demo directory.

Go online and look for help for each product. This is one of the most important things that I find when working with a control set. This is a company that understands that you buy their controls in order to be more productive, and not because you just want to kill time by learning something else.

In addition, you can download a trial version in 30 or 60 days, including support. Try and discover the case of how to do something with each company. Support helps you understand what you need to do, or the problem you're stuck with is extremely important.

Also, with regard to MVVM, I am working on samples. I have compiled a sample template for creating modular applications using MVVM, Prism 4 and using some Telerik controls.

I am approaching an update containing a Grid and using my map control, but that will be a bit before I can pull it out.

http://www.dotnetpatterns.net/content/185-Silverlight-4.0-Prism-4.0-Telerik-Ribbon-Application-Template

Good luck.

PS You mentioned the Charting controls, and I am not familiar with any of them, so again I recommend that you look at the help and samples that each of them provides. A couple of months ago I had to build a demo using some sensors and diagrams, and the help and samples of Telerik help me easily do what I need, without any preliminary skills in managing diagrams or calibrations.