DataTemplate in Resource sets ViewModel to View, but then

I am trying to figure the many different ways of setting datacontext of a view to a viewmodel.

One I'm oggling at this moment goes something like this:

I have my MainWindowResource:

<ResourceDictionary xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml/presentation"
                xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2006/xaml"
                xmlns:vw="clr-namespace:DemoStuffPartII.View"
                xmlns:vm="clr-namespace:DemoStuffPartII.ViewModel">

<DataTemplate DataType="{x:Type vm:PersonViewModel}">
    <vw:PersonView />
</DataTemplate>

But that's also immediately where I strand. I know that I should use a ContentControl in the View. But what is the best way to configure it? How to go about this?

That is the way you can enable ViewSwitching navigation in your MVVM application.

The other missing bits are: in the view ->

<ContentControl Content="{Binding CurrentPage}" />

in the ViewModel -> (pseudo code)

Prop ViewModelBase CurrentPage.

note however that if all u want is to connect a ViewModel to a View, you can just drop the entire DataTemplate-ContentControl thing altogether, and just do this.DataContext = new SomeViewModel(); in the codebehind.

The cleanest way I know to connect VM to Views is by using the ViewModelLocator pattern. Google ViewModelLocator.

There are a couple of simple ways to just bind a ViewModel to a view. As Elad mentioned you can add it in the code-behind:

_vm = new MarketIndexVM();
this.DataContext = _vm;

or, you can specify the ViewModel as a resource in your XAML of your view:

<UserControl.Resources>
    <local:CashFlowViewModel x:Key="ViewModel"/>
    <Converters:BooleanToVisibilityConverter x:Key="BooleanToVisibilityConverter"/>
</UserControl.Resources>

and bind the DataContext of your LayoutRoot to that resource:

<Grid x:Name="LayoutRoot" DataContext="{StaticResource ViewModel}">

Maybe this doesn't directly answer your question, but have you looked at using an MVVM framework? For example, in Caliburn.Micro you would do (very basic example):

public class ShellViewModel : Conductor<IScreen>
{
  public ShellViewModel()
  {
    var myViewModel = new MyViewModel();
    this.ActivateItem(myViewModel);
  }
}

ShellView.xaml

<Grid>
  <ContentControl x:Name="ActiveItem" />
</Grid>

MyView.xaml

<Grid>
  <TextBlock>Hello world</TextBlock>
</Grid>

This is a viewmodel first approach.