Help needed deciding between Telerik RadControls and DevExpress DXperience (WPF)

At work we're evaluating WPF UI component libraries for purchase to use in upcoming projects and have narrowed it down to a choice between Telerik RadControls and DevExpress DXperience Enterprise, both of which look very capabl开发者_运维百科e and seem to offer what we want. Unfortunately (due to time constraints) I haven't had much time to get to try out the libraries, so I'm interested in other peoples experiences especially with the charting and gridview components and how well the components support the MVVM pattern.

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

Thanks, James

I have already researched this but i am not going to give my opinion as it is subjective.

What i will do though is offer suggestions:

• they both have roughly the same level of support for MVVM, look for properties that are bindable or not bindable. Check little things like the Width property on grid columns.

• what you really need to look at is performance, and don't just look at the vendor's own examples, do your own tests. Then i think you'll find that one suite definately out performs the other.

• consult your product roadmap a reasonable distance into the future and see if you will be using any of the other components in the suite, and if so test them as well, i.e. you don't want to be stuck with a bunch of Silverlight controls that suck

• check the support forums for each vendor. IMVHO there is a major difference here, one of those vendors answers questions faster and more constructively than the other

• take the time to do a complete thorough test; skimping on this and saving a little bit of time now may well cost you a lot of development and maintenance time further down the track

We have been long-time devExpress WinForms developers. We are now doing more with WPF and will be using Silverlight 5.

We went through the same analysis you are facing about three months ago, specific to our WPF/Silverlight shift. We downloaded Telerik's trial, anticipating that we would probably be a Premium subscription. I think Telerik's components are easier to implement with MVVM and they as a company are more seasoned in .NET matters; however, I will say DevExpress always has a solution (including code) and they are developing their new releases to a single code base for WPF/Silverlight (which is already true of Telerik as I recall).

Both of these companies have a bit of a learning curve so be sure to check out the support! Browse the forums for company responses to user postings. DevExpress surfaces ALL support postings, including bugs and the organization of their website is much better than Telerik. Also, check the inventory (and date) of video/written tutorials. That is where, to my mind, DevExpress shines and that's what has kept us with them.

Good luck!

Up front I'm partial to Telerik as I've been using them for a while and have a relationship with them.

I haven't used DevExpress's Silverlight controls but I did have to use their asp.net controls a couple of years go. Maybe things have changed with them but from a support, ease of use and samples perspective which are important to me, well I don't have anything good to say from the experience.

Moving on, you can find code samples for Telerik the installtion folder. Look for a Demo directory.

Go online and look at the help for each product. That's one of the most important things I find when working with a control suite. That and a company that understands you purchase their controls to be more productive and not because you just want to kill time learning something else.

Also, you can download a 30 or 60 day trial that includes support. Give it a try and open up a case on how to do something with each company. Having support help you figure something out you need to accomplish or a problem your stuck on is extremely important.

Also as far as MVVM goes, I work on samples. I've put together a template sample for building modular apps using MVVM, Prism 4 & it uses some Telerik controls.

I'm getting close to an update that contains a Grid and utilizes their map control but it's going to be a while before I can get it out.

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

Good luck.

P.S. You mentioned the Charting controls and I'm not that familiar with either one so I would again recommend you look at the help and samples each provides. A couple of months ago I had to put together a demo using some gauges and charts and the Telerik help & samples help me easily accomplish what I needed to do with no prior experience with charting or gauge controls.