xaf-skills

XAF Blazor UI platform - BlazorApplication setup in Program.cs, AddXaf/AddXafBlazor services, InvokeAsync thread safety (critical for Blazor Server), async controller actions pattern, Blazor-specific editors, embedding custom Razor components as ViewItems using IComponentContentHolder, JavaScript interop via IJSRuntime, Detail View layout customization (tabs/groups), programmatic navigation, error handling with UserFriendlyException, SignalR configuration. Use when building or customizing XAF Blazor Server applications.

XAF Conditional Appearance - ConditionalAppearanceModule setup, [Appearance] attribute with all parameters (Criteria, TargetItems, Context, AppearanceItemType, Visibility, Enabled, FontColor, BackColor, FontStyle, CSS), criteria expression syntax, targeting multiple properties, coloring list view rows, hiding actions, dynamic appearance from code via IAppearanceEnabled/IAppearanceVisibility, model-based rules. Use when conditionally hiding, disabling, or styling UI elements in DevExpress XAF.

XAF Controllers and Actions - ViewController, ObjectViewController<TView,TObject>, WindowController, ApplicationController, controller lifecycle (OnActivated/OnDeactivated/OnViewControlsCreated/OnViewShown), SimpleAction/PopupWindowShowAction/SingleChoiceAction/ParametrizedAction full patterns, async actions in Blazor (async void + InvokeAsync), DialogController (SaveOnAccept/CanCloseWindow/Accepting/Cancelling), chaining consecutive popups, ObjectChanged/CurrentObjectChanged event refresh patterns, Frame/NestedFrame, Active/Enabled collections. Use when creating custom actions, controllers, or view logic in DevExpress XAF.

XAF custom property and list editors - BlazorPropertyEditorBase with ComponentModelBase and Razor component, WinForms WinPropertyEditor/DXPropertyEditor with CreateControlCore/OnControlValueChanged/BreakLinksToControl, custom ListEditor implementation with all required members, attribute-based and manual EditorDescriptorsFactory registration, accessing editors from controllers. Use when building custom controls, third-party component wrappers, or specialized editors in DevExpress XAF Blazor or WinForms.

XAF Analytics & Dashboards Module - DashboardsModule/DashboardsBlazorModule/DashboardsWinModule setup, DashboardData persistent object storage, IXafDashboardStorage custom storage, dashboard viewer and designer in UI, data sources for business objects (EF Core and XPO), DashboardDataProvider customization, predefined dashboards, view/design security permissions. Use when integrating DevExpress Dashboard analytics into XAF applications.

XAF Deployment - Blazor to IIS/Azure App Service/Docker, WinForms ClickOnce/MSI, database initialization (UpdateDatabaseBeforeOpen, DatabaseVersionMismatch), connection strings in appsettings.json (XPO vs EF Core keys), DevExpress license deployment (DEVEXPRESS_LICENSE_KEY env var), Serilog/ILogger integration, ASP.NET health checks, environment configuration (Development vs Production). Use when deploying DevExpress XAF Blazor or WinForms applications to production.

XAF built-in property editors and list editors - editor type mapping by data type, EditorAliases constants, [EditorAlias] attribute, [ModelDefault] for DisplayFormat/EditMask, ObjectPropertyEditor for inline sub-forms, list editor types (GridListEditor, DxGridListEditor, TreeListEditor, ChartListEditor), GridListEditor WinForms customization, DxGridListEditor Blazor customization, IModelListView/IModelColumn properties. Use when working with built-in XAF editors or customizing grid/list views.

XAF Entity Framework Core business object models - BaseObject base class, IXafEntityObject/IObjectSpaceLink/IOptimisticLock interfaces, virtual properties, DbContext setup with IDbContextFactory, one-to-many/many-to-many/one-to-one relations via navigation properties, EF Core migrations in XAF, computed columns, ObservableCollection. Use when defining business objects with EF Core ORM in DevExpress XAF.

XAF Memory Leak Prevention - event handler symmetry (OnActivated/OnDeactivated/Dispose), ObjectSpace scoped disposal with using statement, batch processing large datasets, IDisposable pattern for controllers with List<IDisposable> tracker, WeakEventSubscription, static reference anti-patterns, CollectionSource disposal, Session/HttpContext/Application anti-patterns (WebForms), ObjectSpacePool, controller lifecycle tracking, NavigationMonitor, warning signs, diagnostic tools (dotMemory, PerfView, XAF Tracing). Use when diagnosing memory leaks, auditing controller disposal, reviewing ObjectSpace lifetime, or reviewing Session usage in DevExpress XAF applications.

XAF Multi-tenancy (v24.2+) - separate database per tenant, AddMultiTenancy setup, ITenantProvider, built-in tenant resolvers (TenantByEmailResolver), custom resolvers, connection string per tenant, custom Tenant class, data isolation, host vs tenant UI, user-tenant association, scoped services, common pitfalls. Use when building multi-tenant SaaS applications with DevExpress XAF Blazor.

XAF NonPersistent objects - [DomainComponent] attribute, NonPersistentBaseObject base class, AddNonPersistent() registration, ObjectsGetting/ObjectByKeyGetting events with DynamicCollection, PopupWindowShowAction for input dialogs using non-persistent objects, linking to persistent objects, refresh patterns, RemoveFromModifiedObjects, common pitfalls. Use when building custom data sources, API wrappers, input forms, or computed views without database persistence in DevExpress XAF.

XAF Office/Document Management Modules - FileAttachmentsModule with IFileData/FileAttachment patterns (XPO and EF Core), SpreadsheetModule for Excel editing with ISpreadsheetValueStorage, RichTextModule for Word-like editing with IRichTextDocumentProvider and mail merge, PdfViewerModule for PDF display, platform differences (Blazor vs WinForms), programmatic document manipulation. Use when adding file attachments, spreadsheet editing, rich text editing, or PDF viewing to DevExpress XAF applications.

XAF Reports Module (XtraReports v2) - ReportsModuleV2 setup for Blazor and WinForms, report storage (DB/filesystem/custom IReportStorageWebExtension), creating predefined reports in code (PredefinedReportsUpdater), data sources (CollectionDataSource/EntityServerModeSource), report parameters, programmatic export (PDF/Excel/Word), in-app designer, PrintAction, security permissions for report design vs view. Use when working with DevExpress XtraReports integration in XAF.

XAF Security System - SecurityStrategyComplex, role-based access control, TypePermission/ObjectPermission/MemberPermission, PermissionSettingHelper, authentication types (Standard, ActiveDirectory, OAuth2 v24.2+), programmatic permission checks via ISecurityStrategyBase, SecurityOperations constants, DenyAllByDefault policy, JWT Web API integration, custom ApplicationUser/Role classes, Updater seeding. Use when implementing security, roles, permissions or authentication in DevExpress XAF.

XAF Validation Module - ValidationModule setup, built-in rules (RuleRequiredField, RuleRegularExpression, RuleRange, RuleStringLength, RuleUniqueValue, RuleCriteria, RuleValueComparison, RuleIsReferenced), rule contexts (DefaultContexts.Save/Delete), [RuleSet] attribute, custom validation rules via RuleBase, programmatic validation via Validator, conditional validation, cross-property validation, validation in Web API. Use when adding data validation rules to XAF business objects.

XAF Backend Web API Service - OData v4 REST endpoints, Program.cs setup with JWT auth, business object exposure with [AllowedAction]/[IgnoreDataMember], OData query options ($filter/$expand/$select/$orderby/$top/$skip/$count), JWT authentication flow, custom OData actions/functions via [Action] attribute, Swagger integration, security integration, file upload, v24.2 vs v25.1 differences. Use when building or consuming the XAF Web API backend service.

XAF WinForms UI platform - WinApplication setup, Ribbon vs Standard toolbar, WinForms-specific editors (XtraGrid, DevExpress controls), Detail View layout customization via Layout Manager, custom WinForms controls embedded in XAF views, background workers for thread-safe UI updates, splash screen customization, WinForms navigation (NavigationFrame), printing/preview in WinForms, ClickOnce/MSI deployment. Use when building or customizing XAF WinForms applications.

XAF XPO persistent object models - base classes (XPObject, XPBaseObject, XPCustomObject, BaseObject), key attributes (Persistent, Size, Indexed, Association, Aggregated), one-to-many/many-to-many/one-to-one relations, PersistentAlias calculated fields, Session access, optimistic locking, common pitfalls. Use when defining business objects with XPO ORM in DevExpress XAF.

DevExpress XAF (eXpressApp Framework) master index. Use this skill first when working with any XAF topic to find the right sub-skill. Covers Blazor and WinForms, EF Core and XPO, versions v24.2 and v25.1. Sub-skills: xaf-xpo-models, xaf-ef-models, xaf-controllers, xaf-editors, xaf-custom-editors, xaf-nonpersistent, xaf-security, xaf-multi-tenant, xaf-web-api, xaf-validation, xaf-reports, xaf-dashboards, xaf-office, xaf-blazor-ui, xaf-winforms-ui, xaf-conditional-appearance, xaf-deployment, xaf-memory-leaks.