why form.suite4.net?

Most developers are writing software based on Microsoft’s .NET Framework, like this platform, because of the convenience it provides in performing day-to-day tasks that used to be very complex only a few years ago. But while the platform is very powerful there is still much to be desired when it comes to tools for Windows Forms development.

Take the seemingly simple task of binding business classes to forms: depending on the complexity and number of forms and classes in the project, developers may find themselves spending hours typing statements like
txtFirstName.Text = customerBusinessObject.FirstName
It doesn’t end there, however – the same chore needs to be performed all over again when writing the user’s input back to the business object’s properties. Fun? We don’t think so.

Another example: have you ever tried to create a visually consistent layout across multiple forms? A common (for lack of a viable alternative) way of achieving this consists of manually setting layout properties of controls to the same values for all the controls on all of the forms in the project. Not exactly rapid application development, is it?

form.suite4.net was created with one guiding principle in mind: real life. We set out to create a solution for the practical difficulties and inconveniences involved in Windows Forms programming that developers have to face every day.

Therefore, the tool contains a simple mechanism for binding business objects to forms. You can style forms and controls employing an approach that works similar to Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and allows for global application of style information across an entire project. An intelligent algorithm provides logical naming of controls as they are added to forms (TextBox1 anyone?) and while we were at it, we added a host of other convenience features designed to make your development work easier and more productive. You can find more information on them here on this web site.

We have provided extensive information to enable you to have a good look at the product. If you like what you see, download the trial and test it for yourself.

And before we forget: the entire user interface of the tool was created with the tool itself. We have found it to be very useful – and we are certain that you will, too.