{"slug": "winforms", "name": "WinForms", "category": "dev-libs", "category_name": "Libraries and frameworks", "description": "", "recommenders": 2, "commenters": 2, "warners": 0, "score": 1.76, "rising": -0.65, "first": "2026-03-21", "latest": "2026-05-04", "why": "the only truly usable products still seem to be WPF and WinForms", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 2, "neutral": 0, "compare": 0, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0], "listed": false, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "the only truly usable products still seem to be WPF and WinForms", "icon": false, "domain": null, "github_repo": null, "official_url": "", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["WinForms"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 768200083, "item_id": 48012505, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48012505", "by": "jdw64", "date": "2026-05-04", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "the only truly usable products still seem to be WPF and WinForms", "excerpt": "As a .NET developer and a Korean developer, I honestly have very few realistic options other than Windows. But recently, the Windows/.NET UI options feel terrible. Starting with the support situation around WPF, the identity of MAUI as a Xamarin-descended framework feels strange, and WinUI 3 has too many bugs. I honestly do not know what Microsoft wants developers to use. Whether this is internal politics between Mic", "context": ".NET developer in Korea", "use_case": "Windows desktop UI", "switched_from": "", "story": "What is .NET, and why should you choose it?"}, {"id": 759492032, "item_id": 47468252, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47468252", "by": "stevetron", "date": "2026-03-21", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "the start menu could have been written in C#, WinForms, and have been far less troublesome", "excerpt": "I don't know anything about React. I used to do everything in C++, and I was really happy when I could do embedded projects in C instead of assembler. With that said, I really like C#, even if I can't stand some of the directions it's grown into, and I think that the start menu could have been written in C#, WinForms, and have been far less troublesome.", "context": "former C++ developer", "use_case": "Windows Start menu", "switched_from": "", "story": "Windows 11's Start menu was built using React \u2013 now switching to native WinUI"}]}], "caveats": [], "who": [{"by": "jdw64", "context": ".NET developer in Korea", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48012505", "date": "2026-05-04"}, {"by": "stevetron", "context": "former C++ developer", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47468252", "date": "2026-03-21"}], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["windows desktop ui", "windows start menu"], "compared": [{"slug": "wpf", "name": "WPF", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48011667", "title": "What is .NET, and why should you choose it?", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47463884", "title": "Windows 11's Start menu was built using React \u2013 now switching to native WinUI", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {}, "2026-09": {}, "2026-10": {}}, "quotes": [{"id": 768200083, "item_id": 48012505, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48012505", "by": "jdw64", "date": "2026-05-04", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "the only truly usable products still seem to be WPF and WinForms", "excerpt": "As a .NET developer and a Korean developer, I honestly have very few realistic options other than Windows. But recently, the Windows/.NET UI options feel terrible. Starting with the support situation around WPF, the identity of MAUI as a Xamarin-descended framework feels strange, and WinUI 3 has too many bugs. I honestly do not know what Microsoft wants developers to use. Whether this is internal politics between Mic", "context": ".NET developer in Korea", "use_case": "Windows desktop UI", "switched_from": "", "story": "What is .NET, and why should you choose it?"}, {"id": 759492032, "item_id": 47468252, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47468252", "by": "stevetron", "date": "2026-03-21", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "the start menu could have been written in C#, WinForms, and have been far less troublesome", "excerpt": "I don't know anything about React. I used to do everything in C++, and I was really happy when I could do embedded projects in C instead of assembler. With that said, I really like C#, even if I can't stand some of the directions it's grown into, and I think that the start menu could have been written in C#, WinForms, and have been far less troublesome.", "context": "former C++ developer", "use_case": "Windows Start menu", "switched_from": "", "story": "Windows 11's Start menu was built using React \u2013 now switching to native WinUI"}]}