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Use ComponentResourceKey instead of strings to identify resources

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Assessment

Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Newbie friendliness
35/100
Issue type
Feature
Clarity
Mostly clear
Activity status
Quiet
Tech stack
csharp
Domain
desktop

Research direction

Start by locating the resource dictionary declarations and XAML usages that currently identify resources with strings. Review the proposed static ComponentResourceKey pattern and determine the scope of the migration. Done means resources use compiler-checked keys, with the backward-compatibility or versioning decision documented and validated.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Description

enhancement evaluation required

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.

  • Currently resources are identified using strings. The string can only be validated at runtime and not while writing the XAML code
  • When a resource key changes in a new version, the compiler does not indicate a problem and we get an Exception at runtime

Describe the solution you'd like

  • Using ComponentResourceKey would make resources type-save
  • Optional: preserve the existing string-based resource keys for backward-compatibility, or increase the version number because of breaking changes

Describe alternatives you've considered

  • Don't know a better way

Additional context
To create the resource key, you need to create a Component resource key in a static class:

public static partial class MaterialDesignColors
{
    public static ComponentResourceKey Primary50Color { get; } = new(typeof(MaterialDesignColors), nameof(Primary50Color));
    // ...
}

When declaring the resource in the ResouceDictionary, use the ComponentResourceKey as Key:

<Color Key="{x:Static md:MaterialDesignColors.Primary50Color}" ... />

When using the resource, we can now use a static reference that is checked by the compiler:

<Brush Color="{DynamicResource {x:Static md:MaterialDesignColors.Primary50Color}}" ... />
Dominant language
C#
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