5.8. Where Are We?

Styles enable you to define a policy for setting the dependency properties of visual elements. The sets of properties can be named and applied manually or programmatically by name, or applied automatically using element-typed styles. In addition to providing constant dependency-property values, styles can contain condition-based property values based on other dependency properties, data properties, or events. And, if setting properties isn't enough to get the look you're after, you can replace a lookless control's entire rendering behavior using a control template.

But that's not all there is to styles. For information about how animations work, you'll want to read Chapter 8, and for information about styles as related to resources, themes, and skins, you'll want to read Chapter 6.