MVVM Light is a lightweight and versatile framework designed to facilitate the implementation of the Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) architectural pattern in XAML-based applications. It was created by Laurent Bugnion and has been widely used in various platforms, including WPF, Silverlight, Windows Phone, Windows 10 UWP, Xamarin.Android, Xamarin.iOS, and Xamarin.Forms.
Key Features of MVVM Light
Data Binding: MVVM Light simplifies data binding between the View and the ViewModel, allowing for a clean separation of concerns. This helps in maintaining a decoupled architecture where the UI logic is separated from the business logic[1][2][4].
Commanding: The framework provides support for commanding through RelayCommand and EventToCommand, which allows developers to bind UI actions to methods in the ViewModel without writing code-behind[8].
Messaging: MVVM Light includes a Messenger component that facilitates communication between different parts of the application, such as between ViewModels, without requiring direct references[8].
ViewModel Locator: It uses a ViewModel locator pattern to manage the instantiation and lifecycle of ViewModels, making it easier to bind Views to their corresponding ViewModels[4][7].
INotifyPropertyChanged: The framework simplifies the implementation of the INotifyPropertyChanged interface, which is essential for data binding in MVVM. It reduces boilerplate code and helps in maintaining a clean and maintainable codebase[5].
Cross-Platform Support: MVVM Light supports multiple platforms, making it a popular choice for cross-platform development with Xamarin.Forms. It allows developers to share code across different platforms while maintaining platform-specific UI[7][16].
Usage and Installation
To use MVVM Light, developers typically install it via NuGet packages. The framework provides various components and templates to get started quickly with MVVM applications. For example, after installing the MVVM Light package, a new folder containing ViewModel classes is added to the project, and the ViewModelLocator is set up to manage ViewModels[4][7].
Migration and Alternatives
As of now, MVVM Light is no longer actively maintained. Developers are encouraged to migrate to the Microsoft MVVM Toolkit, which is part...
