Size is a similar structure that uses the same metaphor of specifying a height and width. However, a Rect specifies an origin point, whereas a Size does not. In general, Rect is used for APIs that relate to graphical presentation, and Size is used for APIs that relate to UI presentation and layout.
Do not confuse Rect and Rectangle. Rect is a common data structure that is used to specify rectangular regions as a single value for certain properties. But Rect has no meaning of its own or any direct UI connotation. The meaning of a Rect is entirely dependent on how it is handled as a value for a particular property. In contrast, a Rectangle is a Shape and therefore a UIElement. A Rectangle can be specified as a XAML element and instantiates a rectangular shape that is displayed in the UI and can process input events.
The programmatic upper limit for values is not PositiveInfinity, it is a lower number (approximately 1,000,000) that is enforced by the Silverlight native code.
Although the type of the property values of a Rect is Double, you generally should use integer values. For more information, see Layout Rounding.
Properties of Rect do not support an attribute syntax in XAML for Silverlight. In XAML you should always specify Rect-type properties through one of the following usages:
The XAML attribute usage, which infers properties that use the Rect type and uses a type converter to process the attribute string into the specific values for the Rect.
A property element usage, containing a Rect object element. For that object element, set the Rect properties using initialization text, as shown in the XAML Object Element Usage.
If you specify a Rect for use as a resource, use the object element usage and set the Rect properties using initialization text.
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width and height can be negative if they are specified in XAML as part of the attribute string, with the result that the direction that the width or height applies to is inverted. For instance, a height of -20 will produce a Rect where the X,Y point is now the bottom left corner. However, the Rect constructor in the managed API does not permit negative values for width and height. You should adjust the coordinate reference of x,y, width and height such that the Rect can be specified using non-negative width and height values. |
The following notes on Rect values apply for a Rect that is created in XAML as well as a Rect that is constructed in code.
X and Y can be negative, with the result that the Rect definition is off the screen, unless there is additional translation.
X and Y can be 0. A value of 0 is also valid for width or height. If a Rect with a value of 0 for either width or height is applied to a RectangleGeometry, the resulting RectangleGeometry does not render.
X, Y, width and height can be non-integer values in terms of permitted values.