WinUIpad: (Just Like) Starting Over ⭐

I’ve spent more time than I even want to think about trying to make the WinUI 3 version of .NETpad work. Worse, I’ve spent more time writing words about this effort that you will never read. So I will be as concise here as possible. For you and for me.

It’s been over two months since I published an update about .NETpad. That’s not tied to a lack of interest or because I’ve given up on the project. It’s because the Windows App SDK/WinUI 3 is ridiculously difficult and functionally lacking, both of which work in concert to make this environment frustrating. And because of my own personal failings, not just my inexperience as a programmer but also me taking on too many different things in this project at once. I’ve been trying to learn data binding, the ridiculous nuances of the Windows App SDK/WinUI 3, and whatever else on the fly, and these things take time. So that’s on me.

I’ve restarted .NETpad as a coding project more times than I can count, and since the shift to Windows App SDK/WinUI 3, I’ve run into more issues recreating basic functionality that I had solved long ago in other frameworks, often multiple times. And that prevents me from making forward progress. Which was sort of the point, when you think about it.

Looking past my own issues, the problem I see here is two-fold. First, Windows App SDK/WinUI is just different from previous frameworks like WPF, despite some surface similarities. But it’s also broken in some ways that I find troubling, and I’m reasonably sure that no fixes are incoming now or in the future.

Everyone is familiar with the phrase, It's not you, it’s me. But in this case, I’m comfortable stating that it’s not just you, Windows App SDK/WinUI 3, it’s also me. And that while I like to identify a problem as much as anyone, I am even more interested in solving that problem.

And the way I am going to do that in this case is, yes, to start over again. Not entirely, of course, as I can bridge the gap between refactoring and a complete rewrite easily enough and bring in the code that has been working great and rewrite the bits that have been problematic. And in working on this latest reset over the past few days, I’m pleased to say that it is coming together quickly for a change.
Introducing WinUIpad
I’ve been toying with the name WinUIpad since I started reworking .NETpad with the Windows App SDK/WinUI 3, but now it’s official, and I will use that name going forward. I see there being two versions of this app, over time.

The initial version of WinUIpad will be a basic Notepad-style app that supports a single document, and I will bring forward those classes and data bindings that work and ignore those that do not. Once the basics are complete, I will try to shore up the bits that are less sophisticated. But, honestly, I feel like it will be in pretty good shape, all things considered.

The second version of WinUIpad will support multiple tabs and documents, in keeping with what I’ve been trying...