Updated 8/29/2018 - Formatted
Resources provide a simple way to reuse commonly defined objects and values. If we are defining the resource then we can use that resource a number of times. (Just like applying themes and css to web pages).
Resources are two types:
  1. Static Resource
  2. Dynamic Resource.
Static Resource - StaticResources are resolved at compile time. Use StaticResources when it's clear that you don't need your resource re-evaluated when fetching it static resources perform better than dynamic resources.
Dynamic Resource - DynamicResources are resolved at runtime. Use DynamicResources when the value of the resource could change during the lifetime of the Application.
I will show you an example of a Static Resource.
In my WPF application page I have one textbox and two ellipses. In Window.Resources I defined the SolidColorBrush and the Style properties
  1. <Window.Resources>
  2. <SolidColorBrush x:Key="brush" Color="Green"></SolidColorBrush>
  3. <SolidColorBrush x:Key="forbuttoncolor" Color="CadetBlue"></SolidColorBrush>
  4. <Style TargetType="Border" x:Key="background">
  5. <Setter Property="Background" Value="Orange"></Setter>
  6. </Style>
  7. <Style TargetType="TextBox" x:Key="TitleText">
  8. <Setter Property="Background" Value="White"/>
  9. <Setter Property="DockPanel.Dock" Value="Top"/>
  10. <Setter Property="FontSize" Value="14"/>
  11. <Setter Property="Foreground" Value="#4E87D4"/>
  12. <Setter Property="FontFamily" Value="Tahoma"/>
  13. <Setter Property="Margin" Value="50,50,50,0"/>
  14. <Setter Property="Width" Value="300"></Setter>
  15. </Style>
  16. </Window.Resources>
In above code you can observe x: Key attribute. x: Key uniquely identifies elements that are created and referenced in a XAML-defined dictionary.
Here I'm using above resources. Have a look at below code.
Syntax is :{ StaticResource x:keyName}
  1. <Grid>
  2. <StackPanel>
  3. <Border Style="{StaticResource background}">
  4. <DockPanel Height="300" Width="500">
  5. <TextBox Style="{StaticResource TitleText}" Height="28" Width="150"> </TextBox>
  6. <Ellipse DockPanel.Dock="Left" HorizontalAlignment="Left" Height="73" Fill="{StaticResource brush}" Width="169"></Ellipse>
  7. <Ellipse DockPanel.Dock="Right" HorizontalAlignment="Right" Width="149" Height="73" Fill="{StaticResource forbuttoncolor}"></Ellipse>
  8. </DockPanel>
  9. </Border>
  10. </StackPanel>
  11. </Grid>
Result window looks like this.
In my very next article, I will explain you about Dynamic Resource.
Hope you like this article, let me know if you have any queries.