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For WPF/Silverlight layout, is it better to use a Grid with lots of rows and columns, or tons of Stackpanels?
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For example, the order of child elements can affect their size in a DockPanel but not in a StackPanel. This is because StackPanel measures in the direction of stacking at PositiveInfinity, whereas DockPanel measures only the available size. The following example demonstrates this key difference.
A StackPanel allows you to stack elements in a specified direction. By using properties that are defined on StackPanel, content can flow both vertically, which is the default setting, or horizontally.
A Grid is a very powerful and useful Layout in WPF. It enables you to arrange children elements in cells defined by rows and columns. In fact, when we add a new XAML document or create a new WPF Project in Visual Studio, Visual Studio automatically adds a Grid as the first container inside the window element.
In XAML a Grid is made up of a series of rows and columns. By specifying the row and column of an element within a Grid, you can place and space other elements within a user interface. Rows and columns are defined with the RowDefinition and ColumnDefinition elements.
You should use a Grid if you need things to line up horizontally and vertically. Use a StackPanel to create a row or column of things when those things don't need to line up with anything else.
However, don't limit yourself to those two options. In particular, have a look at the DockPanel. It's slightly more complex than a StackPanel, but its markup isn't as cluttered as the Grid. Here's a good article on the DockPanel:
Using the DockPanel in Silverlight 2
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