Preferred method for binding in MVVM, Data Template in Resources file or just DataContext in View itself?

Question

This one has got me stumped as I THOUGHT I looked at everything but I must be missing something. I have went off the traditional MVVM pattern from the MSDN magazine:

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Answer 1

If you want to use implicit DataTemplates you have to use the view-model-first approach, you however add a view to your DockPanel without a view-model as its context. If you simply add the respective view-model (to a ContentControl or ItemsControl), the view will be created automatically from the DataTemplate with the view-model as its DataContext.

e.g.

ic.Items.Add(new DataBoundMVVMChartViewModel());

I personally prefer this over view-first (e.g. adding a view which then assigns its own DataContext), because you usually want references to the view-models, the view is only secondary and manipulated indirectly by interacting with the view-model.