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I'm Russian and I don't understand this sentence:

"It was obvious that there would be no shortage of WPF books in the marketplace."

So, were there books in the marketplace (they exist) or not (a shortage takes place)?

(Thanks. I'm learning English.)

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    It means that "it was clear that there were WPF books for sale at the moment the article was written and that there would continue to be WPF books for sale in the foreseeable future". In other words, "there is no and will be no shortage of WPF books".
    – user21497
    Apr 12, 2013 at 6:43
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    Maybe this will help you understand: "Would be no shortage" means exactly the same thing as "would not be a shortage."
    – John M. Landsberg
    Apr 12, 2013 at 6:52
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    Would there be a shortage of WPF books in the marketplace? No. There would be no such shortage.
    – Kaz Dragon
    Apr 12, 2013 at 7:37
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    The phrase no shortage of usually carries with it the implication that there will be a great excess of. It is an example of understatement (2)
    – Brian Hooper
    Apr 12, 2013 at 8:26
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    Since you are learning English, you could be interested in the English Language Learners Stack Exchange site.
    – apaderno
    Apr 12, 2013 at 17:22

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