Silverlight

Microsoft Silverlight is a cross platform browser plug-in that enables the creation of web applications containing vector graphics, sophisticated animations and media playback. Perhaps most importantly though it extends and improves interactivity above what was previously possible solely with HTML and JavaScript. All of these are hallmark features of what is termed a Rich Internet Application (RIA), in other words an application that has the same functionality and responsiveness of a traditional desktop application. This term was introduced by Macromedia, and perhaps the most ubiquitous version of an RIA is Adobe's Flash. However there are some essential differences between Flash and Silverlight as Microsoft see Silverlight as more of an application development platform.

Silverlight 2.0 (which at the time of writing is still beta software) is the latest version of Microsoft's plug-in and adds the ability to code Silverlight applications using .NET languages and tools. The emergence of Silverlight can be seen as a response to the failure of Web 2.0 applications to deliver the kind of immersive and pro-active experience now expected and demanded by users. The first version of Silverlight was mainly about improving media and graphics, in line with Microsoft's Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF). The WPF framework offers a unified approach for creating modern, graphics and media rich applications, or rather an approach that requires only one language to develop in, but the WPF is restricted to Windows platforms only. Silverlight is, in essence, a cut-down, cross platform version of the WPF optimized for browsers.

Differences between Silverlight 1.0 and 2.0

Silverlight is still very much an emerging technology so there has been quite an increase in features and functionality between version 1.0 and and version 2.0.

Silverlight 1.0 offered:

  • 2D Graphics
  • Animations
  • Mouse and Keyboard input
  • Audio and Visual Media
  • Text
  • Accessibility via the Javascript Document Object Model (DOM)

Silverlight 2.0 offers in addition to this:

  • An enhanced UI framework that includes layout management, data-binding, styles, and control templating.
  • Controls (these are controls we might take for granted, such as core form controls like TextBox, CheckBox, and RadioButton), built-in layout management panels such as the StackPanel, Grid and Panel, and common controls like the Slider, ScrollViewer, Calendar, and the DatePicker.
  • Managed code support: You are no longer restricted to JavaScript for coding the functionality of your Silverlight application, you can use C#, VB.NET or any language written to exploit Silverlight's support for the Dynamic Language Runtime (DLR) such as IronRuby.
  • A subset of the .NET Base Class Library functionality such as collections, IO, generics, threading, globalization, XML, local storage.
  • Networking Support including REST, WS*/SOAP, Plain Old XML (POX), RSS, and standard HTTP services as well as supporting cross domain network access ( a common drawback that AJAX applications struggle with). There is also a Sockets library that allows a lower level of network access.
  • Serious performance gains: Moving your computationally intensive code from JavaScript to managed code could make it several orders of magnitude faster.

It's easy to use…

It's not just easy for developers, it's very easy for users as well.

  • Painless installation experience - The Silverlight plug-in will install on-demand and is less than 2 megabytes in size, which for broadband users means a download time of only a few seconds.
  • Works with all leading web browsers - Silverlight will work with Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari.
  • Works on Intel-based Macs too!- You can deliver a consistent experience to both your PC and Mac users.

The best way to see what Silverlight offers is to check out one of the many links below.

Silverlight Examples

Microsoft Silverlight official extranet website:
http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight/

Microsoft Silverlight official communities' website:
http://silverlight.net/

Microsoft Silverlight showcase (display 152 Silverlight applications over 37 countries so far):
http://silverlight.net/Showcase/

Latest applications for Silverlight submitted by third party developers including games, utilities and mashups:
http://silverlight.net/community/gallerydetail.aspx?cat=5&sort=1

Examples of Silverlight in the "real world"

deep zoom tool that hooks into Microsoft's Seadragon technology too and enables you to hover over a large amount of information and zoom in on one particular item:
http://memorabilia.hardrock.com/

Full screen photo gallery and video player with clips from the NBA:
http://www.nba.com/silverlight_upload/index.html

British Libraries Page Turning app, allowing access to some of their rarest and most fragile antique books:
http://www.bl.uk/ttp2/ttp1.html

Embedded media player with tabbed playlist for the Discovery Channel:
http://www.discoverychannelasia.com/nevermissdiscovery/

Fox movies site showing clips from their latest movies, with an easily accessible dynamic menu:
http://silverlight.net/fox/

A spinnable wheel which highlights information about Microsoft technologies and tools:
http://www.whirlything.com/

Embedded media player with live stream for HSN TV shopping channel:
http://www.hsn.tv/

A tabbed video player containing clips from the Emmys:
http://www.etonline.com/emmys/

The added advantage of working with Fernhart

Fernhart has been chosen by prestigious companies like Microsoft Consulting Services and the BBC to develop Silverlight applications for their businesses.
To find out what Silverlight could do for your business, talk to Fernhart today.
Call +44 (0) 20 8296 1020.