Introducing Silverlight 4 brings you up to speed with version 4 of Silverlight quickly and efficiently. The book builds off your understanding of the basics of .NET coding and WPF, allowing your journey to Silverlight 4 proficiency to be as quick and painless as possible. The text highlights where coding techniques are similar to other, more established areas of the .NET framework. Likewise, when your existing coding habits lead you to a syntax or conceptual ’gotcha,’ the text points that out, too. This book provides you with fast-track coverage of all the most important elements of the Silverlight 4 technology ranging from XAML to standard controls, from dealing with media to networking, from testing to deployment. It also reveals features introduced with Silverlight 4 and offers guidance on how to best utilize them. The book concludes with a pair of fully worked sample applications for you to follow through, because nothing reinforces your understanding of how concepts fit together as much as looking at finished code. It is assumed that readers are already be comfortable with the workings of the .NET framework. Knowledge of Expression Blend is useful, but not mandatory: you’ll learn the Blend techniques that you need to know as you go through the book. By the end, you will have followed a sound, concise path to mastery of Silverlight 4.

Full Color Code samples appear as they do in Visual Studio and Expression Blend! Printed entirely in color, with helpful figures and syntax coloring to make code samples appear as they do in Visual Studio and Expression Blend! Silverlight is Microsoft’s new web-based User Interface (UI) technology, based on Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), which is introducing many revolutionary concepts in the world of UI development. Silverlight uses XAML, with tools like Expression Design and Expression Blend, to create astonishing UI effects (such as gradients, compositions, and animations.) In addition to the richness of the UI elements, Silverlight 2 allows the use of C# or VB in addition to JavaScript to automate web pages. With Silverlight, you have the power of .NET on multiple platforms (IE and Firefox on Windows, Firefox and Safari on Macintosh, and Firefox on Linux). The author brings you up to speed very quickly with numerous hands-on examples. Use XAML to create state-of-the-art user interfaces Create XAML transforms and animations Design compelling user experiences with Microsoft Expression Blend Integrate media into your rich Internet applications Program Silverlight with both JavaScript and .NET languages Deploy Silverlight content to web pages Encode videos with Expression Media Encoder Make the most of Silverlight elements, resources, and styles Use templates to quickly change your application’s look and feel Efficiently debug Silverlight code Use design tools to create graphics that import seamlessly into Silverlight Laurent Bugnion has been a software engineer since 1996. He has worked with many programming languages and environments, including C, C++, Java, HTML/CSS/JavaScript, and, since 2002, the Microsoft .NET platform. He has been honored twice as a Microsoft MVP: first for ASP.NET and now for Client Application Development. He blogs about Silverlight and related technologies at http://blog.galasoft.ch. ON THE WEB: Download all examples and source code presented in this book from informit.com/title/9780672330148 Category: Microsoft Programming/Web Programming Covers: Microsoft® Silverlight 2 User Level: Beginning—Intermediate

Everything .NET developers need to take advantage of Silverlight 4 Silverlight 4 is a major new release of Microsoft's flagship product for building rich, interactive applications that combine animation, graphics, audio, and video. This book, by seasoned Wrox authors and Silverlight experts, gives professional Web developers all the tools necessary to build RIAs using the new Silverlight capabilities. You will gain a complete, thorough understanding of both core and advanced platform concepts, with examples in C#. Professional Silverlight 4 prepares Web developers to take full advantage of the newest release of the most popular platform for developing rich interactive applications. Coverage Includes: Introduction to Silverlight Building Applications with Visual Studio Building Applications with Expression Blend 4 Working with the Navigation Framework Controlling Layout with Panels Working with Visual Controls Accessing Data WCF RIA Services Out-of-Browser Experiences Networking Applications Building Line of Business Applications Application Architecture DOM Interaction Securing Your Applications Accessing Audio and Video Devices Working with File I/O Using Graphics and Visuals Working with Animations in Silverlight Working with Text Making It Richer with Media Styling and Themes

Silverlight 5 has the potential to revolutionize the way we build business applications. With its flexibility, web deployment, cross-platform capabilities, rich .NET language support on the client, rich user interface control set, small runtime, and more, it comes close to the perfect platform on which to build business applications. It’s a very powerful technology, and despite its youth, it’s moving forward at a rapid pace and is gaining widespread popularity. This book guides you through the process of designing and developing enterprise-strength business applications in Silverlight 5 and C#. You'll learn how to take advantage of the power of Silverlight to develop rich and robust business applications—from getting started to deployment, and everything in between. In particular, this book will serve developers who want to learn how to design business applications. It will introduce the patterns you'll use, the issues you’ll face, and how to resolve them. Author Chris Anderson, who has been building line-of-business applications for years, demonstrates his expertise through a candid presentation of how to tackle real-life issues, rather than just avoiding them. Developers will benefit from his hard-won expertise through business application design patterns that he shares throughout the book. With this book in hand, you will: Create a fully-functional business application in Silverlight Discover how to satisfy the general requirements that most business applications need Develop a business application framework

The growing popularity of Web 2.0 applications is increasing user expectations for high-quality web site design, presentation, and functionality. It is into this climate that Microsoft is releasing Silverlight 4, the third and latest iteration of its cross-browser web presentation technology. Beginning Sliverlight 4 in C# brings you to the cutting-edge of Web 2.0 application design and includes plenty of practical guidance to get you started straightaway. Silverlight design tools have important differences compared to those used to create Ajax and JavaScript functionality. Robert Lair takes you on a tour of all the tools, including: Microsoft Expression Design, which plays an important part in creating Silverlight assets. Microsoft Expression Blend, which is used to build user interaction for Silverlight elements. Microsoft Visual Studio, which manages the interaction between designers and developers, providing the coding environment for “nuts and bolts” wiring. Once you’ve mastered the basics, you'll move on to gaining a more in-depth knowledge of some of the new features introduced with Silverlight 4, including H.264 protected content, right-click event handling, a new printing API, and support for the Managed Extensibility Framework.

Foundation Expression Blend 4 with Silverlight takes you through your first steps in creating rich Internet applications (RIAs) using the latest release of Microsoft’s technology. You’ll explore features such as custom user controls that you can reuse throughout your projects and the media element that allows you to easily add sound and video to your applications. Silverlight 4 enables you to rapidly develop compelling, cross-platform RIAs using the extensive .NET 4 libraries, the powerful, design friendly Blend 4 integrated development environment (IDE), and an enhanced workflow that allows designers and developers to work on the same set of files at the same time. At the end, you’ll put everything you have learned together to create a sample Silverlight 4 website. Whether you’re an experienced .NET or web developer, or you’re just starting out, this book will provide you with all you need to create RIAs with Expression Blend 4. Develop stunning RIAs in a short time using Blend 4 and Silverlight 4. Learn basic object-oriented programming principles. Get familiar with the Blend 4 development environment.

Silverlight is Microsoft's cross-browser technology for creating rich user experiences on the Web. Like its predecessor, Silverlight 4 rides atop the .NET framework for maximum ease of use and coding efficiency. The technology carries forward much of the work that has been done before and augments it in many important respects, including support for H.264 video, major improvements to the graphics engine (including true 3D rendering), and much richer data-binding options for interfacing with other applications. Pro Silverlight 4 in VB is an invaluable reference for professional developers who want to discover the features of Silverlight. Author Matthew MacDonald's expert advice guides you through creating rich media applications using Silverlight in the environment you're most productive in—no matter what the target platform. As you learn about the features that put Silverlight in direct competition with Adobe Flash, such as rich support for 2D and 3D drawing, animations, and media playback, you'll experience the plumbing of .NET and the design model of WPF through Silverlight—all of the same .NET technology that developers use to design next-generation Windows applications. In this book, MacDonald provides a comprehensive tutorial written from professional developer to professional developer.

Silverlight 4 is Microsoft's cross-browser technology for creating rich user experiences on the Web. Like its predecessor, Silverlight 3, it rides atop the .NET framework for maximum ease of use and coding efficiency. The new technology carries forward much of the work that has been done before and augments it in many important respects, including support for H.264 video, major improvements to the graphics engine (including true 3D rendering), and much richer data-binding options for interfacing with other applications. Pro Silverlight 4 in C# is an invaluable reference for professional developers wanting to discover the features of Silverlight 4. Author Matthew MacDonald's expert advice guides you through creating rich media applications using Silverlight in the environment you're most productive in—no matter what the target platform. As you learn about the features that put Silverlight in direct competition with Adobe Flash, such as rich support for 2D and 3D drawing, animations, and media playback, you'll experience the plumbing of .NET and the design model of WPF through Silverlight—all of the same .NET technology that developers use to design next-generation Windows applications. Matthew MacDonald provides a comprehensive tutorial written from professional developer to professional developer, complete with full-color graphics and screenshots.

Business intelligence (BI) software allows you to view different components of a business using a single visual platform, which makes comprehending mountains of data easier. BI is everywhere. Applications that include reports, analytics, statistics, and historical and predictive modeling are all examples of business intelligence. Currently, we are in the second generation of business intelligence software—called BI 2.0—which is focused on writing business intelligence software that is predictive, adaptive, simple, and interactive. As computers and software have evolved, more data can be presented to end users with increasingly visually rich techniques. Rich Internet application (RIA) technologies such as Microsoft Silverlight can be used to transform traditional user-interfaces filled with boring data into fully interactive analytical applications that quickly deliver insight from large data sets. Furthermore, RIAs now include 3D spatial-design capabilities that move beyond a simple list or grid and allow for interesting layouts of aggregated data. BI 2.0 implemented via an RIA technology can truly bring out the power of business intelligence and deliver it to an average user on the Web. Silverlight 4 Business Intelligence Software provides developers, designers, and architects with a solid foundation in business intelligence design and architecture concepts for Microsoft Silverlight. This book covers key business intelligence design concepts and how they can be applied without an existing BI infrastructure. Author Bart Czernicki provides you with examples of how to build small BI applications that are interactive, highly visual, statistical, predictive—and most importantly—intuitive to the end-user. Business intelligence isn’t just for the executive branch of a Fortune 500 company—it is for the masses. Let Silverlight 4 Business Intelligence Software show you how to unlock the rich intelligence you already have.

Printed entirely in color, with helpful figures and syntax coloring to make code samples appear as they do in Visual Studio and Expression Blend! Using Silverlight 4, you can build richer and more powerful applications than ever before, and deploy them seamlessly in browsers, on desktop computers, and even on Windows Phone 7. In Silverlight 4 Unleashed, Microsoft Silverlight MVP Laurent Bugnion covers everything you need to do all this, and much more. The only full-color, example-rich guide to Silverlight 4 for experienced Microsoft developers, Silverlight 4 Unleashed illuminates the entire development process: from installing Silverlight tools to building great user experiences, managing data to optimizing application performance. You’ll master core Silverlight features such as controls and properties; communicating with web services; efficiently creating data-oriented line-of-business applications; working with external frameworks, and more. Bugnion concludes by showing how to use advanced features such as 3D-like effects and multitouch to deliver an even smoother, richer experience. Install and use Silverlight Tools for Visual Studio Extend Silverlight applications with user and custom controls Group, sort, filter, page, bind, and validate data Take full advantage of the Model-View-ViewModel Pattern in Silverlight Access Web resources and services Control the application’s appearance with resources, styles, templates, and Expression Blend Sketch user experience and build iterative prototypes by easily getting feedback from end users Create data-oriented applications more easily with the WCF RIA Services framework Adapt Silverlight desktop applications for Windows Phone 7 Integrate effects and media into your applications Use Unity, MEF, and the MVVM Light Toolkit to write more maintainable, extensible software Optimize performance by reducing download size and memory footprint, and increasing execution speed