Provides information on creating cross-platform interactive applications using Silverlight 1.0.

“The book you are holding contains the keys to writing great Silverlight 3 applications. Use them well!” –From the Foreword by Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president, Microsoft Developer Division Microsoft Silverlight is a leading cross-platform, Rich Internet Application (RIA) technology that allows you to create more compelling and interactive Web experiences than are possible with simple HTML browser pages. Silverlight 3 includes significant improvements over previous versions, including “out-of-browser” operation, H.264 video, 3D graphics, and real-time effects. Essential Silverlight 3 is the definitive reference and insider’s guide. It not only covers all the key features of the Silverlight 3 runtime and how to use them but, in Under the Hood sections, explains why each feature was developed and how each one works. These “insider” explanations often lead to concise, practical performance tips that can help you speed up your own Silverlight applications. Author Ashraf Michail is uniquely qualified to explain Silverlight 3. He is a Microsoft Silverlight architect who has guided Silverlight from its beginnings through the current version. In this book, he shows how to Integrate the principles and components of a Silverlight application, including XAP, XAML, and .NET code Use Silverlight vector graphics, bitmap images, and animation Display predictable and readable text across platforms and animate text elements Obtain mouse and keyboard input, including mouse wheel events Implement smooth animations to improve your user interface and make your application more pleasing to the user Use the Canvas, StackPanel, Grid, and Border elements to lay out your application and define custom layout elements Play high-quality, live, and on-demand video and audio Customize the built-in and toolkit controls and develop new custom Silverlight controls Connect to and synchronize with data using Silverlight Data Binding Use built-in real-time effects and define custom HLSL pixel shaders Enable GPU-accelerated rendering If you are a developer who is getting started with Silverlight or an expert Silverlight developer who is interested in understanding the inner workings of the Silverlight runtime, this book is for you.

The growing popularity of Web 2.0 applications is increasing user expectations for high-quality website design, presentation, and functionality. It is into this climate that Microsoft is releasing Silverlight 5, the latest iteration of its cross-browser web presentation technology. Beginning Silverlight 5 in C# brings you to the cutting edge of Web 2.0 application design and includes plenty of practical guidance to get you started straight away. Silverlight design tools have important differences compared with 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 role 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 gain a more in-depth knowledge of some of the features introduced with Silverlight 5, including H.264 protected content, right-click event handling, a new printing API, and support for the Managed Extensibility Framework.

A team of MVP authors guides you through the .NET 4 Framework Written by a group of experienced MVPs, this unparalleled book delves into the intricate—and often daunting—world of .NET 4. Each author draws from a particular area of expertise to provide invaluable information on using the various .NET 4, C# 4, Silverlight 4, and Visual Studio tools in the real world. The authors break down the vast .NET 4 Framework into easily digestible portions to offer you a strong foundation on what makes .NET such a popular and successful framework for building a wide range of solutions. Breaks down the .NET 4 Framework into easily understandable sections Features more than a dozen MVPs serving as authors, each of whom focuses on a particular area of expertise Covers such topics as Windows Presentation Foundation, Silverlight 4, Windows Communication Foundation, ASP.NET performance, the entity framework, and more Shares C# tips and tricks and .NET architecture best practices from a team of Microsoft MVPs Real World .NET 4 and C# is the ultimate resource for discovering and understanding the .NET 4 Framework.

Accelerated Silverlight 3 teaches you how to get up to speed with the latest version of Silverlight quickly and efficiently. The book assumes you're already comfortable with the basics of .NET coding and with WPF and builds on your existing knowledge to make your journey to Silverlight 3 proficiency as quick and painless as possible. Where coding techniques are similar to other, more established, areas of .NET, the text says so. Likewise, where there's a syntax or conceptual "gotcha" that you're existing coding habits will walk you into, the text points that out, too. This book provides you with fast-track coverage of all the most important elements of the Silverlight 3 technology ranging from XAML to standard controls, from dealing with media to networking, from testing to deployment. It 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 3.

A hands-on guide to Microsoft's latest rich application development technology: Silverlight 4 Silverlight 4 is the newest version of the rich Internet application toolkit that provides support for .NET capabilities over the Internet. With this latest release of Silverlight, Microsoft has revolutionized the way that Web applications can be created. This book uses the popular Problem – Design – Solution strategy to demonstrate how to harness the power and abilities of Silverlight 4 to add value to the overall user experience of a Web site. Using a Web site created by the author as a reference point, you'll go through the steps of creating a live, fully functional application for the Web using Silverlight 4 and the Silverlight Control Toolkit. Along the way, the book addresses important design considerations, such as the use of Web Services and the SQL Server database. Uses the popular Problem – Design – Solution format show you how to harness the power of the latest version of Silverlight, Microsoft's rich Internet application toolkit Puts the author's own Web site to task as you learn to create rich user interfaces that integrate video, HTML, and social networking components Explains system linking and data flow, end user interface, system architecture based on Silverlight 4 and .NET 4, and more Includes coverage on integrating social networking and Facebook With this book, you'll quickly get started using the new features of Silverlight 4 to enhance the user experience of a Web site. Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

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; and 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 groundbreaking new features of the Silverlight technology. The growing popularity of Web 2.0 applications is increasing user expectations for high-quality web site design, presentation, and functionality. It was into this climate that Microsoft released Silverlight 3, the third iteration of its cross-browser web presentation technology and the second to ride on top of the .NET platform. Beginning Sliverlight 3 brings you to the cutting-edge of Web 2.0 application design and includes plenty of practical guidance to get you started straightaway.

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

This book takes you on a guided tour of the new tools available to create Silverlight applications, from Expression Design and Expression Blend through to Visual Studio 2008. It explains how each of the tools performs it’s part of the job of putting together well-constructed Silverlight applications and demonstrates this with a series of straight-forward examples that illustrate how developers and designers can perform their roles in harmony. By the end of the book, you will be well prepared to start creating Silverlight applications, both on your own or with the support of a design team.