About SilverLight: ten things you need to know

After Microsoft launched Silverlight, known as the "Flash killer" in a high profile, it received widespread attention. However, only a few demonstration content does not seem to make everyone understand what is unique, if you just replace the existing Flash functions, it is certainly not worthy of Microsoft's grand debut.

 

To put it simply, Silverlight is a cross-platform, cross-operating system plug-in that enables Web developers to build rich media experiences and RIA applications in browsers. The current version is RC, which can be used in IE and Firefox browsers on Windows platforms, as well as Firefox and Safari browsers on Mac OS X platforms.

When the public release comes, it is time to understand Silverlight. This article explains Microsoft's 10 main features of Silverlight and hopes to help you learn more about the benefits and limitations of Silverlight.

Shawn Wildermuth is the founder of Microsoft MVP (most valuable expert) (C #) and Wildermuth Consulting Services. He has been engaged in software development for more than 20 years. Currently, Shawn is conducting a nationwide Silverlight tour to teach people how to use Silverlight in their own projects.

 

1. Silverlight is cross-platform/Browser

For most development teams, creating a Web site that can run perfectly on all popular browsers (including IE, Firefox, Safari, and Opera) is very challenging. This is not just a matter of code implementation, but also a lot of complicated tests.

There are usually two solutions to this problem: support only a few of the most popular browsers or increase the number of quality assurance personnel.

While Silverlight allows "one-time development and running everywhere", Microsoft has promised to support Opera on Windows and Mac, while Silverlight's Linux version of Moonlight is also under development.

2. Silverlight 1.1 is the opening ceremony

For the current Silverlight 1.0 RC version, many organizations are still considering whether to start development on this platform. Silverlight 1.0 already has many important and interesting features, but more exciting content still needs to be available in version 1.1.

Silverlight 1.1 (still in Alpha Preview) initially supported. NET, including the Basic. NET Language: C # and Visual Basic. Microsoft said that Silverlight 1.1 will provide. NET Support for dynamic languages, such as Ruby, Python, dynamic VB, and JScript hosting. When 1.1 is officially released, all. NET Language Support will be added recently, which is equivalent to adding a. NET compiler to the browser.

3. Use the technologies that developers have mastered in Silverlight

Silverlight is created by some existing Microsoft technologies, such as XAML, JavaScript, And. NET. If you are familiar with Microsoft. NET and Web development technologies, these can be applied to Silverlight development.

The Silverlight version you choose to start a new project is mainly based on the technical direction of the development team. If your development team is mainly engaged in ASP.. NET Server Development (mainly C # and VB. NET), you need to wait for the official release of 1.1. If your team specializes in client development such as JavaScript, Silverlight is suitable for you.

4. Use the markup language on the Silverlight user interface-just like HTML

Silverlight uses XAML for user interface design. You may already be familiar with another markup language: HTML. The HTML file is plain text. It only needs to tell the browser how to render the webpage. The same is true for the XAML file. However, it is not the browser but Silverlight that executes the text command.

No matter what tools the developer uses on the server for development, you must create dynamic HTML pages. XAML is a markup language, so you can use server-side technology to dynamically create XAML, just as your development team dynamically creates HTML. The markup language is different, but the technology has not changed.

5. Silverlight and AJAX technologies complement each other

Networks are constantly evolving. Back in the 1990 s, everyone told developers that they should put as many executions as possible on the server side. This is technically correct, but it affects the user experience. Now AJAX is widely used. Placing Code directly in a browser can effectively improve user experience. The most typical example is Google Maps.

Silverlight also uses this model to create richer user interfaces in the browser, and uses AJAX to exchange data with the server to make Silverlight more powerful, combined with the rich user interface of Silverlight and asynchronous data transmission of AJAX, users can enjoy a very comfortable interaction experience.

6. Silverlight allows developers and designers to work together

The network requires developers to pay more and more attention to design and aesthetic issues. Rapid response to users and intuitive interfaces have become development standards, this requires both art design and user experience planning.

However, artists and programmers use completely different resources and tools. Generally, the artist sends an image file or HTML framework to developers to integrate the application code. When the design changes, the integration will never end up.

Silverlight provides a better development mode. The Toolkit provided by Microsoft to Silverlight is a collection of complex tools, such as Visual Studio and a tool that connects designers to become Expression Studio.

The main design tool for Silverlight is Expression Blend, which allows you to create XAML content in a way familiar to designers. It is similar to Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop. But the difference is that Blend and developers use the same project files, XAML and JavaScript files, just as in Visual Studio. After the design is completed and finished, the designer can see that the developer directly adds it as the project material to the development project without the intermediate integration process. This helps designers and developers work more closely together.

7. Silverlight will be released through subcontracting

Silverlight is divided into multiple data packets and sent to the browser. That is to say, the code is divided into one or more packages (JavaScript files, compiled files, and so on). The design is also divided into one or more packages (XAML ), and other files (including images, fonts, and videos ).

Developers who are used to the single-file distribution mode of Flash do not understand why. In fact, this is advantageous. Compared with the current full package of Flash, the separated package can help to dynamically create content on the server side and freely combine the content according to the markup language. Silverlight also provides a function to package all the content used by The XAML code to the user for download using a zip file.

8. Silverlight is brand new

At the time of writing this article, Silverlight 1.0 is RC, and Silverlight 1.1 is just releasing Alpha, a technology similar to other companies (especially Adobe Flash and Flex) not mature enough. Flash has reached 9.0, and it took a long time to reach the current popularity, but this does not mean that Silverlight cannot catch up, microsoft is very skillful in learning others' experiences and lessons (refer to Java and. NET), of course, this is not absolute.

Silverlight is not a replacement for Windows Forms, Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Java Applet, or Sharepoint. To put it simply, if you need to create a variety of excellent, silverlight is suitable for applications across all platforms and operating systems.

9. Comparison between Silverlight XAML and WPF XAML

It is not difficult to boast XAML as a special feature of Microsoft WPF, but it does not actually look so good. This is because of the low adoption rate of WPF, on the other hand, there is a difference between wpf xaml and Silverlight XAML.

First of all, the adoption rate of WPF is relatively low compared with other client technologies (such as Visual Basic 6 and. NET Windows Forms), so XAML is basically ruined.

Second, the syntax of Silverlight XAML is simpler than that of wpf xaml, and of course it is weaker than that of wpf xaml. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. Silverlight is very easy to use, but developers transferred from WPF may feel a little useless.

In my opinion, the simpler syntax is actually the most suitable for Silverlight, because the simpler the runtime environment for users, the better. Silverlight does not need to include all the east and west. It is not necessary for a lightweight client. Of course, it is good to add more functions to Silverlight, but we cannot only consider this at present. We need to carefully consider the number of functions to be added, while keeping the interface concise and efficient.

10. Silverlight is very suitable for learning XAML.

As mentioned in the previous section, Silverlight has a lightweight XAML syntax, which means it is very useful for learning how XAML works and guides developers who are learning XAML to create concise and clear code, it helps them quickly understand the functional features of Silverlight. when they start to invest in the XAML of WPF, they will find that more functions and features are ready for use.

On the contrary, if developers start to apply XAML from WPF and then switch to Silverlight, they will have to discard many features. Currently, the Runtime Library of Silverlight is only about 4.5 MB, And the. NET 3.0 Runtime Library (the first one that supports WPF) is close to 30 MB.

Silverlight is a new technology that benefits companies, consumers, and users. After reading the above, you can decide how to apply Silverlight in your Web strategy.