Introduction to Silverlight

Alan Cobb

Independent .NET Consultant

Alan Cobb & Associates, Inc.

Sacramento, CA

alan -at- alancobb -dot- com

Friday, March 7, 2008

10:15 am – 11:45 am

About Alan Cobb

• Independent consultant since mid-80s on Microsoft platforms

• .NET, C#, C++, WinForms, WPF• One of directors of the SacDotNet

User Group• http://www.alancobb.com

Presentation Overview

• What is Silverlight?– How does it relate to other client-side

technologies? How important is it?

• What can it do?– Feature details and demos

• Silverlight app development walk-walkthrough.– Expression Blend. Visual Studio 2008.

What is Silverlight?

• Like Flash:– Browser plug-in: cross-browser, cross-

platform– Animated ads, video, applications (like Flex)– Benefits:

• Write-once-run-everywhere,• Adds functionality not in HTML / AJAX

Versions of Silverlight

• v 1.0– RTM in Sept. 2007– Code behind – JavaScript only

• v 1.1 / 2– .NET based– SL 1.1 Alpha introduced in Spring 2007.– SL 2 Beta 1 released at MIX08 in March 2008– RTM maybe Q3-2008? For Olympics?– Code behind - .NET languages C#, etc.– Partial .NET class library

SL for Mobile: Schedule

SL for Mobile: Weatherbug Demo

Inside Silverlight 2

Silverlight 2:

GUI “eye-candy”:

XAML, Layout, Styling, Animation

.NET “plumbing”:

CLR, Base Class Libraries

Comparing client platforms

HTML / CSS / JavaScript / AJAX

Desktop:

WinFormsWin32Win16

WPF Silverlight

Web:

Flash /Flex

Competing technologies

• Web-based:– Adobe Flash / Flex– “Ajax”: HTML + CSS + JavaScript

• Desktop based “smart clients”– WPF on high end

• 3D, Hardware acceleration

– WinForms: (Mature, proven)

• Desktop-web hybrid (?):– Adobe AIR

Silverlight and WPF: Differences

• WPF:– Windows only– Requires 50 / 200 MB .NET 3.x runtime– Steeper learning curve

• Silverlight:– Cross OS, cross browser– Small download (approx. 4 to 5 MB)– Reduced feature set– Sandboxed – Secure but limiting

How important is Silverlight?

• This is a big deal

• Once-every-20-years event

• Existing client-side web technology has reached the peak of its life-cycle

• Fresh start of a new client GUI technology

• Web is where the action is– The network is the computer

What Can Silverlight Do?

Feature Details

SL2 Feature Summary:

• GUI system features:– XAML, etc.

• Controls:– What controls come “in the box”?

• Data:– Features related to database-type apps

• Communications:– Web services

GUI System Features

• WPF subset• Vector based vs. pixel based

– Scalable – Looks good at multiple resolutions

• Dynamic layouts• XAML – Similar to HTML

– Declarative– Designers and programmers work in parallel

• Rich customization is easier– “Lookless” controls– Styles and templating

Non-GUI Features

• More than just “eye-candy”– OpenFileDialog– Threads– Direct cross-domain access rather than

proxied by your server.

SL2 Features: Controls

• Controls:– Extensible control base classes– Common controls:

• Textbox, Checkbox, Radiobutton, etc • TabControl, Slider, ScrollViewer, ProgressBar, etc

– Layout controls:• Grid, StackPanel

– Data controls:• DataGrid, etc

SL2 Features: Control Source Code

SL2 Features: Data

• Data:– 2-way data binding– More LINQ support:

• LINQ to XML• LINQ to Objects

SL2 Features: Communications

• Communications:– REST, POX, RSS, and WS-* communication– Cross domain network access (coming)– Sockets (no cross-domain yet)

– WCF? (How much client side?)

SL2 Features: Other

• Isolated Storage:– Secure– Size? (100KB, expandable to X?)

• Security– See Perry Birch’s talk from 1:30-3:00

Feature Unknowns (?)

• Local client integration?– Read and write local files?– Read local mic and webcam? (Not in Beta 1)

• Depth of class libraries?– Pay-for-play

Resources

• Recorded videos:– Sessions from MIX08, MIX07

• Forums: – silverlight.net / forums

• Books: – Adam Nathan’s WPF book– Silverlight 2 books in the pipeline

Resource: MIX session videos

Features in Action:

Demos

Demos: Showcase

Demo: Deep Zoom

Demo: Home Shopping Network

Demo: Indian Fashion Show

Demo: SL1.1 Chess App

Demo: Silverlight Airlines

Demo: MS Download Center

Demo: 3rd Party Control Vendor

Other possible demos

• tafiti:– Search front-end from MS in SL

• Popfly:– Mashup builder from MS in SL

• Silverlight.net / Showcase:

• Seattle PI Reader (WPF currently):– Shows possible future for SL (Rich text)

SilverlightDevelopmentWalk-through

Silverlight Tools

• Expression Blend:– For graphic designers– GUI builder

• Visual Studio 2008:– For programmers– Includes a more limited GUI builder

ScottGu – SL2 Intro Tutorials

ScottGu’s SL2 Digg Client