“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.

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.

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.

Essential Skills Made Easy! This hands-on guide prepares software developers to create next-generation Web and Windows applications using Microsoft Silverlight--the new technology that extends the .NET Framework to the client. The book covers Microsoft Silverlight 2.0, the .NET Framework 3.5, and prerequisite technologies. You will learn to use Silverlight to stream multimedia content across the Web, create dynamic, data-driven Silverlight applications, and implement security.

This valuable reference—in full color—explains the major new release of Silverlight 3 which is dramatically improved over previous versions and makes the development of powerful Rich Interactive Applications (RIAs) achievable for everyone. Packed with examples and written by a highly-seasoned team of developers and designers, this book guides you through the languages, tools, and techniques that are used to build applications on the Silverlight 3 platform (Build 40522). Each chapter provides a mini-tutorial on the respective topic, and the examples serve to both educate and inspire you. The information in this book is structured to help prepare you for the real-world challenges you may face when building applications on the Silverlight platform. By the end of the book, you’ll have gained a thorough understanding of how Silverlight applications are architected, developed, and designed. This book covers: · XAML basics · Silverlight 3 Tools for Visual Studio 2008, Expression Blend 3 and Silverlight Runtime and SDK Transforming text with render transforms · Using graphics, visuals and adding media for a richer user experience · Building application, making it come alive and responding to user activity · Setting up a control project and using a custom control in an application

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.