Wiki-OS is an online environment that lets you write, build, execute, and share open-source Silverlight applications without ever leaving the web browser.

It simulates an operating system running inside the browser, complete with a start menu that lists all the applications by order of popularity and a task bar for switching between windows. Applications can be launched right away, without installation.

A development environment is included that allows creating new Silverlight 3 applications. It provides features such as syntax

 

 

highlighting, auto-completion, instant deployment of updates to all users, and a source control to let multiple people work collaboratively on the same project and see the history of modifications.

Applications can be shared by copying their URL - for example https://www.wiki-os.org/Sudoku/Sudoku to launch the Sudoku - or be embedded into web pages by using an html code snippet.

Every window contains an "Edit" button that lets anyone access the source code of the window and possibly make changes, thus bringing open-source collaboration to a new level. Developers can instantly access the source code of any application, reference other people's projects, and build on top of existing components instead of constantly reinventing the wheel. They can also start a project and let the community finish it.

 

In the next few days, I'll describe some specifically interesting challenged of Wiki-OS implementation such as the Colored C# Editor included (the Rich Text Box does not exist in Silverlight).