Use the Code: WRAC11
I have gotten a lot of questions around this: HTML 5 seems to be the choice for Microsoft in the next version of Windows O/S. Yes that is exactly the clause that many people seem to be focused on. Really? Microsoft is going to support HTML 5. It supports HTML 4. Silverlight is a product that works with BROWSERS, got that? Browsers. Not all Operating Systems are browsers, although a browser could be an O/S.
Here is how deep you need to go:
Bottom line: You will need to learn HTML 5 to work with Android, iOS, with Windows based products you will have a large range of tools that you can use with the products that run on Windows 7, Windows <<Whatever number you want to put here>>, Windows Phone 7 and so forth.
Microsoft has not rejected supporting Silverlight for HTML 5, it has some tools to support HTML 5, such as Intellisense.
Microsoft has realized that users do not want plugins....HTML5 has won....Jobs made it happen.
Developer,
Respectfully, you are wrong while also being correct. Maybe there has been some decision inside of Microsoft that HTML 5 will take over Silverlight 5, I certainly haven't heard about it, but then again that isn't unusual.
So let's define Plug-in, from Wikipedia:
Start Quote:
"A plug-in (or plugin) is a set of software components that adds specific abilities to a larger software application. If supported, plug-ins enable customizing the functionality of an application. For example, plug-ins are commonly used in web browsers to play video, scan for viruses, and display new file types. Well-known plug-ins examples include Adobe Flash Player, QuickTime, and Microsoft Silverlight."
End Quote
As far as I can tell, Microsoft has realized that to maintain and keep their software up to date and to allow creative changes, plug-ins are critical. HTML5 will allow significant modifications by others, isn't that a "plug-in"?
For example, would you say that no one likes Firefox because it does plugins well? In fact, Firefox differentiation is that the plug-ins are easy to do in FireFox.
As far as I can tell, there is a lot of room out there for a rich development environment, Silverlight is one of the tools. HTML 5 is another.
If you are going to focus on HTML5, that is a sound decision. But stating that HTML5 has won, what did it win? A prize? One could say FORTH won over BASIC in 1982, and FORTH is still in use, but BASIC is still around.
Bottom line:
Tools are tools.
For example: I like to use one of those compressed air hammers to drive nails into wood, that doesn't mean that I don't use a hammer to drive nails into wood, if it is just a few nails and I don't want to get the compressor out.