SilverLight

Last week Microsoft announced the release of the industry's most comprehensive and powerful solution for the creation and delivery of applications and media experiences through a Web browser. Silverlight 2 delivers a wide range of new features and tooling that enable designers and developers to better collaborate while creating more accessible, more discoverable, and more secure user experiences. Microsoft also announced further support of open source communities by funding advanced Silverlight development capabilities with the Eclipse integrated development environment (IDE) and by providing new controls to developers with the Silverlight Control Pack (SCP) under the Microsoft Permissive License (Ms-PL).

New Features in Silverlight 2

Silverlight 2 delivers a wide range of new features that provide designers and developers the tools they need to build cutting-edge rich Internet applications (RIA) and advanced media experiences on the Web. Highlights include:

  • .NET Framework Support with a Rich Base Class Library – A compatible subset of the full .NET Framework gives developers the most comprehensive RIA runtime on the Web today, with unparalleled data access capabilities, local data caching and local data storage, superior input-output (IO) performance, and better threading. By leveraging the rich base class library of the .NET Framework, developers can minimize the amount of additional code they have to write for their projects.
  • Powerful Built-in Controls – Silverlight 2 includes a rich set of built-in controls that allow developers and designers to quickly build applications such as: DataGrid, ListBox, Slider, ScrollViewer and Calendar.
  • Advanced Skinning Support – Advanced styling and templating support gives designers and developers complete control over the look and feel of an application to ensure the custom brand experience for their rich Internet application meets their exacting requirements.
  • Comprehensive Networking Support – Silverlight 2 contains out-of-the-box support for calling REST, WS*/SOAP, POX, RSS and standard HTTP services enables users to create Web 2.0-style applications that easily integrate with existing heterogeneous back-end systems.
  • Expanded .NET Framework Language Support – Unlike other runtimes, Silverlight 2 supports a variety of programming languages, including Visual Basic, C#, Managed JavaScript, IronPython and IronRuby, making it easier for developers already familiar with one of these languages to repurpose their existing skills.
  • Advanced DRM Features, powered by PlayReady – Advanced content protection features now include Silverlight digital rights management (DRM), Powered by PlayReady. Silverlight DRM builds on Microsoft’s extensive expertise in developing DRM technologies, delivering robust protection for key Silverlight scenarios including: live streaming, on-demand streaming and progressive downloads for connected experiences.
  • Improved Server Scalability and Expanded Advertiser Support – The combination of Silverlight 2 and Windows Server 2008 offers streaming video professionals industry-leading scalability and cutting-edge progressive download features. In addition, Silverlight offers superior search engine optimization capabilities and advanced in-stream advertising support through companies such as DoubleClick Inc. and EyeWonder Inc.
  • Deep Zoom Technology – The new Deep Zoom technology in Silverlight allows users to see images on the Web as never before. The smooth, in-place zooming and panning that Deep Zoom allows is a true advancement and raises the bar on what image viewing should be. It is also now possible through this feature to make super-high-resolution images easily consumable on the Web. Even better, Deep Zoom is designed in a way that will reduce Web hosting and bandwidth costs by sending to the browser exactly the right size and resolution image for the current display area.

    In addition to the new RIA development and media experience features, Microsoft is announcing that it is open sourcing the Silverlight Control Pack, publishing the spec for the XAML Vocabulary for Silverlight, and providing funding for a community project to integrate advanced Silverlight development features into the free, open source Eclipse Integrated Development Environment (IDE). By helping bring Silverlight development to the Eclipse IDE, Microsoft will eventually enable Mac and Linux users to participate in the designer-developer workflow.

    Microsoft also announced the Visual Studio Tools for Silverlight for the free Visual Web Developer (VWD) Express Edition. These tools will enable novice developers, hobbyists, and students to quickly and easily create compelling Web experiences free-of-charge.

    Finally, in addition to the announcements pertaining to the new features in Silverlight 2, and the announcements pertaining to greater interoperability and standards support, Silverlight is on track to becoming one of the fastest-growing browser plug-ins in the history of the Internet. According to Scott Guthrie, Corporate Vice President, Developer Division at Microsoft: “We launched Silverlight just over one year ago and already one in four consumers worldwide have access to a computer with Silverlight."

    To find more information and download Silverlight, please visit http://www.silverlight.net.