Introduction to Silverlight

Here is my introduction to one of Microsoft's most successful products - Silverlight !

To start off  - Silverlight is a new browser-based plug-in for delivering richer interactive applications(RIA's) to users over the web developed by Microsoft. So we can develop independent applications which can be later plugged into our browsers. Silverlight 2 is the second release of Silverlight. Silverlight 2's biggest change from Silverlight 1.0 is the inclusion of a compact version of the .NET Framework, complete with the .NET Framework 3.0 Common Language This is really useful for .NET developers to work with their existing knowledge and come up with some rich web applications. Also Silverlight gives them the ease to work together with the designers. Thus the work gets even easier !!!

For all you wondering where Silverlight can be integrated, here is an answer. Silverlight will integrate with your existing applications, from IIS and .NET to Apache and PHP to simple JavaScript and XHTML on the client. Thus friends this calls for a broader adoption of Silverlight and not restricting it to only ASP.NET web sites. This is what I feel makes it a big success story.

So lets see what are Rich Internet Applications.

Rich Internet Applications, or RIAs, are web applications. RIAs typically transfer the processing necessary for the user interface to the web client but keep the bulk of the data processing on the application server.

Normally we see client/server architecture where a thin client interacts with a server doing bulk of the work. All processing is done on the server and the client is used only to display static HTML content. When we use this, the data must be sent to the server, the server must respond, and then the page must be reloaded on the client with the server's response. Thus, if the client can do some processing we can avoid this wastage.

Now lets see some technologies that use RIA's :

Microsoft Silverlight

Adobe Flash Player and Adobe Flex

Ajax frameworks

Adobe AIR

JavaFX

Google Gears

Another important note is that Silverlight is build on WPF(Windows Presentation Foundation), which is the next generation of UI technology. The system is vector-based and uses XML . The main focus of WPF is in vector graphics, but pixelated graphics are supported as well. WPF also supports multimedia content both in audio and video. One of the main features is the support for text, which includes some typographical specialties.

Forbes newsreader can be seen to study text flow in WPF. Also, the next version of Yahoo! Messenger will feature a WPF interface.

XAML is the UI markup used in WPF applications. Microsoft provides several tools for developing XAML content. You can use Visual Studio or Expression Blend. There is also XAMLPad that can be used to develop XAML content.

So, this is all about Silverlight !!! Covered it all !

 Actually, this is what you need to know before starting to work on Silverlight. You can now start developing applications using Silverlight. Get started here.

Start playing with Silverlight and you will enjoy the difference !!!

Microsoft Student Partner !!!

Coming back after a really long time to my blog ! Got my official letter from Microsoft on being selected as a " Microsoft Student Partner " just a week ago.
There was a selection process held the last month. Initially we had to send in our interest of participation by registering and then the selections were held in two rounds. The first round was a written exam. It had fields like verbal ability, quantitative ability and some computer science stuff. Then we had a round of group discussions. The topic was all about possible computer markets, didn't expect such a topic so had to gather thoughts for a minute or so. But then it went about nicely. We were told that the results would take two weeks time to come. I didn't expect much at that moment.
For all you folks who want to know what benefits a Microsoft Student Partner gets :
First and foremost, would get to interact with tech enthusiasts around the world.
Would get a chance to test softwares, have the beta versions.
Chance to get trained from Microsoft.
Yeah and a MSDN premium subscription(I can't use one as I am still on a 3 month probation :( )
And the charm of being associated with Microsoft :)
Cheers

Internet Explorer 7

Microsoft Corp has released Internet Explorer 7 (IE 7) for Windows XP, which comes with significant security enhancements, making everyday tasks easier. Talking about IE 7, Dean Hachamovitch, general manager - Internet Explorer team, Microsoft, said, "We listened carefully to our customers, and are delivering a safer browser that makes the tasks they do every day much easier." To tackle the changing nature of online security threats, IE 7 provides protection against malicious software and phishing attacks. It helps reduce exposure to these attacks by fortifying the browser itself, and providing the user with better information and assisting him/her in making more informed decisions. IE 7 delivers a new look and enhanced capabilities such as tabbed browsing. With tabs, users are able to view multiple sites in a single browser window, and switch from one site to another. IE 7 also sports 'Quick Tabs' that provide an "at a glance" snapshot of all open tabs on a single screen, enabling easier and faster site selection and navigation. According to Microsoft, financial institutions and security vendors such as PayPal and VeriSign are supporting the newest generation of the browser IE 7, and also encouraging their customers to upgrade to it. Microsoft also says that the new version is designed keeping in mind developers and IT managers, and that it has been engineered for compatibility with existing Web sites by adhering to some of the most important standards for Web site development. IE 7 for Windows XP is available in English, and runs on Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows XP 64-bit Edition, and Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1. And, it will be made available in other Windows-supported languages over the coming weeks.
Windows IE 7 is available for free download at http://www.microsoft.com/ie for genuine Windows users. Microsoft will begin distributing IE 7 as a high-priority update via automatic updates in November 2006.