Accelerated Silverlight 3

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.

What you’ll learn

• Migrate your existing .NET skills to Silverlight 3 as quickly as possible
• Learn everything you need to know to start developing quality Silverlight 3 applications with confidence
• Explore worked case studies showing techniques and best practices in a code-heavy style that you can relate to

This book is for .NET developers, whether they are previewing .NET 4.0, already using .NET 3.5, or are in the process of migrating up from .NET 2.0. The aim is to ease people's migration paths as much as possible, so the text includes notes to highlight important features of .NET 3.5 and 4.0 that people need to be aware of and also to highlight where Silverlight's working and syntax differs substantially from that of WPF.

Table of Contents

1. Introducing Silverlight
2. Getting to Know XAML
3. Creating User Interfaces
4. Network Communication
5. Working with Data
6. Working with Media
7. Extending the User Interface
8. Styling and Templating
9. Animation
10. Dynamic Languages and the Browser
11. Security
12. Testing and Debugging
13. Packaging and Deploying Silverlight Applications
14. Advanced Silverlight 3 Features
15. Threading in Silverlight

Silverlight 3 is a new web development technology from Microsoft that is already causing huge waves within the development community. It is the natural successor to Ajax and ASP.NET AJAX-style applications and provides a means for web-pages to provide the seamless and rich user experience that is currently only available from desktop-based applications.

Building on the proven approach of Apress’ Accelerated C# and Accelerated VB titles this book provides readers with a fast-track to mastering this technology by building on the skills that experienced .NET developers already have already acquired. In a tightly packed five-hundred pages readers will be shown everything they need to know to become proficient in Silverlight 3 development.

Jeff Scanlon is an independent Microsoft consultant with extensive experience developing software using a variety of technologies. He designs and implements software across all layers with a focus on web–based applications. Jeff has led developer training sessions on software engineering practices and introductions to new technologies at nearly every company he has worked. His current work includes prototyping applications using technologies such as Silverlight, Windows Communication Foundation, and ASP.NET. His writing includes Professional Java JDK 6 Edition and its updated edition and has written articles on .NET in Software Development magazine. He holds several Microsoft certifications and a bachelor of science degree in computer science.

Ashish Ghoda is a customer–focused and business values–driven IT executive with over 11 years of leadership, technical and financial management, and enterprise application architect experience. Currently he is associate director at a Big Four accounting firm.