Silverlight enables you to create a state-of-the-art application that has the following features:

• It is a cross-browser, cross-platform technology. It runs in all popular Web browsers, including Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari, and on Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac OS X.

• It is supported by a very small download that installs in seconds.

• It streams video and audio. It scales video quality to everything from mobile devices to desktop browsers to 720p HDTV video modes.

• It includes compelling graphics that users can manipulate—drag, turn, and zoom—directly in the browser.

• It reads data and updates the display, but it doesn't interrupt the user by refreshing the whole page.

Web developers and graphics designers can create Silverlight-based applications in a variety of ways. You can use Silverlight markup to create media and graphics, and manipulate them with dynamic languages and managed code. Silverlight also enables you to use professional-quality tools like Visual Studio for coding and Microsoft Expression Blend for layout and graphic design.

Silverlight combines multiple technologies into a single development platform that enables you to select the right tools and the right programming language for your needs. Silverlight offers the following features:

• WPF and XAML. Silverlight includes a subset of the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) technology, which greatly extends the elements in the browser for creating UI. WPF lets you create immersive graphics, animation, media, and other rich client features, extending browser-based UI beyond what is available with HTML alone. Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML) provides a declarative markup syntax for creating elements. For more information, see Layout, Text, and Input.

• Extensions to JavaScript. Silverlight provides extensions to the universal browser scripting language that provide control over the browser UI, including the ability to work with WPF elements. For more information, see JavaScript API for Silverlight.

• Cross-browser, cross-platform support. Silverlight runs the same on all popular browsers (and on popular platforms). You can design and develop your application without having to worry about which browser or platform your users have. For more information, see Supported Operating Systems and Browsers.

• Integration with existing applications. Silverlight integrates seamlessly with your existing JavaScript and ASP.NET AJAX code to complement functionality you have already created. For more information, see Integrating Silverlight with a Web Page.

• Access to the .NET Framework programming model and to associated tools. You can create Silverlight-based applications using dynamic languages such as IronPython as well as languages such as C# and Visual Basic. You can use development tools such as Visual Studio to create Silverlight-based applications. For more information, see Managed API for Silverlight.

• Networking support. Silverlight includes support for HTTP over TCP. You can connect to WCF, SOAP, or ASP.NET AJAX services and receive XML, JSON, or RSS data. For more information, see Networking and Communication.

• LINQ. Silverlight includes language-integrated query (LINQ), which enables you to program data access using intuitive native syntax and strongly typed objects in .NET Framework languages. For more information, see XML Data.

For more details on Silverlight features, see Silverlight Architecture.

Silverlight-based applications run in the browser. Silverlight makes sure that you can run your applications in all modern browsers, without having to create browser-specific code.

To run a Silverlight-based application, users require a small plug-in in their browser. The plug-in is free. If users do not already have the plug-in, they are automatically prompted to install it. The download and installation take seconds and require no interaction from the user except permission to install.

You can create Silverlight-based applications using any .NET Framework-supported language (including Visual Basic, C#, and JavaScript). Visual Studio 2008 and Expression Blend provide support for developing Silverlight applications. You can create Web pages that use both HTML and WPF elements with Silverlight. Like HTML, XAML enables you to create UI for your Web-based application with declarative syntax, with the difference that XAML provides significantly more powerful elements. For more information, see Getting Started with Silverlight.

What's New in Silverlight 3

Introduces some of the new features in Silverlight 3.

Silverlight Roadmap

Provides an introduction to the Silverlight features to help get you started developing Silverlight-based applications.

Silverlight Architecture

Describes the architecture of the Silverlight platform, the components of Silverlight, programming features, and related technologies and tools.

Supported Operating Systems and Browsers

Lists the operating systems and browsers that are supported by Silverlight.

About the Silverlight Documentation

Explains how to use this documentation.

Ensuring That Your Silverlight 2 Applications Work with Silverlight 3

Discusses the changes made to the Silverlight runtime and tools since the Silverlight 2 release.

Common Language Runtime

Describes the features of the managed execution environment (common language runtime) available in Silverlight.

WPF Compatibility

Provides information for WPF developers on some of the key differences between Silverlight and WPF.

Silverlight Differences on Windows and the Macintosh

Describes differences in behavior of .NET Framework class library types and methods on a Windows-based computer compared to a Macintosh computer.

Concepts

Other Resources