Editor's Note: This article is written about Silverlight 2.0 Beta 1. Topics covered in this article may change in newer versions of Silverlight.

With the introduction of Silverlight 2.0 beta 1 at MIX08 in March, the infant Silverlight platform took a big step forward. It now has rich support for data binding. It has a vastly increased subset of WPF's UI engine. It even has radical new technologies like Deep Zoom. But most importantly, Silverlight 2.0 beta 1 introduces a brand new collection of built-in UI controls.

The new UI controls are not a surprise, but they are a key milestone in Silverlight's maturation. Microsoft has always shipped platform technologies with a collection of built-in controls, and beta 1 ushers in that era for Silverlight. Developers evaluating the platform as an alternative to building applications in ASP.NET or WinForms can now seriously consider it since it has the beginnings of the complete UI productivity toolbox.

The UI controls introduced in Silverlight 2 beta 1, though, are unique in many ways from the controls that precede it. They are shipping with an unprecedented licensing model (for Microsoft UI controls, that is) and are doing many things with XAML controls that WPF has yet to produce (eh..hem…DataGrid). In this article, we'll look at each of the 29 UI controls that ship in Silverlight 2 beta 1 and introduce you to their features, unique properties, and talk about some of the shortcomings in the current versions of the controls.