Silverlight 2 is a cross-platform browser plugin that
enables rich media experiences and .NET RIAs (Rich Internet Applications)
within the browser.
Silverlight 2 is small in size (4.6MB) and takes only 4-10
seconds to install on a machine that doesn't already have it. It does not
require the .NET Framework to be installed on a computer to run - the
Silverlight setup download includes everything necessary to play video or run
applications.
Developers can write Silverlight applications using any .NET
language (including VB, C#, JavaScript, IronPython and IronRuby).
Silverlight provides a rich set of features for development including:
WPF UI Framework: Silverlight 2
includes a rich UI framework that makes building rich Web applications much
easier. In includes a powerful graphics and animation engine, as well as
rich support for higher-level UI capabilities like controls, layout management,
data-binding, styles, and template skinning. The WPF UI Framework in
Silverlight is a compatible subset of the WPF UI Framework features in the full
.NET Framework, and enables developers to re-use skills, controls, code and
content to build both rich cross browser web applications, as well as rich
desktop Windows applications.
Rich Controls: Silverlight 2
includes a rich set of built-in controls that developers and designers can use
to quickly build applications. The Silverlight 2 release includes core
form controls (TextBox, CheckBox, RadioButton, ComboBox, etc), built-in layout
management panels (StackPanel, Grid, Panel, etc), common functionality controls
(Slider, ScrollViewer, Calendar, DatePicker, etc), and data manipulation
controls (DataGrid, ListBox, etc). All Silverlight controls support a rich control templating model, which enables developers and designers to collaborate
together to build highly polished solutions.
Rich Networking Support:
Silverlight 2 includes rich networking support. It includes out of the
box support for calling REST, WS*/SOAP, POX, RSS, and standard HTTP
services. It supports cross domain network access (enabling Silverlight
clients to directly access resources and data from resources on the web).
It also includes built-in sockets networking support.
Rich Base Class Library:
Silverlight 2 includes a rich .NET base class library of functionality
(collections, IO, generics, threading, globalization, XML, local storage,
etc). It includes rich APIs that enable HTML DOM/JavaScript integration
with .NET code. It includes LINQ and LINQ to XML library support (enabling easy transformation and querying of data), as well as local data caching and
storage support. The .NET APIs in Silverlight are a compatible subset of
the full .NET Framework.
Rich Media Support: Silverlight
2 includes built-in video codecs for playing high definition video, as well as
for streaming it over the web (including both live and on-demand support). Silverlight includes support for adaptively switching video bitrates on the fly
based on network conditions (enabling users to avoid seeing the dreaded
"buffering..." message), placing and metering ads within video
streams, as well as enabling content protection.
The final Silverlight 2 release delivers a tremendous amount
of power and flexibility that enables you to really push the boundaries of what
can be done in a browser, and enable great end user experiences.
