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ABSTRACT

Microsoft Silver light is a web browser plugin that provides support for rich internet applications such as animation, vector

graphics and audio-video playback. Silverlight competes with products such as Adobe Flash, Adobe Flex, Adobe Shockwave,

JavaFX, and Apple QuickTime. Now in beta-testing, version 2.0 brings improved interactivity and support for .NET languages and

development tools. Silverlight was developed under the codename Windows Presentation Foundation/ Everywhere (WPF/E). It is

compatible with multiple web browser products used on Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems. Mobile devices,

starting with Windows Mobile 6 and Symbian (Series 60) phones, will also be supported. A third-party free software implementation

named Moonlight is under development to bring compatible functionality to GNU/Linux. Silverlight provides a retained mode

graphics system, similar to WPF and integrates multimedia, graphics, animations and interactivity into a single runtime. It is being

designed to work in concert with XAML and is scriptable with JavaScript. XAML can be used for marking up the vector graphics and

animations. Textual content created with Silverlight would be more searchable and indexable than that created with Flash as it is not

compiled, but represented as text (XAML). Silverlight can also be used to create Windows Sidebar gadgets for Windows Vista.

Silverlight supports playback of WMV, WMA and MP3 media content across all supported browsers without requiring Windows

Media Player, the Windows Media Player ActiveX control or Windows Media browser plugins. Because Windows Media Video 9 is

an implementation of the SMPTE VC-1 standard, Silverlight also supports VC-1 video, though still only in an ASF file format.

Furthermore, the Software license agreement says VC-1 is only licensed for the "personal and non-commercial use of a consumer".

Silverlight does not support playback of H.264 video. Silverlight makes it possible to dynamically load XML content that can be

manipulated through a DOM interface, a technique that is consistent with conventional Ajax techniques. Silverlight exposes a

Downloader object which can be used to download content, like scripts, media assets or other data, as may be required by the

application. With version 2.0, the programming logic can be written in any .NET language, including some common dynamic

programming languages like Ruby and Python. A Silverlight application being edited in Microsoft Visual Studio.Silverlight

applications can be written in any .NET programming language. As such, any development tools which can be used with .NET

languages can work with Silverlight, provided they can target the Silverlight CoreCLR for hosting the application, instead of the .NET

Framework CLR. Microsoft has positioned Microsoft Expression Blend versions 2.0 and 2.5 for designing the UI of Silverlight 1.0

and 2 applications respectively. Visual Studio 2008 can be used to develop and debug Silverlight applications. To create Silverlight

projects and let the compiler target CoreCLR, Visual Studio 2008 requires the Silverlight Tools for Visual Studio which is available

as a beta release.

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 OVERVIEW

Microsoft silverlight is a programmable web browser plug in that enables features such as animation, vector graphics and audio-video

playback that characterize rich internet applications. Silverlight competes with products such as Adobe Flash, Adobe Flex, Adobe

Shockwave, Gears (software), and JavaFX. Version 2.0, now in beta-testing, brings improved interactivity and support for .NET

languages and development tools. Silverlight was developed under the codename Windows Presentation Foundation/Everywhere

(WPF/E). It is compatible with multiple web browser products used on Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems. Mobile

devices, starting with Windows Mobile 6 and Symbian (Series 60) phones, will also be supported. A third-party free software

implementation named Moonlight is under development to bring compatible functionality to GNU/Linux.1.2 RELEASES

Silverlight 1.0 consists of the core presentation framework, which is responsible for UI, interactivity and user input, basic UI controls,

graphics and animation, media playback, DRM support, and DOM integration. It is made up of the following components:

Input handling input from devices like keyboard, mouse, stylus etc.

UI core managing rendering of bitmap images (including compressed raster

images like JPEG), vector graphics, text and animations.

Media playback of MP3, WMA Standard, WMV7, WMV8 and WMV9/VC-

1 streams.

XAML to allow the UI layout to be created using XAML markup language.

Silverlight 2 (previously referred to as version 1.1)

includes a version

[of the .NET Framework, implementing the same full Common Language Runtime version as .NET Framework 3.0; so it can execute

any .NET language including VB.NET and C# code. Unlike the CLR included with .NET Framework, multiple instances of the


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CoreCLR included in Silverlight can be hosted in one process. With [ this, the XAML layout markup file (.xaml file) can be

augmented by code-behind code, written in any .NET language, which contains the programming logic. It can be used to

programmatically manipulate both the Silverlight application and the HTML page which hosts the Silverlight control. The XAML

markup as well as the code, is compiled into .NET assemblies which are then compressed using ZIP and stored in a.xap file.

Silverlight ships with a lightweight class library which features, among others, extensible controls, XML Web Services, networking

components and LINQ APIs. This class library is a subset of and is considerably smaller than .NET Framework's Base Class Library.

Silverlight code runs in a sandbox which prevents invoking platform APIs.Silverlight 2 also adds support for adaptive streaming of

media files (which allows Silverlight to choose the bit rate of the media based on available andwidth) as well as Windows Media

DRM and PlayReady DRM in media [ files. Silverlight 2 includes Deep Zoom, a technology derived from Microsoft Live Labs

Photosynth. It allows users to zoom into or out of an image (or a collage of images), with smooth transitions, using the mouse wheel.

The images can [ scale from 2 or 3 megapixels in resolution to gig pixel range, but the user need not wait for it to be downloaded

entirely; rather Silverlight downloads only the parts in view, optimized for the zoom level being viewed. Beta 2 onwards, Deep Zoom

uses.an XML-based file format SilverLight

2. SILVERLIGHT

2.1 WHAT IS SILVERLIGHT

Silverlight is a new Web presentation technology that is created to run on a variety of platforms. It enables the creation of rich,

visually stunning and interactive experiences that can run everywhere: within browsers and on multiple devices and desktop operating

systems (such as the Apple Macintosh). In consistency with WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation), the presentation technology in

Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 (the Windows programming infrastructure), XAML (extensible Application Markup Language) is the

foundation of the Silverlight presentation capability. 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 provides a consistent experience no matter where it runs.

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 manipulatedrag, 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.


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fig: 2.1 Silverlight-based application with rich graphics and user interaction 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.

2.1.1 FEATURES

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 you the following features: WPF and XAML. Silverlight includes 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 declarative markup syntax for creating

WPF elements.

Extensions to JavaScript. Silverlight provides extensions to the universal

browser scripting language that provide powerful control over the browser UI, including the ability to work with WPF elements.

Cross-browser, cross-platform support. Silverlight runs the same on allpopular browsers (on any platform). You can design and develop your application without having to worry about which browser or

platform your users have.

Integration with existing applications. Silverlight integrates seamlessly with your existing JavaScript and ASP.NET AJAX code to

complement functionality you have already created.

Access to the .NET Framework programming model and to associated tools.

You can create Silverlight-based applications using dynamic languages such as managed JScript and 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.

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. If you already use ASP.NET, you can integrate Silverlight with the server

and client capabilities of ASP.NET that you are familiar with. You can create server-based resources in ASP.NET and use the AJAX

capabilities of ASP.NET to interact with server-based resources without interrupting the user

2.1.2. Running Silverlight-based Applications

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.

2.1.3. Creating Silverlight-based Applications

You can create Silverlight-based applications using skills that you already have and tools that you are already familiar with. 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.

2.2 SILVERLIGHT AS A PART OF USER-EXPERIENCE CONTINNUM

Now, more than ever, customers are demanding applications and online experiences that not only meet their individual needs in terms

of effectiveness and efficiency, but also address the perception of satisfaction the user has with a company's products or services. In

most cases, the level of satisfaction will have a network and an emotional effect, shaping perceptions of the company as a whole, and,


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as an extension, the perceptions of those with whom the individual comes into touch. Microsoft acknowledges this connection and has

a made a renewed commitment to user experience (UX) as a part of the end-to-end experience. UX is more than a pretty UI; it is the

aggregation of the interaction point of a user with an application. Our mission is thus to enable a great user experience wherever the

customer needs that: on the Web, on devices, in Office, and in Windows. Two recent examples of Microsoft's own investment in UX

are Microsoft Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007. By focusing on the end-user experience first, subtle and somewhat radical

changes were made to both products in order to address productivity and satisfaction. Windows Vista introduces easier ways to

visualize and organize your files, media, and communications. In every case of the UI, a focus on user-centric task accomplishment

and experience was put first. Other examples of focusing on UX include the new task switcher (Alt+Tab) and Wi-Fi signal

notification.

Microsoft Office 2007 has introduced the new "Ribbon" concept to replace traditional toolbars. A natural extension, the ribbon

reduces time to find any given feature in an Office application to about 10 seconds.

Fig 2.2Microsoft UX continuum

From a platform perspective, Microsoft introduces a consistent offering that uses common skills to address the different application-

interaction surfaces, as indicated in Figure 1. ASP.NET AJAX offers the benefits of standard Microsoft support (around-the-clock

support for a period of 10 years) for AJAX-enabled applications built around Web standards. It allows standard Web applications to

be more effective by improving the interaction parameters of the application (such as refresh, resource usage, and navigation).

ASP.NET AJAX and Silverlight are designed to be complementary technologies. In the broader sense, Silverlight can interact with

any AJAX application, both client- and server-side. Examples for such integration include mapping applications, video playback with

rich presentation, and more. For connected applications on Windows, Microsoft provides the .NET Framework 3.0 programming

layer (shipped in Windows Vista and available

for Windows XP) that includes the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF). By using WPF, one can create rich, immersive,

connected applications and experiences that can take full advantage of the Windows platform, including UI, media, offline

communication, and document support. WPF uses a superset of the same XAML that is used by Silverlight. Fig2.2.1Microsoft end-to-

end offering for UX As Figure shows, Silverlight is not an isolated island; it is a piece in a consistent end-to-end offering that enables


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taking application experiences to the next level. This offering includes server-side components, tools (Microsoft Expression and

Microsoft Visual Studio), and UX technologies.

2.3 SILVERLIGHT ARCHITECTUTE

Silverlight has few basic properties:

It integrates with various browsers on Windows and on the Macintosh.

It enables rendering of richer user experiences that are defined by XAML.

It render media (music and video).

It enables programming that is consistent with the Web programming model.

It is small.

:Silverlight was designed to address these properties

Fig 2.2.2 Architecture of Silverlight Lightweight browser plug-inSilverlight has Windows and Macintosh

modules that are designed to enhance Internet Explorer (versions 6.0 and 7.0), Firefox 2.0, and Safari browsers. The December 2006

CTP for Windows is 1.1MB in size.

Native presentation runtime Software-based browser enhancement that

allows rendering of XAML-based interactive 2-D graphics, text, and media, in addition to the browser native rendering of

HTML. XAML can be used in line, in a file, or in a package.

Interactive video and audioCross-platform independent media runtime

that can render Windows Media content (WMV and WMA) in addition toMP3 (will be available after the December 2006

CTP). Video and audio are handled as a media element in XAML, enabling flexibility in their presentation. Furthermore, the

media support leverages the huge infrastructure and ecosystem around Windows Media, enabling cost-effective delivery of

top-quality media.

Programming layerIn consistency with the Web architecture, Silverlight

XAML is exposed using a DOM model to JavaScript. That way, AJAX programs can utilize the extended markup rendering

capability using the same programming paradigms and practices (on the client and on the server). After the December 2006

CTP, we will also enable a managed code programming model using a subset of full CLR that will enhance the

programmability side of the browsers to enable more performant and more scalable Web applications.


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2.3.1The Silverlight 1.0

Fig 2.3 Silverlight 1.0

Browser Plug-in At the top of the stack, a browser plug-in enables hosting in Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, or Apple

Safari. The recommended hosting and deployment of the plug-in is provided in the SDK. Primarily, the plug-in provides mechanisms

for the following:

Setting and changing the XAML content to be executed by the runtime.

Retrieving objects from the runtime, for manipulation through JavaScript.

Downloading content incrementally.

The rendering performance of the plug-in varies with the hosting parameters specified and the complexity of the content. We

recommend that you set the settings. Enable Frame Rate Counter property to true during development to display the frame rate in the

browser's status bar and identify performance bottlenecks. Hosting parameters that affect the consistency and performance of your

application include the following:

is Windowless Setting this parameter to false will ensure the highest framerate and will result in better visual display quality across various platforms. Windowed display is the best mode of operation for the

plug-in. Background If windowless mode is required, use an opaque background instead of a translucent or fully transparent

background for better performance. In particular, you should set the background to '#FF000000' where the first component is FF. A

transparent background affects performance because the browser has to re-render the area under the control with each frame. This

additional rendering, combined with the cost of blending images, can result in significantly slower performance on some operating

systems and browsers.

Element Tree

At the heart of a Silverlight-based application is a tree of objects, such as Path objects, Image objects, and MediaElement objects, that

you compose to build an application. This tree, which is called the element tree, is conceptually similar to an HTML tree. However, it

has a richer set of graphical elements than HTML, and the programming model is similar to the HTML Document Object Model

(DOM). The traversal order of the tree controls the order in which the objects in the application are drawn. To build an element tree,

you can use the XAML parser that is provided with Silverlight (by setting the source on the plug-in) or use the CreatueFromXAML

method. You can make changes to the element tree as follows:

You can use the JavaScript API to change child relationships and to set properties on the content.You can use the animation system to

change the value of properties over time.

If your application relies on per-frame manipulation of the element tree, we recommend that you test its performance by using the

various JavaScript engines that are available on different operating systems and browsers. The recommended method for

manipulating the element tree over time is through the animation system. This approach is platform- and browser-independent and is

the most efficient method. JavaScript Programming Model The hosting Web page can call the content. FindName method to

retrieve a named element and can subsequently set properties or call methods that are exposed by that element. In addition, you can

attach keyboard and mouse event handlers to the elements or to the control. These event handlers enable the user to receive JavaScript

callbacks and respond to user input All objects in Silverlight 1.0 can be manipulated through a JavaScript object model..

Rendering Engine

The Silverlight rendering engine is optimized for rasterizing the contents of the element tree at the desired frame rate indicated on the

plug-in. In particular, the optimizations include the following:

Incremental redraw between frames, which reduces the number of pixels drawn based on the content that is changing.


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Not rasterizing content that is completely or partially occluded.

The rendering engine feature set includes the follow.

Text rendering support

Subpixel positioning.

Custom anti-aliasing for sharper text.

Transforms

Path transforms.o

Brush transforms.

o

Text and graphics remain sharp when scaled. Image data will be resampled, and quality will vary based on the resolution of the source

images.

Clipping:

Applied to a group of arbitrary drawing primitives, which could also include other nested clips, opacity effects, or opacity masks.

Opacity and opacity mask support:

Applied to a group of arbitrary drawing primitives, including other nested opacities or clips.

Animation System

Animation can enhance your graphical creation by adding movement and interactivity. By animating a background color or applying

an animated Transform, you can create dramatic screen transitions or provide helpful visual cues. You can create basic animations as

well as more complex and powerful animations that use key frames. Image Cache When an image references a URL, the image is

downloaded and cached in its decoded form for the duration of the application based on the URL that is specified. If you reference the

image multiple times within your application, it will be retrieved from the image cache, and that usage pattern will run quickly.

Referencing the same image from separate plug-ins takes advantage of the browser cache but requires the image to be decoded once

for each Silverlight-based application.

For best results, the resolution of the image being downloaded should be close to the display size of the image. If the image resolution

is significantly larger than the display size, bilinear filtering aliasing display artifacts can occur. If the image resolution is significantly

smaller than the display size, the image will appear blurry. In addition, picking an image resolution that is close to the display size

will ensure minimum download times. If zoom effects are required where this is simply not possible, store multiple resolutions on the

server and dynamically switch image sources during your animation. Text Engine The text engine will flow text strings within a

TextBlock by applying simple formatting and explicitly positioning glyphs for precise fixed-format display. It will either use a

specified font from the system (which is limited to a set that is available on all platforms) or use a specified Uniform Resource

Identifier (URI), which can refer to a TrueType font. Glyph Cache The glyph cache is used by the text engine to produce glyphs for

rendering from font files. The glyph is optimized for readability at a particular target resolution, so an initial cost is incurred on the

first frame on which text is drawn or when the scale of text changes. After this initial cost, scrolling or translation of text is

significantly cheaper. If your application requires dynamic scale changes of large text, it may be better to pick a vector representation

of that effect. Media Pipeline The video pipeline retrieves content either through progressive HTT P download or HTTP streaming

(for WMS servers), calls the decoders to decode the video, and displays with the rendering system and audio engine. If your


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application transitions from windowed to full-screen display, we recommend the use of a video brush that references the currently

playing media

element in the new full-screen content to ensure that the transition is seamless and does not require rebuffering.If the content in your application has to react to events in the video, you can insert markers in the video stream that will be fired to the

application. Decoders Silverlight 1.0 supports PNG and JPG files for imaging, Windows Media Video (WMV) files for video, and

Windows Media Audio (WMA) and MP3 files for audio.2.3.2.The Silverlight 2.0 Fig2.3 Silvelight2.0 Architecture

Silverlight 2 (previously referred to as version 1.1) includes a version of the .NET Framework, implementing the same full Common

Language Runtime version as .NET Framework 3.0; so it can execute programs written in any .NET language. Unlike the CLR

included with .NET Framework, multiple instances of the CoreCLR included in Silverlight can be hosted in one process. With this,

the XAML layout markup file (.xaml file) can be augmented by code-behind code, written in any .NET language, which contains the

programming logic. It can be used to programmatically manipulate both the Silverlight application and the HTML page

which hosts the Silverlight control. The XAML markup as well as the code, is compiled into .NET assemblies which are then

compressed using ZIP and stored in a file. .xap Silverlight ships with a lightweight class library which features, among

others, extensible controls, XML Web Services, networking components and LINQ APIs. This class library is a subset of and is

considerably smaller than .NET Framework's Base Class Library. Silverlight code runs in a sandbox which prevents

invoking platform APIs. Silverlight 2 also adds support for adaptive streaming of media files (which allows Silverlight to choose the

bit rate of the media based on available bandwidth) as well as Windows Media DRM and PlayReady DRM in media

files. The version of .NET Framework in Silverlight adds a subset of WPF UI programming model, including support for shapes,

documents, and media and animation objects of WPF. Beta 2 onwards,it ships with more than 30 UI controls[(including,

,

,

, and controls, TextBox CheckBox Slider ScrollViewer Calendar among others),supporting two-way databinding support, automatedlayout management (by means of, etc) as well as data manipulation [ StackPanel Grid controls such as DataGrid [and ListBox. UI

controls are skinnable using a template-based approach The included Base Class Library (BCL) provides classes for collections,

reflection, regular expressions, string handling and data access. It also supports LINQ, with the full support for LINQ to Objects and

expression trees. Almost all of the System.LINQ and System.LINQ.Expression namespaces are exposed. It also supports serialization

of objects, for data persistence. Silverlight can handle data in RSS or JSON format, in addition to XML. The BCL provides enhanced

support for working with XML data, including the XMLReader and XMLWriter classes. Silverlight 2 also supports asynchronous

programming via the use of the threading libraries. Silverlight also includes classes for data access over XML-based Web services,

REST, WCF Services and ADO.NET Data Services. The networking support in Silverlight can be used by Silverlight applications to


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communicate using HTTP, or at the lower socket level. Cross-domain communication is supported. Silverlight uses an XML-based

configuration file to control the cross-domain resource access policy, both for HTTP connections as well as socket connections. It can

be used by site administrators to control which resources a Silverlight application that did not originate in the domain of the site can

access. In addition, Silverlight also supports the Adobe Flash cross domain policy file format. Silverlight sockets can only

[ initiate a connection; they cannot listen for connections. Silverlight 2 includes the Dynamic Language Runtime (DLR) which

allows dynamic compilation and execution of dynamic (scripting) languages.Compilers for the languages based on the DLR

(including IronPython and IronRuby) are be packaged with the DSL app in the package. The DSL SDK includes a .xap web server

named Chiron that can dynamically package all the dependencies for the DSL application and serve it to the browser. The first

upcoming languages written for the DLR are Managed JScript, IronPython 2.0, and IronRuby. Microsoft also plans to build Visual

Basic .NET 10.0 (VBx) on the DLR. All four languages share the same infrastructure to allow Silverlight to compile and execute the

language source. Conversely, other .NET languages must be compiled ahead of time and delivered to Silverlight as .NET assemblies.

The implementation of Managed JScript conforms to the ECMAScript 3.0 specification, and Microsoft claims that it is 250 times

faster than interpreted JScript. With the integration of .NET Framework, Silverlight also allows HTML-managed code interaction,

which allows manipulation of HTML DOM elements from managed code, as well as allow JavaScript code to call managed code

and use objects instantiated by managed code. Silverlight encloses JavaScript objects and DOM elements in managed wrappers to

make them available from managed code. However, in the 1.1 alpha release directly calling JavaScript code is not [implemented, but

managed code events can fire JavaScript handlers. A Silverlight instance does not need to have a UI component in order to manipulate

the HTML DOM from managed code.[ It is done by creating a XAML Canvas with its width and height set to zero, and using its

code-behind code to modify the Document Object Model of the HTML page via the APIs in the System.Browser namespace.

Silverlight 2 includes Deep Zoom, a technology derived from Microsoft Live Labs Photosynth. It allows users to zoom into or out of

an image (or a collage of images), with smooth transitions, using the mouse wheel. The images can scale from 2 or 3 megapixels in

resolution to gigapixel range, but the user need not wait for it to be downloaded entirely; rather Silverlight downloads only the parts in

view, optimized for the zoom level being viewed.Beta 2 onwards, Deep Zoom uses [ an XML-based file format.[Silverlight 2 also

allows limited filesystem access to Silverlight applications. It can use the operating system's native Open file dialog box to browse

to any file (which the user has access to). The file is sanitized of path information to prevent the application from getting access to

information like user name and can be opened only in read-only mode. For local storage of data, Silverlight provides isolated

local storage (isostorage), which is stored, outside the browser cache, in a hidden [ folder inside the user profile's private folder. It is

by default set to 1 MB per URL,but can be changed by the user. Data stored by a Silverlight application in the isostorage is identified

by the URL that it loads from, can be accessed by that application only. All instances of Silverlight share the same isostorage, so all

instances of the same Silverlight application can share the saved data, even if they are running on different browsers.

Silverlight CoreCLR uses an attribute based security model, as opposed to the Code Access Security (CAS) model of the desktop

version of .NET Framework. All assemblies are marked with a security attribute, which can be either transparent

(SecurityTransparentAttribute), safecritical (SecuritySafeCriticalAttribute) or critical (SecurityCriticalAttribute) . Methods in

transparent assemblies runs with partial trust, and any code in such assemblies cannot call critical methods. They also cannot contain

unverifiable code (use the unsafe C# keyword or use pointers) or invoke system functions by means of P/Invoke. Code in both critical

and safecritical assemblies run with full trust, and are not subject to such limitations. However, critical methods can only be called

from safecritical methods and not transparent methods. Thus transparent methods are prevented from using methods that can cause

system wide changes. Instead, they have to call safecritical methods which will verify that the call is safe and within the limited rights

of the caller, and then proxy it to the critical methods. In fact, the IsoStorage APIs are exposed as safecritical methods. An assembly

that does not have any attribute set is run as a transparent method. The limitations also apply for type inheritance, virtual method calls

and interface method calls as well. Silverlight assemblies can contain members that are not usable by CoreCLR but can be by .NET

Framework CLR; such methods will not be loaded when the assembly is being executed by Core CLR. However, only platform code

is allowed to be marked as Critical or Safe Critical. The Silverlight runtime ensures that platform assemblies are loaded only from the

Silverlight installation directory, and are digitally signed by Microsoft. This effectively means that all user application assemblies can

only be transparent code and run under partial trust and limited rights. Platform code can be marked with[ either attribute. The BCL

methods of the .NET Framework, which have the Internet attribute set allowing them to be called from untrusted code originating

from Internet, are exposed in Silverlight BCL as transparent methods.

2.4. COMPATIBILITY

The following table presents an availability and compatibility matrix of Silverlight versions for various operating systems and web

browsers.

OS/browser

IE


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IE

IE

IE

FirefoxSea

Safari

Konquero

Opera

6

6

7

8

Monkey/Mozil

r

SP

SV

la

1

1

Windows

N/

N/

1.0,

2.0

1.0, 2.0

1.0,

N/A

Unofficiall

Vista/2008

A

A

2.0

2.0;

y

via

NPAP

I

Windows

N/

1.0,

1.0,

1.0, 2.0

1.0,

N/A

Unofficiall

XP/2003/Ho

A

2.0

2.0

2.0;

y

me Server

via


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NPAP

I

Windows

2.0

N/

N/

N/

N/A

2.0;

N/A

Planned

2000

A

A

A

via

NPAP

I

Windows

1.0

N/

N/

N/

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Mobile 6

A

A

A

Mac OS

N/

N/

N/

N/

1.0

1.0

N/A

Planned

10.4/10.5

A

A

A

A

PowerPC

Mac OS

N/

N/

N/

N/

1.0, 2.0


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1.0,

N/A

Planned

10.4/10.5

A

A

A

A

2.0

Intel

Linux x86

N/

N/

N/

N/

Planned

N/A

Planned

Planned

A

A

A

A

Linux x86-64 N/

N/

N/

N/

Planned

N/A

Planned

Planned

A

A

A

A

Table2.1 Compatibility

Opera will be officially supported with future builds.

[Unofficially Silverlight

supports Opera already, via a hack.


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On Linux

, the functionality will be made available via the compatible third-

^

party Moonlight runtime.

Moonlight will be available for the major Linux [ distributions, with support for Firefox, Konqueror, and Opera browsers.

Silverlight for Mobile will be used to run Silverlight content on mobile devices. The first CTP for Windows Mobile 6 will be released

in 2nd Quarter of 2008. Nokia has announced plans to make Silverlight for Mobile available [for S60 on Symbian OS, as well as for

Series 40 devices and Nokia Internet tablets. Silverlight for Mobile will initially support Silverlight 1.0 content. Additional platforms

are being considered as well.

2.5. DEVELOPMENT TOOLS

Silverlight applications can be written in any .NET programming language. As such, any development tools which can be used

with .NET languages can work with Silverlight, provided they can target the Silverlight Core CLR for hosting the application, instead

of the .NET Framework CLR. Microsoft has positioned Microsoft Expression Blend versions 2.0 and 2.5 for designing the UI of

Silverlight 1.0 and 2 applications respectively. Visual Studio 2008 can be used to develop and debug Silverlight applications. To

create Silverlight projects and let the compiler target CoreCLR, Visual Studio 2008 requires the Silverlight Tools for Visual Studio

which is available as a beta release. [ A Silverlight project contains the Silverlight.js and CreateSilverlight.js files which initializes the

Silverlight plugin for use in HTML pages, a XAML file for the UI, and code-behind files for the application code. Silverlight

applications are debugged in a manner similar to ASP.NET applications. Visual Studio's CLR Remote Cross Platform Debugging

feature can be used to debug Silverlight applications running on a different platform as well

Building a Simple Silverlight Application

Let's start by taking a look at the Microsoft Expression Blend to create a very simple application in XAML for Silverlight. To create

a Silverlight application in Blend, select File -> New project and the New Project dialog box open. Fig.2.4 Creating a new Silverlight

project with Expression Blend Select OK and a new project will be created. This project will contain a default HTML page, some

JavaScript code-behind this page, a XAML document, a JavaScript code behind for the XAML document and Silverlight.js.

Silverlight.js contains the code for downloading and instantiating the Silverlight control. This is provided to you as part of the

Silverlight SDK. Default.html is a standard HTML Web page. This contains three JavaScript script references, pointing to

Silverlight.js, Default.html.js (which contains the application specific code for instantiating Silverlight), and Scene.xaml.js (which


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contains the event handlers for application events defined in the XAML).

This is designed to separate the page (default.html), from the instantiation logic (default.html.js), and the design (Scene.xaml), and the

event code (Scene.xaml.js). But, enough with the theory, lets get down to developing a simple application Using Visual Studio

You can create Silverlight-based applications using Visual Studio 2008. (Silverlight support for Visual Studio 2008 is available as a

plug-in for the IDE.) Visual Studio provides the same tools for Silverlight, such as powerful editors, project management, debugging,

and so on, that it already provides for creating applications with the .NET Framework Fig2.5 Visual Studio2.6. DEPLOYMENT AND PACKAGING

Content for a Web page that contains Silverlight elements can be created by using the following tactics:

Inline XAML and JavaScript.

External XAML files and JavaScript files.

Compressed content package (available after the December 2006 CTP) that

contains XAML, managed code, images, fonts, and media. Streaming mediasources can be referenced from the XAML media

elements.

Fig 2.6 Silverlight packaging (after Feb 2007 CTP) We believe that the flexibility of application packaging and the consistency of the

application architecture with Web standards and operations will create many opportunities for improving the impact and effectiveness

of Web applications, making applications more scalable, fault-tolerant, and dynamic (they can change their markup on the fly), and

making content more discoverable. Web pages that require Silverlight can detect if the Silverlight plug-in is installed, and can direct

users to download it and install it (either through a redirect or through an object tag). The Silverlight SDK has documentation on that.

2.7. SCENARIOS FOR USING SILVERLIGHT

Silverlight is perfect for the following Web application scenarios that encompass many real-world scenarios:

Web media Branded playback with events, video and marketing mix,

dynamic videos with ads, audio playback, and so forth Rich islands on a page (mini apps) Casual games and gadgets

Web visualization elements Navigation properties, data visualization, and


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ads

Silverlight is designed for Web page content that is connected to its host (it will not work offline), that deeply engages the user, and

that can render on any browser.

3. CONCLUSIONS

3.1 CRITICISM

Silverlight has been criticized for keeping Linux out of their official offering. Even though Microsoft is officially collaborating on the

Moonlight project, Bruce Chizen, former CEO of Adobe, and maker of direct competitor Flash, has questioned "the commitment of

Microsoft to keep the Silverlight platform compatible with other OS than Windows". His concerns are based on "examples from

history" where Microsoft has launched products with promises of ongoing cross-platform compatibility that no longer apply, such as

Internet Explorer for UNIX, the Microsoft. Java Virtual Machine, OS/2, and Windows Media Player

3.2 MOONLIGHT

Moonlight is an upcoming free and open-source implementation of the Microsoft Silverlight runtime. It is currently being developed

by the Mono Project.Silverlight 1.0 was released on September 5, 2007.it is developed so as to include the features of Microsoft

Silverlight in Linux based systems. Moonlight is also usable outside of the browser as a Gtk+ widget. A number of Desklets were

written using this new technology during the Novell Hack-week.

3.3 CONCLUSIONS

This report provides a high-level overview of the Silverlight architecture and how it fits into the Microsoft offering for

building next-generation Web applications. Silverlight is part of a larger revolution of the ways applications are designed, built, and

delivered. With markup-based UI and flexible programming models, businesses will be able to offer better experiences on the

right form factor for their customers.

4. REFERENCES

http://www.microsoft.com/SILVERLIGHT/

http://silverlight.net/

http://www.nsaneblog.com/software/260/microsoft-silverlight-review/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silverlight

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moonlight

http://msdn.microsoft.com/enus/library/bb404713(VS.95).aspx

http://www.wynapse.com/Silverlight.aspx

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