What is Silverlight
Here are some extracts of definitions and core features to get started on Silverlight.
Features
(Extracts from official documentation)
- Fast, Cost effective delivery of high quality audio and video to all major browsers and platforms
- In the Silverlight model, designers can build their desired user experience and express this as XAML.
- At the heart of Silverlight is the browser-enhancement module that renders XAML and draws the resulting graphics on the browser surface. It is a small download (under 2 MB) that can be installed when the user hits the site containing the Silverlight content.
The Official Definition
As per MSDN,
“Microsoft Silverlight is a cross-browser, cross-platform plug-in for delivering the next generation of .NET based media experiences and rich interactive applications for the Web.
Silverlight offers a flexible programming model that supports AJAX, VB, C#, Python, Ruby, and integrates with existing Web applications. Silverlight also supports fast, cost-effective delivery of high-quality video to all major browsers running on Mac OS or Windows.”
How can I start developing on Silverlight
Silverlight applications can be created using Visual Studio 2008 and Expression Blend.
The Important Links section contains a great resource on various combinations of Developer tools, Designer tools and SDKs.
Important Links
Start here to learn Silverlight - Tutorials, Book Chapers, Blogs and more
Official Silverlight Website
Silverlight on MSDN
Getting Started with Silverlight
Silverlight Architecture Overview
Tools ***