With the need for a richer user experience ever more in focus when creating web applications, Microsoft has released Silverlight, the new cross–browser, cross–platform plug–in that allows developers to create rich interactive applications for the Web.

Silverlight poses exciting new opportunities for creating visually impressive web applications, offering unparalleled response times and minimal bandwidth requirements. Key differences in the new design tools present developers with new challenges, but author Robert Lair of IBuySpy notoriety (the original ASP.NET application) shows you how to get a firm handle on Silverlight so you can start creating your own Silverlight web applications with exciting results.

Explore the best of the new tools and discover how they can benefit your own projects. Microsoft’s Expression Design tool plays an important part in creating Silverlight assets, Microsoft Expression Blend is used to build user interaction for Silverlight elements, and Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 manages the interaction between designers and developers and provides the coding environment for the “nuts and bolts” basis of Silverlight development. Prepare to take a grand tour of all these new tools and explore the fundamentals of building good Silverlight applications from scratch. Once you’ve mastered the basics, you’ll move on to a more in–depth discussion of some of the groundbreaking new features of the Silverlight technology and why they will change the way you build web sites of the future.
What you’ll learn

* The tools needed for Silverlight development, the role each plays, and how they interact to produce a seamless result
* The fundamental concepts and techniques that lie at the heart of every successful Silverlight application and how to apply them to your own projects
* The new features and coding practices that Silverlight offers you as a developer that sets it apart from other web–development tools

Who is this book for?

This book is for anyone with an interest in web development. A basic familiarity with web–development and simple C# coding is useful, but by no means a requirement. Everything you need to know to get started on Silverlight web application development is included. Although not a design-oriented text, Beginning Silverlight 2 approaches the topic by showing how applications are put together across the developer–designer divide, equipping you with the necessary know–how to work seamlessly with your design colleagues (or indeed perform both roles with the aid of a suitable design text).