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"We did what would normally take six months in eight days-with a team learning from scratch." -from Chapter 1 of Hacking Silverlight

Writing good code is hard enough using established, well-documented technologies; with something new like Silverlight, you need to think like a hacker. Hacking Silverlight is a unique tutorial that shows the reader how to build great Silverlight web applications fearlessly. Each chapter starts and ends with carefully annotated code examples that range from Silverlight basics to undocumented techniques you won't find anywhere else.

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This valuable reference—in full color—explains the major new release of Silverlight 3 which is dramatically improved over previous versions and makes the development of powerful Rich Interactive Applications (RIAs) achievable for everyone. Packed with examples and written by a highly-seasoned team of developers and designers, this book guides you through the languages, tools, and techniques that are used to build applications on the Silverlight 3 platform (Build 40522). Each chapter provides a mini-tutorial on the respective topic, and the examples serve to both educate and inspire you. The information in this book is structured to help prepare you for the real-world challenges you may face when building applications on the Silverlight platform. By the end of the book, you’ll have gained a thorough understanding of how Silverlight applications are architected, developed, and designed.

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The only real tool for developing cross-platform Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) for that last 11 years has been Flash; until now! Silverlight 2 allows you to develop cross-platform Rich Internet Applications in a fraction of the time because of the extensive and very powerful .NET 3.5 libraries, the powerful, design friendly Blend 3 Integrated Development Environment, and an enhanced workflow that allows designers and developers to work on the same set of files at the same time.

• Develop stunning RIAs in a short time.
• Learn some basic Object Oriented Programming Principles.
• Get familiar with the Blend 3 development environment.

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Silverlight 2 Lab presents a new approach to learning about Silverlight. Andrew Troelsen, author and .NET trainer, simulates the highly effective teaching and presentation techniques of a corporate training workshop in order to provide a deep treatment of Silverlight 2 in an accessible manner.

Each chapter begins with a focused “traditional treatment” in which the scope of the chapter and the topics that will be covered are discussed and the course of the training lab laid out. Then, once the stage has been set, the bulk of the chapter takes the form of a hands–on lab that walks you deeply through the topic in a highly experiential manner, with new techniques and ideas encountered and explained as you progress. For this reason, the book is targeted at experienced .NET developers who already possess a good knowledge of C# and an outline understanding of what Silverlight is. Starting at this level allows readers to dive deeply into the subject from the very beginning.

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Accelerated Silverlight 3 teaches you how to get up to speed with the latest version of Silverlight quickly and efficiently. The book assumes you're already comfortable with the basics of .NET coding and with WPF and builds on your existing knowledge to make your journey to Silverlight 3 proficiency as quick and painless as possible. Where coding techniques are similar to other, more established, areas of .NET, the text says so. Likewise, where there's a syntax or conceptual "gotcha" that you're existing coding habits will walk you into, the text points that out, too.

This book provides you with fast-track coverage of all the most important elements of the Silverlight 3 technology ranging from XAML to standard controls, from dealing with media to networking, from testing to deployment. It concludes with a pair of fully worked sample applications for you to follow through, because nothing reinforces your understanding of how concepts fit together as much as looking at finished code.

It is assumed that readers are already be comfortable with the workings of the .NET Framework. Knowledge of Expression Blend is useful, but not mandatory: you'll learn the Blend techniques that you need to know as you go through the book. By the end, you will have followed a sound, concise, path to mastery of Silverlight 3.

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Silverlight is a lightweight browser plug-in that frees your code from the traditional confines of the browser. It's a rules-changing, groundbreaking technology that allows you to run rich client applications right inside the browser. Even more impressively, it's able to host true .NET applications in non-Microsoft browsers (like Firefox) and on non-Microsoft platforms (like Mac OS X). Silverlight is still new and evolving fast, and you need a reliable guidebook to make sense of it.
Pro Silverlight 3 in VB, Second Edition is the perfect reference to ensure you are informed and up to date: you'll learn about the features that put Silverlight in direct competition with Adobe Flash, such as rich support for 2D drawing, animations, and media playback, and best of all, you'll experience the plumbing of .NET and the design model of WPF through Silverlight–all of the same .NET technology that developers use to design next-generation Windows applications. Author Matthew MacDonald provides an expertly crafted tutorial written from professional developer to professional developer. You'll learn to create rich media applications using Silverlight in the environment you’re most productive in–no matter what the target platform.

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Silverlight 3 Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach is your practical companion to developing rich, interactive web applications with Microsoft's latest technology. By tackling common problems, issues, and scenarios that on-the-job developers face every day and exposing code and a detailed discussion of the solution, you will quickly be able to integrate real-world, functioning code into your applications. You'll save hours of coding time.

The recipes included in Silverlight 3 Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach have been carefully selected and tested with the professional developer in mind. You'll find problems stated clearly and succinctly, well-architected solutions explored, and ample discussion of the code and context so you're immediately clear how the solution will support your project.

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Take a corporate training workshop with Andrew Troelsen, using the effective teaching and presentation techniques he imparts in Silverlight 3 Lab. Troelsen's tested methods provide a deep treatment of the subject in an accessible manner, using focused chapters that will challenge and elevate experienced .NET developers to a high level of competence in Silverlight 3.

Each chapter begins with a focused "traditional treatment" in which the scope of the chapter and the topics that will be covered are discussed and the course of the training lab laid out. Then, once the stage has been set, the bulk of the chapter takes the form of a hands-on lab that walks you deeply through the topic in a highly experiential manner, with new techniques and ideas encountered and explained as you progress. For this reason, the book is targeted at experienced .NET developers who already possess a good knowledge of C# and an outline understanding of what Silverlight is. Starting at this level allows you to dive deeply into the subject from the very beginning.

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About the Author

Rajesh Lal, has a decade of experience in Microsoft Web technologies, with special focus on the User Experience Design (UX) techniques that are crucial in a Rich Internet Application (RIA) development. He has worked on Silverlight since its first version, and has presented widely on Silverlight media solutions to clients like NBA, UFC, and Dish Online. Currently Senior UIX Engineer at Sony Electronics, his core areas of expertise include Microsoft .NET technologies using C#, ASP.NET and SQL Server, as well as Microsoft and industry-standard web technologies such as XAML, WPF, Silverlight, AJAX, DHTML, XML-HTTP, and CSS.

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Silverlight design tools have important differences compared to those used to create Ajax and JavaScript functionality. Robert Lair takes you on a tour of all the tools, including Microsoft Expression Design, which plays an important part in creating Silverlight assets; Microsoft Expression Blend, which is used to build user interaction for Silverlight elements; and Microsoft Visual Studio, which manages the interaction between designers and developers, providing the coding environment for "nuts and bolts" wiring.

Once you've mastered the basics, you'll move on to gaining a more in-depth knowledge of some of the groundbreaking new features of the Silverlight technology.

The growing popularity of Web 2.0 applications is increasing user expectations for high-quality web site design, presentation, and functionality. It is into this climate that Microsoft is releasing Silverlight 3, the third iteration of its cross-browser web presentation technology and the second to ride on top of the .NET platform. Beginning Sliverlight 3 brings you to the cutting-edge of Web 2.0 application design and includes plenty of practical guidance to get you started straightaway.

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