Get Started
Are you a newbie and don't know where to start from? Here are some useful tips for
you. Please keep in mind that this tutorial covers Silverlight 2 Beta 1.
Runtime
To start wirh Silverlight first you have to install the Silverlight runtime. Download
Silverlight 2 Beta 1 Runtime Windows/Mac
Tools
If you want to begin playing with Silverlight you will need some tools.
Go here
and find out both development and design & content creation tools.
If you are a developer you will need
Visual Studio 2008. There is a free evaluation copy for Windows. Express
editions doesn't work with Silverlight for now. To create Silverlight applications
you will need to download the
Silverlight Tools Beta 1 for Visual Studio 2008. This will add the Silverlight
project templates. The
Silverlight 2 SDK Beta 1 is also included in the package. The SDK contains
documentation and samples along with Silverlight ASP.NET controls.
For the designers there is a
Microsoft Expression Studio - free evaluation version and also an Exrepssion
Studio 2 Beta version that works with Silverlight 2. The studio includes:
- Expression
Web for building standards-based Web sites.
-
Expression Design for professional illustration and graphic design.
- Expression
Blend for creating engaging Web-connected experiences for Microsoft Windows.
This special preview version is compatible with creating content for Silverlight
1.0 Release Candidate and Silverlight 1.1 Alpha.
-
Expression Blend 2.5 March 2008 Preview Build content that targets Silverlight
2 Beta 1 with the Expression Blend 2.5 March 2008 Preview.
- Expression
Media for assets management as well as media encoding. This version also includes
the Expression Encoder
tool for transcoding video content
Code Silverlight Applications
The best way to start coding Silverlight applications is to read the
available tutorials and wath the
"How Do I?" videos. There are
QuickStart topics in Silverlight.net to demonstrate how to create
Silverlight-based applications. For complete end-to-end learning series you should
check out the hands on labs
page.
Read this article to
find out most interesting and useful articles, resources, tool etc. For more specific
Silverlight 2 coding tutorials check these:
Calling services from Silverlight 2,
WCF Integration in Silverlight 2,
Configuring a Web Server to Host Silverlight Content,
Getting Started with Silverlight 2
Subscribe!
To stay tuned with the latest news and articles available subscribe to
our RSS feed. There is no better way to keep an eye on Silverlight.
External Sources of Information
Silverlight.net - Microsoft official Silverlight
community site
ScottGu's Blog - great tutorials and
source of breaking news
Tim Sneath - next best place for breaking
news and clarity of information
Jesse Liberty - The Silverlight
Developers best friend
John Lam - Dynamic Language Runtime
Jose Fajardo
- User Experience and Design
Andy Beaulieu - games and physics
Sparkling Client - a podcast about
Silverlight and other RIA technologies.
Adam Kinney's Blog - Microsoft Technical Evangelist
for Silverlight and WPF
|
