Pro Silverlight 4 in C# [Paperback]

Matthew MacDonald (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1430229799 | ISBN-13: 978-1430229797 | Publication Date: November 9, 2010 | Edition: 3

Silverlight 4 is Microsoft's cross-browser technology for creating rich user experiences on the Web. Like its predecessor, Silverlight 3, it rides atop the .NET framework for maximum ease of use and coding efficiency. The new technology carries forward much of the work that has been done before and augments it in many important respects, including support for H.264 video, major improvements to the graphics engine (including true 3D rendering), and much richer data-binding options for interfacing with other applications.

Pro Silverlight 4 in C# is an invaluable reference for professional developers wanting to discover the features of Silverlight 4. Author Matthew MacDonald's expert advice guides you through creating rich media applications using Silverlight in the environment you're most productive in—no matter what the target platform.

As you learn about the features that put Silverlight in direct competition with Adobe Flash, such as rich support for 2D and 3D drawing, animations, and media playback, 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. Matthew MacDonald provides a comprehensive tutorial written from professional developer to professional developer, complete with full-color graphics and screenshots.

What you’ll learn

• Develop rich media applications using Silverlight across browsers and platforms.
• Create a project, set up a layout, and use controls.
• Handle both 2D and 3D drawing, animation, and media playback through Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF).
• Integrate web services support.
• Use Silverlight in conjunction with ASP.NET and its interactions with HTML.

Who this book is for

.NET developers encountering Silverlight for the first time. No prior knowledge of WPF or ASP.NET is assumed.

Table of Contents

1. Introducing Silverlight
2. XAML
3. Layout
4. Dependency Properties and Routed Events
5. Elements
6. The Application Model
7. Navigation
8. Shapes and Geometries
9. Brushes, Transforms, and Bitmaps
10. Animation
11. Sound, Video, and Deep Zoom
12. Styles and Behaviors
13. Templates and Custom Controls
14. Browser Integration
15. ASP.NET Web Services
16. Data Binding
17. Data Controls
18. File Access
19. Multithreading
20. Networking
21. Out-of-Browser Applications

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Matthew MacDonald is an author, educator, and MCSD developer who has a passion for emerging technologies. He is a regular writer for developer journals such as Inside Visual Basic, ASPToday, and Hardcore Visual Studio .NET, and he's the author of several books about programming with .NET, including User Interfaces in VB .NET: Windows Forms and Custom Controls, The Book of VB .NET, and .NET Distributed Applications. In a dimly- remembered past life, he studied English literature and theoretical physics. Send e-mail with praise, condemnation, and everything in between, to [e-mail].

Product Details

• Paperback: 912 pages
• Publisher: Apress; 3 edition (November 9, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1430229799
• ISBN-13: 978-1430229797
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #180,071 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply the Best SL 4 Book Available, December 4, 2010

By 

T. Anderson (PA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pro Silverlight 4 in C# (Paperback)

This book is by far the best resource for Silverlight 4.0. In this version the author added a whopping 273 pages to the last edition. He added chapters on File Access and Out-of-Browser Applications. There is also a new section on commands..

I have bought 3 other books on Silverlight 4, and put together they only contain about 1/8 of the value of this book (you can see which ones they are by Googling ".NET Architecture and Development Book Recommendations 2010 End of Year" and checking out the Shiny Turds Books that do not Cut the Mustard section of the post).

One other Silverlight 4 book that is worth getting is Silverlight 4 in Action

It starts out with an introduction that covers the Visual Studio Silverlight environment. He then gives a short introduction to XAML. The introductions really help those who have no experience get rolling right away.

The author covers every out of the box element in detail (including the DataGrid control and a little on the DataForm control), and includes a nice reference for where the element can be found in the book. He also covers styles and templates, brushes and transforms, shapes and geometries, animation, and layout containers.

The book covers out-of-browser applications, assembly caching, networking, multithreading, isolated storage, browser integration, media and deep zoom, wcf services, the application model, file access, commands, and dependency properties and routed events.

One of the things I like best about the book is it includes a lot of references and material on the Silverlight Toolkit.

The book is very readable for those that like to read cover to cover, but it also makes a great reference.

The downloadable code is very usable and very complete.

This is a must have book for any developer working with Silverlight 4.0.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, Kindle Version Index SUCKS, June 16, 2011

By 

M. Lockhart "Jack of all trades, master of none." (Utah) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pro Silverlight 4 in C# (Kindle Edition)

This is very good book for learning or sharpening your Silverlight skills. Other reviews have made this point, so I won't bother to elaborate further.

The BIG drawback of the Kindle version is the index. If you're like me, I use the index a lot. The Kindle version's index still uses page numbers with no active link to the indexed location. This is totally useless on a Kindle. It is extremely frustrating since the index doesn't even give you a chapter/section hint, let alone a location number that you could plug into the Kindle to take you to the referenced material. It makes the Kindle version much less useful than the bound version.

So you need to weigh the convenience of having it on your Kindle/iPad/etc. against the frustration of trying to make sense out of the useless index. For this reason I give it 3 stars instead of the 5 I'd give the bound version.

Publishers need to address this problem if they want to sell eBook versions of their technical books. Until this problem is addressed I will probably not buy anymore technical eBooks.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for beginners and experienced developers alike!, December 7, 2010

By 

Carl Barton - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pro Silverlight 4 in C# (Paperback)

Although I have many years of development experience, I have had limited exposure to the development of web-based applications. My expertise has been in thick-client development and more recently mobile devices. With the upcoming Windows Phone 7 release and its use of Silverlight I decided it was time to expand my horizons.

Don't let a book that is almost 900 pages and has Pro in the title scare you if you are like me. I found this book struck the perfect balance for people just starting out as well as those who may be more experienced in older versions of Silverlight. The author made it a point to highlight any feature that is new to 4.0 which I would think to be very helpful for the latter group.

The author starts by providing an overview of Silverlight and the tools that are used to build applications then gives you a quick taste of creating a simple application and getting it running. The following chapters give the reader a good foundation of UI construction and eventing without going into so much detail as to overwhelm the novice or frustrate the expert. With a good foundation built, the book dives into elements and the application model, navigation, animation then on to more advanced topics such as user controls and multitasking.

One refreshing aspect of the experience was the sample code which was easily downloaded and actually worked. Too often I have had to struggle just to get samples working in the past but not so with this book.

Apress has become my go-to publisher for my technical books over the past couple years. I have a pretty good collection going and I have found each of them to be well organized, well written, and their Companion eBook feature for $10 each allows me to take my collection on the road with me.

In summary, I can recommend this book for anyone interested in developing in Silverlight 4 regardless of their current level of experience. Quality book, eBook option, working sample source, make this one a winner.