Silverlight 5 in Action [Paperback]

Pete Brown (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2, 2012

Summary

A thorough revision of the bestselling Silverlight 4 in Action. This comprehensive guide teaches Silverlight from the ground up, covering all the new v. 5 features in depth. You'll also explore WCF RIA Services, MVVM, and more—with dozens of code samples you can use in Visual Studio 2010 or the free Visual Web Developer 2010 Express.

About the Book

This hands-on guide explores Silverlight from the ground up, covering every feature in rich, practical detail. It is readable and the coverage is comprehensive. You'll master networking, MVVM, and more—with dozens of code samples you can use in Visual Studio or the free Visual Web Developer Express.

Silverlight 5 in Action teaches you how to build desktop-quality applications you can deploy on the web. Beginners will appreciate the progression from simple examples to full applications that employ good design and coding practices. Seasoned . NET developers will love how the sample code embraces and extends what they already know.

Purchase of the print book comes with an offer of a free PDF, ePub, and Kindle eBook from Manning. Also available is all code from the book.

What's Inside 2D and 3D graphics and animation Business application services, rules, and validation The MVVM pattern and testing Free appendixes (150 pages) available online

A background in C# or VB.NET is helpful, but no knowledge of Silverlight or XAML is required.

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Table of Contents

PART 1 CORE SILVERLIGHT

1. Introducing Silverlight
2. XAML and the property system
3. The application model and the plug-in
4. Working with HTML and browsers
5. Out-of-browser applications
6. The security model and elevated trust

PART 2 CREATING THE USER INTERFACE

7. Rendering, layout, and transforming
8. Panels
9. Human input
10. Text fundamentals
11. Editing plain and rich text
12. Control basics and UserControls
13. Animation and behaviors
14. Resources, styles, and control templates
15. Extensions, converters, custom controls, and panels

PART 3 WORKING WITH DATA AND SERVICES

16. Binding
17. Data controls: DataGrid and DataForm
18. Input validation
19. Networking basics
20. Working with SOAP services
21. RESTful services with the ASP.NET Web API
22. Working with XML, JSON, RSS, and Atom
23. Duplex, sockets, and local connections

PART 4 2D AND 3D GRAPHICS

24. Graphics and effects
25. Working with images
26. Introduction to 3D
27. 3D lighting, texturing, and animation

PART 5 MAKING THE MOST OF THE PLATFORM

28. Pop-ups, windows, and full-screen applications
29. Navigation
30. Working with files and directories
31. Printing
32. COM, Native Extensions, and p-invoke

PART 6 BEST PRACTICES

33. Structuring and testing with the MVVM pattern
34. Debugging your application
35. The install experience and preloaders

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Pete Brown is the Silverlight/WPF/XAML Community Program Manager with Microsoft, leading the Developer Community team. Before joining Microsoft, he was recognized as a Silverlight MVP, a popular INETA speaker, and successful RIA Architect focusing on Silverlight, WPF, and Windows Forms. You'll find Pete at 10rem.net or on Twitter at @pete_brown.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1000 pages
• Publisher: Manning Publications (June 2, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9781617290312
• ISBN-13: 978-1617290312
• ASIN: 1617290319
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 1.9 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #459,564 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Pete Brown is a XAML and Gadget guy at Microsoft, as well as a former Microsoft Silverlight MVP, INETA speaker, and RIA Architect. He's a father of two and husband to one.

When not trying to blow stuff up, or electrocute himself (or talk about himself in the third-person), Pete focuses on the community around code that has nothing to do with a browser (Windows 8 XAML, WPF, Silverlight, .NET Micro Framework, Robotics, and more), with a particular focus on XAML and things that blink in the night. Pete has written two successful Silverlight books with Manning, and has a Windows 8 XAML book on the way. It will be amazing, and your purchase will help him afford replacements for the stuff he has blown up in the course of research.

From his first sprite graphics and custom character sets on the Commodore 64 to 3d modeling and design through to Silverlight, Surface, XNA, WPF, WinRT and more, Pete has always had a deep interest in programming, design, and user experience. His involvement in Silverlight goes back to the Silverlight 1.1 alpha application that he co-wrote and put into production in July 2007, and his WPF experience predates that. Pete has been programming for fun since 1984, and professionally since 1992.

Pete's site and blog is at 10rem.net, and you can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pete_brown

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars the end all be all reference for Silverlight... June 20, 2012

By David J. Kelley

Format:Paperback

In the spirit of full disclosure, having known the author, and the publisher and being a Silverlight MVP I may be a bit biased, I'm also not paid regarding this book. However with that in mind I would argue that my opinion is that much more valid regarding this book.

This book is the most complete reference to date, it has lots of great examples and more importantly relevant samples especially with Silverlight moving forward as a LOB App platform I think any one that is doing Silverlight should have this book on their shelf. I do. the book as a good primer to get you up to speed if your new to Silverlight. The fact that Pete has been a Silverlight icon in the Silverlight world from its inception really comes through in his ability to produce great content and great reference material from new features in Silverlight 5 to topics that have been rehashed numerous times. The book really provides all the reference material broken out by topics in the order that you might need them especially for the LOB developers. Best practices and design patterns ie MVVM are covered and the book really is the end all be all of Silverlight reference books.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Just what I needed July 27, 2012

By Ken B. Pierce Jr.

Format:Paperback

I've read about a third of the book so far and it has been very helpful. The author uses the length of the book not as an encyclopedia but as an opportunity to explain. I think he does a very good job and anticipates potential stumbling blocks well. The format is nice. He keeps things relatively simple and sometimes provides deeper thoughts or "real-world" type notes in colored boxes for added insight. I especially like the MVVM chapter towards the end (yeah I've skipped around a bit). This is definitely my core go-to book for silverlight. If the author can provide a bridge to Win 8 of similar thought and caliber in his upcoming XAML in Action book, that will be a tremendously useful resource.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific book June 30, 2012

By L. Barnesson

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Silverlight 5 in Action is a great book that covers features in detail so that you can understand nuances that are otherwise not covered in other books.