Essential Silverlight 2 Up-to-Date



Price: $3.45


Essential Silverlight 2 Up-to-Date (O\'Reilly Media, Inc.) - April 2008Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc. - April 29, 2008

ISBN-10: 0596519982, ISBN-13: 9780596519988

Author: Christian Wenz


212 pages


Essential Silverlight 2 Up-to-Date - book reviews: 8



Book Description
Now you can design rich Internet applications (RIAs) for the Web using Silverlight 2, the latest version of Microsoft's hot new runtime application -- without waiting for the official release. That's right. With Essential Silverlight 2 Up-to-Date, you not only get a concise, easy-to-understand introduction to Silverlight 2, but thorough coverage of the CTPs, betas, and RTM releases as they become available. Once you buy this Up-to-Date edition, you'll be able to download free PDFs of all the revisions to Silverlight -- pages that you can print and insert right into the book's unique binder format. Pre-printed updates will also be available for purchase. It combines the the speed of technology with convenience of a book. With Essential Silverlight 2 Up-to-Date, you learn to take advantage of Microsoft's cross-browser Silverlight plug-in with tools for animation, vector graphics, and video playback, as well as new .NET support for web services, networking and LINQ (language integrated query). This guide gives you complete step-by-step instructions for using everything Silverlight has to offer, along with: Clever ways to create interactive UIs that are more robust and easier to debug and test than what you can achieve on other platforms Scores of tested JavaScript and C# code examples that you can reuse in your own applications Expert guidance from an author who understands RIA technologies, including ASP.NET, Flash, PHP, and JavaScript

Ready to deliver a more complete Web experience? Now there's no reason to wait. Essential Silverlight 2 Up to Date offers a whole new world of possibilities.



Table of Contents Summary
Introducing Silverlight 2
Rich Internet Applications, RIA Technologies

Introducing WPF
Vectors, WPF, XAML

Getting Started with Silverlight 2
Setting Up a Silverlight Development System, A First Silverlight Example: Creating a Web Site, A Second Silverlight Example: Creating a Project

Introducing Silverlight Tools
XML Editors, Vector Graphics Editors, Silverlight IDEs

Declarative Silverlight
Introducing XAML, Using Text, Using Shapes, Positioning Elements, Using Images, Using Brushes

Handling User Interaction and Events
Events and Event Handlers, Mouse Events, Keyboard Events

Transforming and Animating Content
Transformations, Animations

Adding Sound and Video
Preparing Multimedia Data, MediaElement

Programming Silverlight with .NET
Adding Silverlight Content to ASP.NET 3.5 Applications, Embedding XAML, Embedding Media Content

Programming Silverlight with JavaScript
Accessing Silverlight Content with JavaScript, Accessing the Plug-in, Communicating with the Plug-in, Further Reading, Special Silverlight JavaScript APIs, Advanced JavaScript APIs, Dynamically Downloading Content, Using Additional Fonts, Silverlight JavaScript Reference


Most helpful customer reviews

Book rating: 2Reworked Silverlight 1.1 Book, Limited Info

I was very dissapointed with this book. I ordered it and got it "hot off the press", desperately seeking a good reference. This was not it.

This book was obviously a Silverlight 1.1 draft manual. It has almost nothing worthwhile regarding Silverlight 2. It also has almost nothing about databinding, one of the most important features.


M Scott St Cyr
26 August, 2008

Book rating: 1Junior League Silverlight book

This book format was terrible -- half of the book consists of blank 7x9 pages -- how do you print updates in that kind of punched hole paper -- it doesn't fit into my laser printer and I wouldn't even try to handfeed so many sheets. Index changes, table of contents changes. Topics are kid stuff, most web sites have more detail. I was very excited by the technology and very very disappointed with this book. It was a waste of money.

Silverbust
11 August, 2008

Book rating: 5Good Introductory Silverlight 2 Book

I don't think there's any pretense made about this book not being an introductory book, and as such, I think it does a great job from the ground up.

The add-in sections idea is a clever concept for a technology that's not fully baked yet. How do you get material out the to people clamoring for it on something that is still in beta release?

In my opinion, there's never too much introductory material because everyone learns different ways. There will be plenty of advanced books to go around I'm sure, as soon as Silverlight 2 is fully released. Until then, we're all playing a game of watching and waiting.

What better way to wait than to have something on-target now that will also be on-target later with the pages you either print or purchase and insert yourself.

What I do -- pull out the sections you're reading to take with you to avoid dragging a large book around -- I like it!

-Dave

D. Campbell
20 July, 2008

Book rating: 1Waste of time and money

This book is a total waste of time and money if you have done anything with Silverlight 1.0. Most of the content is about basics or JavaScript which is very likely NOT the reason why you are interested in Silverlight 2.0. Half of the book constists of blank pages ;-((

Sunchaser
06 June, 2008

Book rating: 4Not bad but I was hoping it would be more like a Nutshell book

Overall the book was good even though most of the material could easily be found on MSDN or the Silverlight sites, however, I still prefer having it in a book that I can put stickies in and write on. I had hoped it would be more of a reference book like the Nutshell books, maybe they will dedicate a substantial portion of the blank pages to that (hmmm, no reason someone other then the author couldn't write a quick reference and share it on the internet to be inserted into the book). The blank pages are of course the Up-to-date pages that you print updates to. I like the idea except it looks like it's a push model where they email you the link to download the updates, what if your email address changes? Another thing that needs changed is the studs that hold the binding together don't allow you to lay the book open, a notebook ring binder would have been nicer.

C. Holliday
01 June, 2008