Microsoft Silverlight Books

It's all about the sample code

I'm coming in late to laud this remarkable book. I wanted, however, to emphasize what makes this book so remarkable. It comes down to the code samples.

Many tech books treat code samples almost as an afterthought. In Jeff Paries' book, it is front and center. All the sample projects -- it is embarrassing even to have to say this -- actually _work_!

The sample projects are also well designed -- each demonstrates a particular feature of Silverlight that Mr. Paries wants to highlight. The text of the book then elucidates the aspect of Silverlight that is being featured.

You will notice that even Bob Vignato's lowball review is all about the code samples -- in this case his difficulties in accessing them.

This is all to say that the successful execution of Jeff Paries' book brings to the fore something that has been a source of shame for the technical publishing world for quite a while. Simply put, the code should work! I can certainly put up with technical authors who can't spell or can't form a decent metaphor. They are, after all, coders first and writers second. What I find difficult to abide is technical authors who cannot -- or do not -- make sure that the code they provide with a book, first, works, and second, is useful.

This is surely not too much to ask.

The code that accompanies this wonderful book by Jeff Paries not only works and enlightens -- it also delights with clever and interesting animations one feels compelled to play with and modify. My six year old on occassion asks me to bring up particular code examples from this book that she enjoyed. What greater recommendation can a book receive?




James Ashley
14 September, 2009

Make the code download easier....

This book is great but you need the code to really understand whats going on... The site that has the code makes you enter a password to get it and you have to beg the author, or someone else thats not very nice. 50/50 on this book.

Robert A. Vignato Jr.
14 May, 2009

The best book on Silverlight Animation (and more) I've Seen

I have an iron-clad rule that I do not evaluate technical books; I don't think it is fair to the other authors as sooner or later we'll write competing books and I doubt my own objectivity.

I violate this rule about once a year when someone writes such a truly terrific book it stands as an object lesson in what technical writing should be. Two that come to mind immediately are Presentation Zen by Garr Reynolds and Programming Windows Presentation Foundation by Chris Sells and Ian Griffiths. The newest addition to my pantheon of great technical writing -- books that transcend the subject matter and yet have enormous practical value -- is Foundation Silverlight Animation by Jeff Paries.

There is much to say about why this is a truly canonical book; but begin with the fact that I found myself learning something useful on every page. There was nothing I wanted to skip; no fluff, no wasted time, no throw away words. Blaise Pascal is said to have ended one correspondence with "The present letter is a very long one, simply because I had no leisure to make it shorter." He, like Paries understood that great writing does not waste words, but like all great technical writers, neither does Jeff leave you wondering, confused or lost.

A second very strong factor in this book is Paries' commitment to going beyond the material you can find in the documentation, and even the material you can dig up on various web sites, to advanced material you would not, initially have thought yourself capable of, or in need of, and then demonstrating both the benefits and the ease with which you can conquer the material. This is especially true in his sections on creating animation procedurally (in code, as opposed to declaratively in Xaml).

My complaints about his book are the same as about my own: the code could be set off a bit more and line numbering would be terrific, but since I have the same problem I can't say more than that it would be nice.

Key to the success of this book is that it is obvious the author spent as much time thinking through how to present the material and who his potential audience is, as he did writing it. This is an extremely well organized, well written and valuable book that I find I keep close at hand.

Jesse Liberty
Senior Program Manager
"Silverlight Geek"
Microsoft

[These opinions are mine alone, and do not necessarily represent those of Microsoft, O'Reilly or any other organizaiton. I have met Jeff though we are neither personal friends nor have we ever worked together, though I hope we will do so soon. In any case, my admiration for this book was formed well before I met the author]

Jesse Liberty
27 April, 2009

Another Silverlight "Must Have"

With over 200 programming projects and step-by-step tutorial-style writing, this is a fantastic book if you're wanting to do animation in Silverlight.

As the other reviewers have noted, Jeff doesn't scrimp on the topics, yet even the difficult concepts are presented in a very readable and usable format.

As someone who writes and speaks about Silverlight, this book is on my short list of books you need to have and read if you're going to seriously develop in Silverlight.

You will NOT be disappointed, kudos Jeff!

D. Campbell
26 February, 2009

Big thumbs up

This book is easily worth ten times the money. I haven't seen a better book about animation in silverlight yet. Great job on kinematics - if there's ever gonna be a follow up on SL3 I'm definitely getting it.

Maciej Misztal
17 February, 2009

Silverlight taught right

I have now purchased four books while trying to master Silverlight. Animation is the part of Silverlight that needs a book of its own to show just how well it can perform on screen. Silverlight is not just WPF in web format. And this is the book that can do an excellent job of telling how to design these amazing displays.

The book is divided into three sections: Getting Started in Silverlight, Basic Animations, and Advanced Animation. In Getting Started the basic tools and layout terms for Silverlight are described. Basic Animations introduces the animation process and covers a wide range of animation types. This book has the best discussion of Storyboards that I have read. Now I understand how to use them and how to attach the four basic animation properties. Next Keyframes are introduced and how to use Visual Studio and Expression Blend to apply Keyframes in Silverlight. The core material on animation is reserved for the last section. Animation technology is introduced that will teach the reader to use trigonometry, coordinated, 3D simulation, simulation of physical systems and imaginary custom objects. I could even say that everything you need to know about Silverlight animation is contained in this book. I have answers to all the remaining questions from the other three Silverlight books that I purchased.

Downloading and running the book's software allows one to see exactly what the examples in the book accomplish and allow experimentation to produce mastery of animation. Once you see how the XAML and codebehind are relate together to produce the animations, you can use Expression Blend or Visual Studio to produce the same effects.

My best reviews are reserved for books that teach the material well and completely. This is the best of the books on Silverlight that I've purchased. It rates five stars in my world.

Robin T. Wernick
16 February, 2009

if you want to be master of silverlight, BEST BOOK FOR YOU.

if you done begining and want to improve about profesional animation, you must buy this book. Exemplary, to make your own game or you want to profesional async application it's best choise.

sorry my english.

Murat Cabuk
06 February, 2009

Love this book - perfect

This is a very unique book. It provides exactly what you're looking for -- animation in Silverlight -- and does not waste a lot of time with other unrelated (or barely related) topics.

The descriptions of how it works and WHY to do something a certain way are priceless.

I had several "Oh, now I get it" reactions over the course of reading this book. It also makes me feel great about using Silverlight vs. Flash, especially because of time-based animations vs. frame-based.

Speednet
18 January, 2009

On Heck Of a Great Book!

I don't normally write reviews but couldn't resist in this case. As a Microsoft Developer Evangelist I spend my days teaching others new technologies and am always on the look out for books to suggest for my attendees. Without a doubt this book is at the top of my Silverlight list.

Not only is the author's writing clear and concise but it has the one quality I look for most in a book -- practicality. This is a book filled with content that people can apply immediately to make their work easier/better/more appealing. Great work!! :)

Zain Naboulsi Jr.
22 December, 2008

A patient and complete explanation

I am a programmer with little artistic ability so I approached this book with the desire to know how to properly make things move in Silverlight. I was happy to find in the opening chapters that the author did not assume that you had any prior understanding of animation or its principals. The book even takes the time to explain how to use Blend and Visual Studio before launching into the basics around page 35.

Basically the book consists of a large number of examples that demonstrate practically every conceivable aspect of animation. The examples are covered in depth but they are succinct. You basically download the code from the website and follow along as the author details the principals the example is intended to illustrate. The chapter that shows how to make a spaceship move around the screen and fire a missile is worth the price of the book alone.

The author really goes to great length to "not lose anyone". After explaining a concept, the book usually contains a statement like "now this may be confusing to you..." followed by another explanation of the same concept from a different perspective.

The book does not bypass the advanced stuff, halfway through the book you encounter "Using Trigonometry For Animation". Luckily the first heading is titled "What is trigonometry?". This is followed by patient explanations of using trigonometry to rotate a spaceship. The following chapters detail simulating 3D in 2D but the most useful chapter for myself will be the chapter on detecting collisions. The preceding chapter on trigonometry allows for better understanding of the complex principals.

The book also delves into Kinematics (the stuff you need to know how to do to properly simulate a person walking). Again, never assuming the reader has ever heard the word, the author starts the chapter by asking you to stand on one leg and hold your other leg in front of you. Examples such as these allow you to keep reading rather than feeling as if it will all be over your head. The book closes out with chapters on Particle Systems and displaying Virtual Reality objects. I had created an adaption of the authors earlier VR example a year ago that was written in Silverlight 1.0 and posted on his website. At the time I didn't fully understand all the mathematical formulas. Now he explains exactly what the formulas do.

Overall the book is very accessible to the beginner and non programmer. You can read it cover to cover as a narrative or use it as a easy to navigate reference manual. This book will remain in arms reach on my bookshelf.

M. Washington
08 November, 2008

Very Good Animation Book

I highly recommend Jeff's Animation book. This books starts with the basics of animation in Silverlight and ends with some fairly complex animations.

This book looks like it was printed on recycled paper and there is no color; however, the animation material and the 130 meg of downloadable examples are all excellent for learning Silverlight animation basics and advanced techniques.

The book is very clearly written and easy to understand.

Note:
Expression Blend 2 sp1 has a number of bugs which can be very frustrating for beginners (like me). I was able to look at the XAML being generated by Blend to understand how to work around the bugs.

David Roh

David Roh
04 November, 2008