Beginning Silverlight 3 (eBook)

Robert Lair is the president and chief executive officer of Intensity Software, Inc. and has been working with Microsoft .NET technologies since prior to its initial release in 2000. Among his accomplishments, Robert was on the team that created the original ASP.NET sample application IBuySpy, used to demonstrate the power of ASP.NET. Robert is an active speaker and writer in the development community.

Title Page 1
Copyright Page 2
Dedication Page 3
Contents at a Glance 4
Table of Contents 5
About the Author 12
About the Technical Reviewer 13
Acknowledgments 14
CHAPTER 1 Welcome to Silverlight 3 15
The Evolution of the User Interface 15
Rich Internet Application Solutions 17
What Is Silverlight? 17
Benefits of Silverlight 18
Cross-Platform/Cross-Browser Support 19
Cross-Platform Version of the .NET Framework 19
XAML, a Text-Based Markup Language 19
Use of Familiar Technologies 20
Small Runtime and Simple Deployment 20
The Silverlight Development Environment 22
New Features in Silverlight 3 24
Improved Performance 25
Summary 25
CHAPTER 2 Introduction to Visual Studio 2008 26
What Is Visual Studio? 26
What’s New in Visual Studio 2008? 27
JavaScript IntelliSense and Debugging 27
IntelliSense Improvements 27
New Debugging Features 31
Try It Out: JavaScript IntelliSense and Debugging 33
Multi-Targeting Support 41
Transparent IntelliSense Mode 43
Building Your First Silverlight Application in Visual Studio 44
Try It Out: Hello World in Silverlight 3 44
Hosting Your Silverlight Application: Web Site or Web Application? 49
Using a Visual Studio Web Site 49
Using a Visual Studio Web Application Project 49
Summary 50
CHAPTER 3 Layout Management in Silverlight 3 51
Layout Management 51
The Canvas Panel 52
Try It Out: Using the Canvas Panel 53
Filling the Entire Browser Window with Your Application 56
The StackPanel Control 57
Try It Out: Using the StackPanel Control 57
Try It Out: Nesting StackPanel Controls 59
The Grid Control 61
Try It Out: Using the Grid Control 61
Try It Out: Nesting a Grid and Spanning a Column 64
The WrapPanel Control 67
Try It Out: Using the WrapPanel Control 68
The DockPanel Control 71
Try It Out: Using the DockPanel Control 72
Summary 75
CHAPTER 4 Silverlight 3 Controls 76
Setting Control Properties 76
Attribute Syntax 76
Element Syntax 77
Type-Converter-Enabled Attributes 77
Attached Properties 77
Nesting Controls Within Controls 78
Handling Events in Silverlight 79
Try It Out: Declaring an Event in XAML 79
Try It Out: Declaring an Event Handler in Managed Code 83
The Border Control 87
User Input Controls 91
Try It Out: Working with the TextBox Control 91
Try It Out: Working with the RadioButton and CheckBox Controls 95
Extended Controls 98
Adding an Extended Control 98
Try It Out: Using the GridSplitter 99
AutoCompleteBox 101
ViewBox 103
Modal Windows 104
Try It Out: Using the Modal Child Window 106
Summary 114
CHAPTER 5 Data Binding and Silverlight List Controls 115
Data Binding 115
The Binding Class 116
Try It Out: Simple Data Binding in Silverlight 116
Element to Element Binding 124
Try It Out: Element to Element Binding 124
The DataGrid Control 126
Try It Out: Building a Simple DataGrid 127
The Columns Collection 132
DataGridTextColumn 133
DataGridCheckBoxColumn 133
DataGridTemplateColumn 134
Try It Out: Building a DataGrid with Custom Columns 134
The ListBox Control 140
Default and Custom ListBox Items 141
Try It Out: Building a ListBox with Custom Content 143
Summary 145
CHAPTER 6 Data Access and Networking 146
Data Access in Silverlight Applications 146
Accessing Data Through Web Services 147
Try It Out: Accessing Data Through a WCF Service 147
Accessing Services from Other Domains 158
Accessing Data Through Sockets 159
Summary 161
CHAPTER 7 Navigation Framework 162
Frame and Page Object 162
Try It Out: Creating a Silverlight Navigation Application 162
Benefits of the Navigation Framework 173
Deep Linking 173
The NavigationService Object 174
Try it Out: Using the NavigationService Object 175
Passing Data to Navigation Pages 177
Try it Out: Passing Data to Navigation Pages 178
Uri Mapping 181
Try it Out: Uri Mapping and the Navigation Framework 182
Silverlight Navigation Application Template 184
Try it Out: Using the Silverlight Navigation Application Template 184
Using Multiple Frames 188
Try it Out: Using Multiple Frames 189
Summary 191
CHAPTER 8 Local Storage in Silverlight 192
Working with Isolated Storage 192
Using the Isolated Storage API 192
IsolatedStorageFile 193
IsolatedStorageFileStream 193
IsolatedStorageSettings 193
Try It Out: Creating a File Explorer for Isolated Storage 195
Creating the Application Layout 196
Coding the File Explorer 206
Testing the File Explorer 215
Managing Isolated Storage 216
Viewing and Clearing Isolated Storage 216
Try It Out: Increasing the Isolated Storage Quota 218
Summary 221
CHAPTER 9 Introduction to Expression Blend 222
Key Features in Expression Blend 222
Visual XAML Editor 223
Visual Studio 2008 Integration 223
Split-View Mode 223
Visual State Manager and Template Editing Support 224
World-Class Timeline 224
Try It Out: Working with Projects in Expression Blend 225
Exploring the Workspace 230
Toolbox 230
Project Panel 232
Properties Panel 232
Objects and Timeline Panel 234
Laying Out an Application with Expression Blend 234
Working with the Grid Control in Expression Blend 234
Try It Out: Editing a Layout Grid with Expression Blend 234
Summary 242
CHAPTER 10 Styling in Silverlight 243
Inline Properties 243
Try It Out: Setting Inline Properties with Visual Studio 243
Try It Out: Setting Inline Properties with Expression Blend 251
Silverlight Styles 259
Try It Out: Using Styles As Static Resources 261
Defining Styles at the Application Level 267
Merged Resource Dictionaries 269
Silverlight Style Hierarchy 270
Inheriting Styles Using BasedOn 272
Summary 273
CHAPTER 11 Transformations and Animation 274
Introduction to Silverlight Animation 274
Silverlight Storyboards 275
Types of Animation in Silverlight 276
Programmatically Controlling Animations 278
Using Expression Blend to Create Animations 280
Viewing a Storyboard in the Expression Blend Timeline 280
Try It Out: Creating an Animation with Expression Blend 281
Creating Transformations in Silverlight 289
Transformation Types 290
ScaleTransform 290
SkewTransform 291
RotateTransform 291
TranslateTransform 291
Try It Out: Using Expression Blend to Transform Silverlight Objects 292
Summary 295
CHAPTER 12 Custom Controls 296
When to Write Custom Controls 296
Silverlight Control Toolkit 297
Silverlight Control Model 298
Parts and States Model 298
Dependency Properties 299
Creating Custom Controls in Silverlight 300
Implementing Custom Functionality 300
Try It Out: Building a Custom Control 301
Setting Up the Control Project 301
Defining Properties and States 303
Defining the Control’s Appearance 306
Handling Control Events 311
Compiling and Testing the Control 315
Summary 316
CHAPTER 13 Deployment 317
Deploying Silverlight Applications 317
XAP Files 317
Hosting Silverlight Content 317
Assembly Caching 318
Try It Out: Exploring Assembly Caching 319
Out of Browser Support 323
Customizing the Install Application Dialog 325
Out of Browser API 326
Removing Installed Applications 328
Summary 328
Index 329