Essential Silverlight 3

“The book you are holding contains the keys to writing great Silverlight 3 applications. Use them well!” –From the Foreword by Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president, Microsoft Developer Division   Microsoft Silverlight is a leading cross-platform, Rich Internet Application (RIA) technology that allows you to create more compelling and interactive Web experiences than are possible with simple HTML browser pages. Silverlight 3 includes significant improvements over previous versions, including “out-of-browser” operation, H.264 video, 3D graphics, and real-time effects.   Essential Silverlight 3 is the definitive reference and insider’s guide. It not only covers all the key features of the Silverlight 3 runtime and how to use them but, in Under the Hood sections, explains why each feature was developed and how each one works. These “insider” explanations often lead to concise, practical performance tips that can help you speed up your own Silverlight applications.   Author Ashraf Michail is uniquely qualified to explain Silverlight 3. He is a Microsoft Silverlight architect who has guided Silverlight from its beginnings through the current version. In this book, he shows how to  Integrate the principles and components of a Silverlight application, including XAP, XAML, and .NET code Use Silverlight vector graphics, bitmap images, and animation Display predictable and readable text across platforms and animate text elements Obtain mouse and keyboard input, including mouse wheel events Implement smooth animations to improve your user interface and make your application more pleasing to the user Use the Canvas, StackPanel, Grid, and Border elements to lay out your application and define custom layout elements Play high-quality, live, and on-demand video and audio Customize the built-in and toolkit controls and develop new custom Silverlight controls Connect to and synchronize with data using Silverlight Data Binding Use built-in real-time effects and define custom HLSL pixel shaders Enable GPU-accelerated rendering  If you are a developer who is getting started with Silverlight or an expert Silverlight developer who is interested in understanding the inner workings of the Silverlight runtime, this book is for you.

Table of Contents:
Figures xvii Foreword xxiii Preface xxv Acknowledgments xxix About the Author xxxi   Chapter 1: Silverlight Overview 1 Silverlight Principles 3 Silverlight Features 6 Under the Hood 9 Where Are We? 10   Chapter 2: Applications 11 Application Principles 11 Creating an Application in Visual Studio 14 Application Components 15 Under the Hood 32 Where Are We? 39   Chapter 3: Graphics 41 Graphics Principles 41 Graphics Elements 48 Under the Hood 81 Where Are We? 96   Chapter 4: Text 97 Text Principles 98 Text Elements 99 Under the Hood 110 Where Are We? 113   Chapter 5: Input Events 115 Input Principles 115 Input Events 118 Under the Hood 128 Where Are We? 130   Chapter 6: Animation 131 Animation Principles 132 Animation Elements 136 Under the Hood 147 Where Are We? 152   Chapter 7: Layout 153 Layout Principles 153 Layout Elements 158 Under the Hood 174 Where Are We? 176   Chapter 8: Media 177 Media Principles 178 Media Elements 180 Under the Hood 190 Where Are We? 193   Chapter 9: Controls 195 Control Principles 196 Control Elements 198 Under the Hood 209 Where Are We? 211   Chapter 10: Data Binding 213 Data Binding Principles 213 Data Binding Objects 215 Under the Hood 229 Where Are We? 231   Chapter 11: Effects 233 Effect Principles 233 Effect Elements 234 Under the Hood 248 Where Are We? 250   Chapter 12: GPU Acceleration 251 GPU Acceleration Principles 251 GPU Acceleration Features 253 Under the Hood 263 Where Are We? 265   Index 267