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You can create Silverlight-based applications using skills that you already have and tools that you are already familiar with. This article describes various tools that you can use when developing applications for Silverlight 3.
This article contains the following sections:
Installing the Silverlight Tools for Visual Studio 2008
If you are new to Silverlight development, the quickest way to get started is to install Visual Studio 2008 or Visual Web Developer 2008 Express Edition, and then install the Silverlight Tools for Visual Studio 2008.
To install the Silverlight Tools for Visual Studio 2008
- Install Visual Studio 2008 or Visual Web Developer 2008 Express Edition. Be sure to install the latest service pack. Visual Web Developer can be downloaded for free.
- Install Silverlight Tools for Visual Studio 2008.
When you install the Silverlight Tools for Visual Studio 2008, a Silverlight project type is added to Visual Basic and Visual C#. The Silverlight project has a Silverlight Application template and a Silverlight Class Library template, as shown in the following illustration. Other Silverlight templates are also installed.
When you create a new Silverlight project, you will see many of the tools and windows that you are familiar with in Visual Studio. The following illustration shows an example of a Silverlight application opened in Visual Studio.
Silverlight Tools for Visual Studio 2008
Silverlight Tools for Visual Studio 2008 is an add-on for Visual Studio 2008 or Visual Web Developer 2008 Express Edition that provides several features for creating applications in Silverlight. When you install the Silverlight Tools for Visual Studio 2008, the following components are installed.
- Silverlight developer runtime
- Silverlight SDK
- Silverlight Tools
Unlike the Silverlight runtime installed by end users, the developer runtime installed with the Silverlight Tools for Visual Studio 2008 has error messages that can be helpful for debugging. For more information about error messages, see Debugging, Error Handling, and Exceptions.
Silverlight SDK
The Silverlight Software Development Kit (SDK) includes several components to help you create Silverlight-based applications. The Silverlight SDK is included in the Silverlight Tools for Visual Studio 2008 installation or you can install it separately. By default, the Silverlight SDK is installed in the %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft SDKs\Silverlight folder. The Silverlight SDK contains the following items.
- User License. The License document includes the terms for the Silverlight SDK.
- Breaking Changes Document. The Changes document lists changes since the release of Silverlight 2.
- Silverlight Libraries. The Silverlight SDK includes client and server libraries. The Silverlight libraries are not part of the Silverlight plug-in. The client libraries include Silverlight extensions and user controls. The server libraries include Silverlight server controls. For terms of use, review the Silverlight SDK User License. For a list of the controls included in the Silverlight SDK, see Controls by Function. For more information about using and deploying the libraries, see Application Structure.
- Tools. Includes reference assemblies, build components, and tools to build and package Silverlight-based applications.
 Designer SupportThe Silverlight Tools designer support is a subset of the features in the WPF Designer.
Supported Features
The following table lists the features that are supported in the Silverlight Tools for Silverlight projects.
| Feature |
Notes |
| Full XAML editing is supported. |
IntelliSense and XAML formatting is the same as in the WPF Designer's XAML editor, except that Silverlight types are targeted instead of WPF types. |
| Silverlight controls and corresponding icons are displayed in the Toolbox. |
Silverlight controls are displayed alphabetically in a tab on the Toolbox. |
| The Toolbox with drag-and-drop support for XAML view is supported. |
Useful for adding Silverlight controls from non-default XML namespaces. When a control is added, a reference and the XML namespace are added automatically. |
| The Document Outline window and tag navigator are available when editing XAML. |
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| Navigation features for interacting with the code are supported. |
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| Auto-update between XAML view and other WPF Designer components is supported. |
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| Errors are reported in the Error List window. |
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Unsupported Features
The following table lists the features that are not supported in the Silverlight Tools for Silverlight projects.
| Feature |
Notes |
| Design view is not supported. |
An interactive design surface is not supported. |
| A preview window is not supported. |
The tools for Silverlight 2 did include a read-only preview window. However, the tools for Silverlight 3 do not include a preview window. |
| The Properties window is not supported. |
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| Globalization features are not supported. |
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| Automatic resource reloading is not supported. |
Changes to resources that are contained in other files require a rebuild before they are visible in the loaded XAML. |
Other Silverlight Tools
As you do more Silverlight development, there are other tools that you might want to utilize. The following table lists some of these tools.
| Tool |
Description |
| Expression Blend |
Expression Blend is a tool for designers (and developers) to create graphics, design animations, and produce experiences. Expression Blend uses XAML and the same project system as Visual Studio. This allows designers and developers to share the same files and collaborate. |
| Deep Zoom Composer |
Deep Zoom Composer is a tool to prepare high-resolution images for use with the Deep Zoom feature. The new Deep Zoom technology in Silverlight allows users to perform smooth in-place zooming and panning. The Deep Zoom Composer allows the user to create Deep Zoom composition files that control the zooming experience and then export all the necessary files for deployment with Silverlight. For more information, see Deep Zoom. |
| Silverlight.js |
Silverlight.js is a JavaScript helper file that is provided in the Silverlight SDK. You can call functions defined in this file in order to initialize Silverlight plug-in instances on a Web page. Silverlight.js also contains utility functions for determining the client's installed version of the plug-in. For more information, see Silverlight.js Reference. |
| Silverlight.supportedUserAgent.js |
This optional JavaScript helper file includes the Silverlight.supportedUserAgent function, which determines if the user's browser supports Silverlight. For more information, see Silverlight.js Reference. |
| Silverlight Dynamic Languages SDK |
The Silverlight Dynamic Languages SDK enables developers to use dynamic languages running on the Dynamic Language Runtime (DLR) to build Silverlight applications. The DLR enables dynamic languages to interoperate with .NET's rich libraries and with each other. For example, developers can call managed JScript from IronPython. It includes services to build new languages on top of the DLR, such as a shared, dynamic type system and a language hosting model. Lastly, it makes it easy to host dynamic languages inside of different hosts. Silverlight, for example, is simply an application host used to host the DLR. |
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