Beginning Silverlight 3

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication Page

Contents at a Glance

Table of Contents

About the Author

About the Technical Reviewer

Acknowledgments

CHAPTER 1 Welcome to Silverlight 3

The Evolution of the User Interface

Rich Internet Application Solutions

What Is Silverlight?

Benefits of Silverlight

Cross-Platform/Cross-Browser Support

Cross-Platform Version of the .NET Framework

XAML, a Text-Based Markup Language

Use of Familiar Technologies

Small Runtime and Simple Deployment

The Silverlight Development Environment

New Features in Silverlight 3

Improved Performance

Summary

CHAPTER 2 Introduction to Visual Studio 2008

What Is Visual Studio?

What’s New in Visual Studio 2008?

JavaScript IntelliSense and Debugging

IntelliSense Improvements

New Debugging Features

Try It Out: JavaScript IntelliSense and Debugging

Multi-Targeting Support

Transparent IntelliSense Mode

Building Your First Silverlight Application in Visual Studio

Try It Out: Hello World in Silverlight 3

Hosting Your Silverlight Application: Web Site or Web Application?

Using a Visual Studio Web Site

Using a Visual Studio Web Application Project

Summary

CHAPTER 3 Layout Management in Silverlight 3

Layout Management

The Canvas Panel

Try It Out: Using the Canvas Panel

Filling the Entire Browser Window with Your Application

The StackPanel Control

Try It Out: Using the StackPanel Control

Try It Out: Nesting StackPanel Controls

The Grid Control

Try It Out: Using the Grid Control

Try It Out: Nesting a Grid and Spanning a Column

The WrapPanel Control

Try It Out: Using the WrapPanel Control

The DockPanel Control

Try It Out: Using the DockPanel Control

Summary

CHAPTER 4 Silverlight 3 Controls

Setting Control Properties

Attribute Syntax

Element Syntax

Type-Converter-Enabled Attributes

Attached Properties

Nesting Controls Within Controls

Handling Events in Silverlight

Try It Out: Declaring an Event in XAML

Try It Out: Declaring an Event Handler in Managed Code

The Border Control

User Input Controls

Try It Out: Working with the TextBox Control

Try It Out: Working with the RadioButton and CheckBox Controls

Extended Controls

Adding an Extended Control

Try It Out: Using the GridSplitter

AutoCompleteBox

ViewBox

Modal Windows

Try It Out: Using the Modal Child Window

Summary

CHAPTER 5 Data Binding and Silverlight List Controls

Data Binding

The Binding Class

Try It Out: Simple Data Binding in Silverlight

Element to Element Binding

Try It Out: Element to Element Binding

The DataGrid Control

Try It Out: Building a Simple DataGrid

The Columns Collection

DataGridTextColumn

DataGridCheckBoxColumn

DataGridTemplateColumn

Try It Out: Building a DataGrid with Custom Columns

The ListBox Control

Default and Custom ListBox Items

Try It Out: Building a ListBox with Custom Content

Summary

CHAPTER 6 Data Access and Networking

Data Access in Silverlight Applications

Accessing Data Through Web Services

Try It Out: Accessing Data Through a WCF Service

Accessing Services from Other Domains

Accessing Data Through Sockets

Summary

CHAPTER 7 Navigation Framework

Frame and Page Object

Try It Out: Creating a Silverlight Navigation Application

Benefits of the Navigation Framework

Deep Linking

The NavigationService Object

Try it Out: Using the NavigationService Object

Passing Data to Navigation Pages

Try it Out: Passing Data to Navigation Pages

Uri Mapping

Try it Out: Uri Mapping and the Navigation Framework

Silverlight Navigation Application Template

Try it Out: Using the Silverlight Navigation Application Template

Using Multiple Frames

Try it Out: Using Multiple Frames

Summary

CHAPTER 8 Local Storage in Silverlight

Working with Isolated Storage

Using the Isolated Storage API

IsolatedStorageFile

IsolatedStorageFileStream

IsolatedStorageSettings

Try It Out: Creating a File Explorer for Isolated Storage

Creating the Application Layout

Coding the File Explorer

Testing the File Explorer

Managing Isolated Storage

Viewing and Clearing Isolated Storage

Try It Out: Increasing the Isolated Storage Quota

Summary

CHAPTER 9 Introduction to Expression Blend

Key Features in Expression Blend

Visual XAML Editor

Visual Studio 2008 Integration

Split-View Mode

Visual State Manager and Template Editing Support

World-Class Timeline

Try It Out: Working with Projects in Expression Blend

Exploring the Workspace

Toolbox

Project Panel

Properties Panel

Objects and Timeline Panel

Laying Out an Application with Expression Blend

Working with the Grid Control in Expression Blend

Try It Out: Editing a Layout Grid with Expression Blend

Summary

CHAPTER 10 Styling in Silverlight

Inline Properties

Try It Out: Setting Inline Properties with Visual Studio

Try It Out: Setting Inline Properties with Expression Blend

Silverlight Styles

Try It Out: Using Styles As Static Resources

Defining Styles at the Application Level

Merged Resource Dictionaries

Silverlight Style Hierarchy

Inheriting Styles Using BasedOn

Summary

CHAPTER 11 Transformations and Animation

Introduction to Silverlight Animation

Silverlight Storyboards

Types of Animation in Silverlight

Programmatically Controlling Animations

Using Expression Blend to Create Animations

Viewing a Storyboard in the Expression Blend Timeline

Try It Out: Creating an Animation with Expression Blend

Creating Transformations in Silverlight

Transformation Types

ScaleTransform

SkewTransform

RotateTransform

TranslateTransform

Try It Out: Using Expression Blend to Transform Silverlight Objects

Summary

CHAPTER 12 Custom Controls

When to Write Custom Controls

Silverlight Control Toolkit

Silverlight Control Model

Parts and States Model

Dependency Properties

Creating Custom Controls in Silverlight

Implementing Custom Functionality

Try It Out: Building a Custom Control

Setting Up the Control Project

Defining Properties and States

Defining the Control’s Appearance

Handling Control Events

Compiling and Testing the Control

Summary

CHAPTER 13 Deployment

Deploying Silverlight Applications

XAP Files

Hosting Silverlight Content

Assembly Caching

Try It Out: Exploring Assembly Caching

Out of Browser Support

Customizing the Install Application Dialog

Out of Browser API

Removing Installed Applications

Summary

Index