Versions of Silverlight

Currently, Silverlight is available in two versions, each of which supports a radically different feature set.  
Silverlight 1.0 was a great first step, but it forced programmers to use script code to implement functionality,
and lacked a full-fledged API.  Silverlight 2.0 is a massive improvement, which ships with a subset of the .NET
base class libraries and can be used with a variety of programming languages (C#, VB, IronPython, etc).  
Silverlight 2.0’s runtime is a micro version of the .NET CLR which runs within the hosting browser.  In a
nutshell, Silverlight 2.0 allows developers to build object-oriented, strongly typed web plug-ins.

Consider the following table, which contrasts the functionality between each version of Silverlight.
  • To be sure, the biggest advantage of version 2.0 is CLR / BCL integration.
  • Entries in italic are specific to Silverlight 2.0.




































           
   
         















           
          
 

 


This tutorial will focus exclusively on Silverlight 2.0 development.  We will not be covering the construction of
Silverlight 1.0 web plug-ins, as the programming model is entirely different.  If you are required to use
Silverlight 1.0, consult the Silverlight 1.0 SDK documentation.  On a related note, notice that Silverlight 2.0
applications using dynamic languages such as IronPython and IronRuby.  We will not make use of these
languages, preferring to use C# and VB for code examples.

If you are interested in building Silverlight applications using IronPython / IronRuby, consult http://www.
codeplex.com/sdlsdk.
Silverlight Versions
Table of Contents
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Courseware
Training Resources
Tutorials
Possible Feature
Silverlight 1.0
Silverlight 2.0
2D Vector
Animation/Graphics
X
X
AJAX Support
X
X
Framework Languages(Visual
Basic, Visual C#, IronRuby,
IronPython)
 
X
HTML DOM Integration
X
X
HTTP Networking
X
X
Isolated Storage
 
X
JavaScript Support
X
X
JSON, REST, SOAP/WS-*,
POX, and RSS Web Services
(as well as support for
Sockets)
 
X
ADO.NET Data Services
 
X
Cross Domain Network
Access
 
X
LINQ to Objects
 
X
Canvas Layout Support
X
X
StackPanel, Grid and Panel
Layout Support
 
X
Managed Control Framework
 
X
Full suite of Controls
(TextBox, RadioButton,
Slider, Calendar, DatePicker,
DataGrid, ListBox,
TabControl, and others)
 
X
Managed Exception Handling
 
X
720P High Definition (HD)
Video
X
X
Media – Audio/Video
Support (VC-1, WMV,
WMA, MP3)
X
X
Media – Image Support  
(JPG, PNG)
X
X
Media Markers
X
X
Rich Core Framework (e.g.
Generics,   
threads, etc)
 
X
Security Enforcement
 
X
Silverlight ASP.NET Control
X
X
Type Safety Verification
 
X
Windows Media Server
Support
X
X
XAML Parser
X
X
XmlReader/XmlWriter
 
X
Services