Version 1.0 of Silverlight used JavaScript and supported the industry-leading Windows Media Services enabling delivery of audio and video that includes 2D and vector graphics.
Version 2 includes all features of version 1.0 and:
support for the .NET Framework.
support for .NET-compliant programming languages such as C#, Visual Basic, Python, and Ruby.
support for database operations and language-integrated query (LINQ).
The figure below illustrates the major differences between version 1.0 and version 2: 
The diagram located at ClassFiles/WhatIsSilverlight/Demos/SilverlightTechnologyMap.gif gives a broad picture of the technologies to be supported by Silverlight version 2.
Silverlight Hosting
Microsoft Silverlight functionality is completely encapsulated within the Silverlight plug-in. Web applications typically require the server hosting the Web application to meet minimum requirements. Silverlight applications simply require a Web server to be equipped as they would be for hosting HTML documents. Silverlight applications can be hosted on any Web server accessible to the target audience. The two most commonly used Web servers are Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) and Apache.
Executing a Silverlight application on a Web client machine is a two step process. First, the application will detect if the Silverlight plug-in is installed on the Web client machine. If the plug-in is not installed, the user will be prompted with an option to download the plug-in. If the user opts to do so, a request will be made of the Web server to download and install the plug-in. The Silverlight plug-in is embodied in a .dll executable file that is loaded into the Web client browser memory once installed. The only interaction required by the Web client when installing the Silverlight plug-in is to grant permission for the plug-in to be installed. Various Web servers, including Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS), may require slight configuration modifications so that the Silverlight executable file will be downloaded to the Web client when requested.
Second, once the Silverlight plug-in is installed on the Web client machine, the Silverlight application itself must be downloaded. A Silverlight application may consist of many types of files. Slight configuration modifications may be necessary on the Web server, such as MIME types, so that XAML and XAP files are associated with Silverlight and downloaded correctly to the Web client machine when requested.
Once the Silverlight plug-in is installed on a Web client machine and a Silverlight application is downloaded, the Silverlight application is then hosted on the Web client machine. There are some requirements necessary for the Web client machine as discussed in the sections below, however all media players, audio and video codecs, compilers and the runtime are encapsulated in the Silverlight plug-in.
Silverlight can be installed on Windows and Macintosh machines. Silverlight applications run within the confines of a plug-in. There are many benefits to using a plug-in with the primary benefit being consistency across implementations. A plug-in application can provide a consistent result in every instance where it is supported. Other plug-in solutions, such as Adobe Flash, have become popular due to consistency across implementations. For instance, a plug-in application should deliver a consistent result regardless of whether it is displayed using Internet Explorer on Windows or Safari on a Macintosh.
Silverlight 2 is currently supported on the platforms discussed below. (see footnote)
Platforms that Support Silverlight 2
|
Operating System
|
Browser
|
Windows Vista
Windows XP SP2
Windows 2000
Windows Server 2003
|
Internet Explorer 7+
Firefox 1.5+
Google Chrome
|
Macintosh OS 10.4.8+ (Intel Based)
| | Linux
Many developers are unaware that a version of the .NET Framework exists for the Linux operating system. Linux is an open source operating system that is supported heavily in the online community. The version of the .NET Framework that supports Linux is named the Mono project and was also developed by the open source community. The developers of the Mono project keep the project close to in sync with the .NET Framework when updates are released by Microsoft and created an initial, limited version of Silverlight (called "Moonlight") that supports Linux in approximately 21 days! (see footnote) You can get up to date information on this project at http://www.mono-project.com/Moonlight.
Future Platforms
The Silverlight plug-in renders graphics and multimedia using a vector-based graphics engine. Vector graphics can easily be scaled from very small displays to very large displays of varying resolutions with virtually no loss of image quality. Silverlight on a Windows Mobile device will accommodate delivering live, streaming, high quality video to smart phones and similar devices. The goal is to enable developers to deliver rich interactive applications (RIA) to any type of device.
Microsoft has announced support for Silverlight on mobile devices with a limited initial support for Windows Mobile and the Nokia S60 models. You can learn more about this future support at http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight/overview/mobile.aspx.
What is Silverlight? Conclusion
In this lesson of the Silverlight tutorial, you
Explored Microsoft Silverlight at a high level.
Studied some of the history leading up to the release of Silverlight.
Investigated the architecture of Silverlight.
Learned which operating systems and browsers support Silverlight 2.
The Microsoft Silverlight deployment guide can be downloaded at http://download.microsoft.com/download/7/8/d/78da8ec9-8801-42e5-89e5-3809386f1316/Silverlight%20Deployment%20Guide.doc.
For a detailed list of the platforms supported by Silverlight, visit the Silverlight system requirements page at http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight/system-requirements.aspx#4_5.
The Linux version of Silverlight is called Moonlight. You can find out more about Moonlight by visiting the Moonlight home page at http://www.mono-project.com/Moonlight.
For a detailed list of the browsers supported by Silverlight, visit the Silverlight system requirements page at http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight/system-requirements.aspx#4_5.
The .NET Framework is similar to Java in this respect.
Silverlight was originally called Windows Presentation Foundation Everywhere (WPF/E).
JVM = Java Virtual Machine
|
