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Closed 11 years ago.
so i have been writing a prototype application in Silverlight for the last 3 months, although I am enjoying the technology and it has been very useful for the current task, I have read and been told from varies sources that the technology could no longer be supported and HTML5 is the way forward? Was just wondering if there was some solid information on this from Microsoft and if so where it could be found? Done some googling and just found blogs with sparse info.
Also if anyone one had any thoughts on the state of the mac version of silverlight? I have run some tests so far and the applications performance is really poor compared to silverlight running on windows.
Thank you for your time.
I'd have to look for the articles and links again but, long ago, Microsoft would not answer any questions about Silverlight and, more recently, has announced they do not encourage and will no longer develop Silverlight for the desktop. They now encourage HTML5 usage as evidenced by Windows8 which won't even be able to directly run Silverlight at all.
Interview with Microsoft's Bob Mulia by Mary-Jo Foley:
Our strategy has shifted
So what’s a developer to make of Microsoft’s messaging (or lack
thereof) about Silverlight at its premiere developer conference?
I asked Bob Muglia, the Microsoft President in charge of the company’s
server and tools business, that very question and got what I consider
to be the clearest answer yet about how Microsoft is evolving its
Silverlight strategy.
“Silverlight is our development platform for Windows Phone,” he said.
Silverlight also has some “sweet spots” in media and line-of-business
applications, he said.
But when it comes to touting Silverlight as Microsoft’s vehicle for
delivering a cross-platform runtime, “our strategy has shifted,”
Muglia told me.
And, about the Mac:
“But HTML is the only true cross platform solution for everything,
including (Apple’s) iOS platform,” Muglia said.
More links with Microsoft interviews:
Microsoft has abandoned Silverlight in Metro
Microsoft's Silverlight has been dropped for HTML5
I'd rather not take part in these discussions, but the one comment said it best. None of us can reasonably answer this question.. even IF "MS' strategy has changed." It could change back. The exec who said this -- Bob Muglia-- announced a month later (maybe it was 1.5 months) announced he was leaving the company (and is no longer with Microsoft today).
The only real indicators we have are that they haven't announced an end of life date, and there is another technology that uses Silveright that came out called VS LightSwitch (not just the phone). Not saying that any of this means that Sivlerlight is sticking around, BUT we really don't know. The problem is more complex than a fanboy of any type can really answer.
I'd like to think it will be around for a while (and I personally am basing a new project on it). Not to name drop, but there is a former Silverlight and Win8 evangelist who recently left MS to go work for Disney (where I know they do a lot of Silverlight work, yet).
Related
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Closed 11 years ago.
in the last months the development of mobile apps has become more and more a focus of mine. I already created a few apps with PhoneGap and also dived in into mobile frameworks like jQuery Mobile ans Sencha Touch.
In a next step I would like to use a mobile apps builder and I stumbled on Tiggr and Application Craft. There are probably even more.
So I wanted to ask if some people here already have experience with those two or maybe even another app builder and share it with us. As both seem to cover the same area and I am not so interested in learning them all. I would like to know if someone can tell me which is "better".
I know that there has been a big topic about PhoneGap vs Titanium Appcelerator that helped me a lot so I hope I can get some helpful answers about this topic as well.
Thanks for reading,
Marvin
I have been using Application Craft for about a month (on and off) and so far i'm really impressed. They seem to be putting LOTS of work into it: things have broken only a couple of times, never anything serious. Also, they are building really thorough documentation, etc. they host the apps for free, and they seem to be adding features etc all the time. I would bet that in a year or so they will be huge; quality services on the net tend to grow fast thankfully.
I hadn't heard about Tiggr until now. From what i can see on their site, it looks as though their free service is far inferior to what Application Craft offer. They may be worth a try too?
Hope that helps
I haven't specifically tried Tiggr or ApplicationCraft, but as you've already mentioned there are quite a few different app creation systems out there, all of which work in slightly different ways. Many, for example MobileRoadie or AppBaker, supply a series of pre-built templates that you can customise and plug together in various ways. This is great if their templates support the type of app you want, but there's often no scripting support so if you want something custom you need to pay for their developers to add the features you need, or you should go elsewhere.
If you want complete control over how your app looks and works then you should use a more IDE-like system with built-in scripting support. Things to look out for in such a system would be a good code editor, a way of immediately previewing your app inside the tools, decent documentation, support, and examples. If you're planning a cross-platform app, you'll want a system that can simulate your app running on different phone screen sizes, so you can tune your GUI appropriately.
AppFurnace is a new cloud-based app development platform that provides all of the above (I should point out that I work for AppFurnace, of course).
Tiggr Mobile is a great service! Check out thier tutorials on creating an app that will run on any mobile device at http://blog.gotiggr.com/. They've also received good press and have an impressive gallery of apps that users have created and submitted.
You should probably put NS Basic/App Studio on your list as well. It provides a complete IDE, including a 'drag and drop' interface for adding elements to your forms. The overall feel is something like Visual Studio. You can program in JavaScript or Basic. More info at http://www.nsbasic.com/app.
(disclosure: I work for NS Basic)
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Closed 12 years ago.
Assuming you are trying to sell large business/government software then IE6 will be a fact of life for many years to come. If you are dealing with the UK government, NHS, or local government in the UK then IE6 support is a given.
A lot of customers will not move from IE6 as they have other web apps that will only work on IE6, they are also not willing to install other browsers for control reasons.
However I have come across cases when the customers would install Silverlight on all of their machines. How common is this?
(I am not asking if you like IE6, or if you like Microsoft, Sorry we have to many money in the world as it is today.)
Some people think this is off-topic; however as a programmer I have to decide the best technology to use when asked to create a “web app”. Most users just think of “web app” = “no need to install” and “it runs in the browser window”, so this is an important questions when planning a product.
To my knowledge, that's quite common. The main difference between Silverlight and IE7/8/9, Firefox, Chrome, etc. is that Silverlight, like Flash, is a browser plug-in the user can install by himself.
Most large businesses and government offices have an IT department managing all the machines, and the users aren't allowed to install any setup package by themselves. And if IT says it's gonna be IE6, then it's gonna be IE6, period. No IE7, no Firefox, no nothing.
However, assuming management allows the users access to the Internet, they often leave them in control of what they do with their browser, including installing plug-ins. The users then usually install Flash (essentially so YouTube works) and/or Silverlight.
The trouble is that the issue isn't usually so much "we'll install some things, but only things we think are safe", but more like "we won't install anything". The kind of organisations that are still using IE6 are the kind that are so risk-averse that you'll have a hard time getting them to install anything.
Therefore you're more likely to get satisfaction with Flash than Silverlight. The simple reason being that Flash has been around long enough that it might actually be in place on their systems already, thus negating the "we won't install anything" argument. (if they haven't even got Flash installed already, then good luck getting them to accept Silverlight)
If they are willing to install Silverlight, you might also consider trying them on the Google Frame plug-in for Explorer, which effectively turns MSIE into Chrome, but only for sites that specifically request it. The security imlications for that are pretty much the same as for Silverlight (or Flash for that matter), and if they accept it it'll mean you can write standards compliant HTML to your heart's content.
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Closed 13 years ago.
Why not to empower WPF or ASP.NET instead of creating a new product?
ASP.NET is simply a server-side language for websites. While they have added support for things like AJAX ASP.NET Controls, it still can't come close to the level of richness Silverlight is capable of.
And then WPF requires the 200+ MB .NET Framework which can only run on Windows.
Silverlight was created as a lightweight 5 MB plugin that can run on Windows and Mac alike while meeting strict security guidelines for Internet use. From my point of view, Silverlight is a different tool for a different purpose.
WPF is meant for regular desktop applications and cannot be embedded in a webpage (XBAP isn't the same), and ASP.Net has nothing to do with Silverlight. (ASP.Net is a server-side technology; Silverlight is client-side)
To complete with flash and offer an all in one solution to all types of development and take over the world. Not that it will beat flash and its lineup of tools any time soon.
Because no matter how you empower ASP.NET or WPF you won't get the richness of Silverlight, Flash, ... in a web browser. Javascript's kind of limited.
ASP.NET runs on the server, what was needed is something to run on the client.
WPF is empowered enough already, what was needed is something which can run on the client in a secure manner and that can't be used easily to do malicous things. In other words far from "empowering" WPF, some form of WPF needed to be seriously curtailed.
In addition it can't be assumed that a full .NET framework is present on the client, Silverlight is designed to contain just enough of the needed framework to make things happen with minimal requirements on the client.
A better question might be - why are WPF and Silverlight 2 separate things?
My best guess is that the decision was made to separate them "because we always have separate technologies for developing web vs. developing desktop applications" - but things are not nearly so cleanly split anymore and would make sense to see the 2 merge together.
Probably starting from scratch you wouldn't have both Silverlight and WPF.
I suspect that deep in the MSFT psyche they still don't 'get' the web - WPF was a way of modernising drawing on the desktop, adapting it to web was obviously an afterthought.
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Closed 9 years ago.
I found the ad on this site to Krypton controls (and here's another one!) and was wondering if any of you using vs.net 05 or 08 are using them and how that's working out. If you're answering, please specify which parts you're using (free, ribbons, tabs) and which vs.net you're on, which language(s) you use, along with pros and cons. I know there are probably better suites out there that you may be fond of, but this question is specifically about Krypton controls. We'd be using it with vb.net, .net 3.5, 08, so I'm particularly interested in hearing about your experience in those areas. (I've watched all the screencasts)
I have been using the Krypton Controls ToolKit for over 3 years with Visual Studio 2005 and 2008 in .NET 2.0, 3.0, 3.5, and 3.5 SP1. I have only used the free ToolKit and not the Ribbon or Tab controls. I have used it only in C#.
Pros:
Free
Easy to Use - It adds all of the components to the Toolbox so it's very easy to implement.
The font rendering is awesome compared to the default windows form controls.
The "chrome" which allows you to totally override the look of the application is very nice.
The ability to define a master scheme makes it easy to change the look of similar controls in one central location.
The support, even on the free Toolkit is awesome, by submitting questions on the Component Factory forum.
It includes additional controls that should've been part of the windows form controls including headergroups.
Cons:
That the other components aren't free ;)
In older versions, some controls didn't exist in the ToolKit so you had to use the winform control which wouldn't entirely fit with the application look. The latest version, however, has most, if not all the controls implemented as Krypton controls.
Here's a quick sample of our options dialog for the "MuvEnum Address Bar" using the Krypton Chrome. It was super easy to create. Notice the smoothness of the fonts.
I can't recommend the Krypton Controls enough.
John Rennemeyer
MuvEnum
I have been using the free controls in various small internal projects for work for several years. I started following his blog just as he started as MicroISV, from a mention on a MicroISV blog. So I have been through many improvments he has made. The controls he makes are rock solid (at least in my usage of them) and he really listens to what his users want in features and other controls.
I HIGHLY recommend the controls!
I have been using the full suite for the last year and a half. I have been very happy with the results. They are easy to use and I haven't run into any issues that I couldn't fix myself (I purchased the source code version).
Definitely recommended.
I'm using it. It's quite okay.
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Closed 10 years ago.
There is a lot of buzz about Microsoft Silverlight, especially after the Olympics. Also H264 will be supported in a future version. Where do you think Silverlight will be 1 year from now?
They were saying they were getting 1.5 million downloads per day back in March 2008, and that was before the Olympics and the Democratic National Convention. So, unless my math is off, that's more than 4 people.
I'd expect to see it show up as a recommended Windows update, and possible included with IE8 or something in the future.
At best, in the same place at Flash. Now, how many of you do Flash enterprise applications? Does Google do flash applications? or SalesForce.com? Oracle? or any other major on demand application provider?
In my opinion, even if it kills off Flash, it will still be largely irrelevant for the types of applications we write everyday.
In a year it will still be a minority of content, but the installed base will be large enough that mainstream projects will be considering it as a viable alternative to Flash. Until they survey the pool of available, talented designers familiar with it.
Most .NET developers I work with have been shying away from Silverlight.
Right now it seems more like a novelty than a development platform.
A year from now, the number of people with the runtime installed will still be a fairly small minority!
I suspect that choosing Silverlight will still be a barrier to people using your stuff for a long while to come.
100% more.
(so about 4 people)
Considering NBC has already dropped Silverlight and are using Flash again for NFL telecasts, I don't see a healthy future for Microsoft's platform.
Do they even have any other partners using it? I know WWE was one of their partners but they barely use it on their own website.
EDIT - not sure if it's true or not but this guy says that the decision to go with Flash was the NFL's and not NBC's. Either way still doesn't look good for the MS platform.
I think that as long as the Moonlight project is successful that we'll see Silverlight become significant competition for Flash.
Silverlight is still in its infancy - 1.0 had next to nothing in it. Version 2 is in beta now, and that adds lots of common user controls that developers need to write applications.
They really got a huge bump with the Olympics as far as getting it installed on machines. It will be interesting to see how much developer buy in they can gather. It's a tough sell for front end web people because it's a complete toolset change. I know the midteir/WPF people like it because it's closer to their normal .NET toolset, but they're not usually the ones doing web design.
IMHO, things like HTML5 and Gears are where many people are going to go.
I think that it will grow, but MSFT will need to do more deals like they did with the Olympics. Hooking up with CBS/NCAA on the March Madness broadcasts would be worth whatever millions they could throw at it.
Silverlight 1 Vs Silverlight 2:
Silverlight 2 is expected to be out in the next few months (they used to say in August 2008 until ... August ended. In September they say October.), so MS will probably be promoting Silverlight 2.1 (or whatever upgrade to Silerlight 2) in a year's time, and Silverlight 1.0 will likely have no developer share at all, and no momentum.
Silverlight Vs Javascript-based platforms:
Google Chrome (and the upcoming Firefox 2.1) promise an order of magnitude better performance in JavaScript. We haven't seen the best from them yet. MS will have to improve IE's JavaScript speeds, though who knows when they'll be able to ship that (in IE 9 maybe?).
I think that it will be a few more years yet before the clear winners emerge from the fray.
The installation barrier will be a problem until it ships with Windows by default. But even then developers will only support the established Flash. Considering certain mobile platforms have neither Flash nor Silverlight, it's best to back the one more likely to be ported to all platforms, and that's the dominant Flash.
In the end Javascript + SVG will almost certainly win out over these vendor produced solutions. But within a year I'd be surprised if any significant amount of development is done with Silverlight. Flash has too much momentum and MS is too late to the game with nothing sufficiently compelling.