First I've read loads of posts and sites that recommend going to http://silverlight.net/GetStarted/ to get started but I do not have visual studio and I'm not going to purchase it just to 'maybe' learn some silverlight that I'm not going to be able to use for a little while.
The reason being that I've already installed visual studio and all the other things required during a quiet period of work, then another project came up and by the time I got back to thinking about silverlight the trial period has finished.
I have not done C# or XAML (mainly Java, AS3 & MXML, hence the lack of MS tools) but I'd like to look into silverlight when I'm quiet to create some test projects and to determine where I can use it if anywhere. Is there a toolset that will let me learn and use all that is required without purchasing the software (perhaps it would have a watermark like the flex datacharts used to have, unless you purchased them, maybe an eclipse plugin - although I imagine I'm being a bit optimistic here).
If there isn't such a thing then perhaps MS should look into this, Adobe recently let anyone unemployed/students etc to get flexbuilder for free to increase its uptake. That would be great is MS did something similar.
If you are a student, you can get professional Microsoft tools for free through the Dreamspark program. http://www.dreamspark.com
You can download Blend preview 3 and visual studio 2010 for free and use it. You have the tools and knowledge now ;-)
Check out Bizspark too.
Allegedly, you can now use one of Microsoft's free "Express" development systems to develop Silverlight apps.
http://www.bluerosegames.com/SilverlightBrassTacks/post/You-can-now-write-Silverlight-apps-in-Visual-Web-Developer-Express.aspx
In addition to the free-as-in-free-beer options from MS that other answers mention: if you only want to play around with Silverlight for now, consider trying Moonlight -- it may not yet be ready for production work, but nevertheless usable for learning purposes.
One place you can go is to the express web site on Microsoft.com. You can get free, albeit trimmed back, versions of the current release of Visual Studio and SQL Server there.
You can also get a trial version of Expression Blend 2. Blend is a design oriented tool for creating Silverlight applications.
You can also usually find betas of upcoming releases without much trouble.
Silverlight + Eclipse:
http://www.eclipse4sl.org/download/
And how to workaround Express for SL
http://www.informikon.com/blog/howto-silverlight-and-visual-studio-express.html
Good luck
Braulio
Related
Quite some time ago, I implemented a tool for creating and maintaining Work Breakdown Structures in combination with Microsoft Team Foundation Server (you can find it here: http://wbseditor.codeplex.com). It was originally implemented using the TFS 2005 object model, and also relies on the WorkItemFormControl to display Work Items for creation and editing directly from the application. It's quite useful, and is heavily used inside my company for multi-project management.
A while ago, I ported it to using the TFS 2010 assemblies, but now, a couple of years later, I have the need to also support Visual Studio 2015.
In the course of migrating to the new assemblies, I have managed to get all the nuget packages I need (which is Microsoft.TeamFoundationServer.ExtendedClient), but apparently both the WorkItemFormControl (which was targeted for Windows Forms) and the newer WPF equivalent WorkItemControl (from the Microsoft.TeamFoundation.WorkItemControl.WpfControls namespace) are missing.
I suppose I can use a web browser control to achieve a similar effect like before, but I have not found any sample code or similar for this. Does anybody have a pointer how to get a similar effect like I got with WorkItemFormControl? I admit I haven't spent more than a couple of hours on research, simply because I just wanted to do a "quick update" to support the new server versions, and this sort of caught me cold.
Is there a "quick fix" for me I just have been to blind to see?
If there is no such thing as a quick fix, which is the general direction I should head to get the functionality back?
WorkItemFormControl Class is now obsolete, use the WPF version of this control, Microsoft.TeamFoundation.WorkItemTracking.WpfControls.WorkItemControl instead.
To use Microsoft.TeamFoundation.WorkItemTracking.WpfControls.WorkItemControl namespace, you need to add assembly Microsoft.TeamFoundation.WorkItemTracking.Controls which can be added from Microsoft.TeamFoundation.WorkItemTracking.All in nuget package.
Good morning fellow stack overflow people, I have a question that sounds like the start of something from the daily wtf.
The company that I work for is not so much sacred of new technology they just seem to let things slip, you know the type, “It worked 5/6+ years ago so I don’t see why we should change it”
Despite this I have managed by hook or by crook to get an installation of SQL server 2008R2 to develop on which has the reporting services. Excellent I think, I can finally start moving some of the access applications to VB.net and use SSRS to provide some embedded reports, everyone is happy.
But not so fast, it turns out the standard build of desktop here only has .net1.1. I have managed to dust off a copy of visual studio 2003 (The last edition that could target 1.1) and built a few little tests to check DB connectivity. The problem I am having is the report viewer control is only available in .net2.0 and above.
So what options do I have for displaying my SSRS reports in a VB.net1.1 thick client application?
Before anyone asks the following options are out
Going anything web based (Farrrrrrrrrr too modern for the company + no web server)
Upgrading to a version of .net released after George Bush the 2nd lost an election but still became president
Changing jobs
Sorry for the long question but I thought some background would help
I would go for a browser control but I think they only started including that in 2.0. But I think you can still do something like that in 1.1 (it has been to long to be sure).
I think if you install SSRS on the sqlserver you could turn on IIS on that server and then use that to make your reports and show them in the browser control.
SSRS (I'm pretty sure it came out somewhere around 2005) is not old enough to have many other options.
If you work with VB.NET 1.1 all the time then it is strange question. How did you program in it before?
Use any available dataview control (I already do not remember - DataGrid, DataList, Repeater) from .NET1.1. There is nothing in ReportViewer that could not be done before its appearance, in .NET1.1.
What is the problem?
Update:
I remember seeing code projects reproducing ReportViewer in .NET1.1 few years ago though I cannot find it now. Anyway, it seems to me the problem of just reading .NET1.1 docs and searching internet.
Sorry if this is a blunt statement but sometimes, you've got to bite the bullet and do the right thin.
If you really want to use reports and you've found the minimum version of the .NET framework is 2.0 then go ahead, find an internet connection somewhere and upgrade the computers.
If you can't do that, forget about it and go back to your VB6 or whatever you're using. Besides, .NET Framework 2.0 sp1 is less than 30MB. If you can't find a decent internet connection (either at your workplace or somewhere else) to download it then you might as well abandon it.
And I'll add as well. VS2003 IS OLD! Get yourself minimum VS2005, even if it's Express edition, it's good enough and stop whining.
Someone had the same question back in Feb. Maybe this might send you down the right path:
Using SSRS in ASP.NET 1.1
As far as I can tell developing for Silverlight is free as long as you already have Visual Studio 2008. Does anyone know if MS has any plans to change that?
If anything, they will try to make it easier and cheaper. One recent program is called WebSiteSpark... which gives away all of the Microsoft Web Dev tools. This is because of increased competition between Microsoft and competing technologies such as those provided by Adobe.
You can develop Silverlight applications using Visual Web Developer Express, which is free.
And I don't think Microsoft has plans changing that, because that would mean they get a lot less new Silverlight developers, and it would take longer for Silverlight to catch up to Flash.
Silverlight framework itself is a free download from Microsoft. What exactly do you mean, when you say "developing for Silverlight is free"?
And if Visual Studio isn't your cup of tea, there's always Eclipse Tools for Silverlight which is also free.
I'm considering switching from MFC to WPF.
My first concern is that there are too many users who don't have .NET with WPF installed yet. Can anybody point to a source containing the WPF penetration numbers?
My second concern is speed.
Any other considerations?
I've been banging away at WPF for a while now. It is brilliant, but it still has (occasional) holes you've to plug yourself. However all indications are .NET 4.0 will be a significant step forward.
I would say start now. The WPF learning curve is REALLY steep, and it'll be a while before you'll be releasing software to users, believe me. Also do yourself a favour and get the WPF Unleashed book. It's superior.
Speed isn't a consideration. The power WPF gives is well worth any drawbacks with speed, which - coming from Windows Forms - I haven't noticed to be honest.
What kind of application are you developing? If it's a wide-distribution desktop app that you want your grandmother to install, your concern about .NET 3.0/3.5 adoption is valid. So far from what I've seen, performance is less of a concern.
WPF penetration
First of all, Windows Vista and Windows 7 both have WPF preinstalled, which accounts for 35% of the market automatically. Windows XP has had it as it had .NET Framework 3.0 as an option in Windows Update for over three years, and many applications ship with it, so it is likely to also be installed on a high percentage of Windows XP machines. StatOwl indicates that about 80% of NET Framework installations are version 3 or above.
If you're shipping on CD it is no big deal to include the latest .NET Framework on the CD and have it install automatically. If users are downloading your application, it can contact Microsoft's web server to download and install the latest .NET Framework. Online ClickOnce deployment also has this capability if you want people to be able to start their application directly from the web browser without installing it.
So the bottom line is, you probably don't need to worry about whether people will have WPF installed on their machines or not unless your target market consists primarily of dial up customers on Windows XP who don't run much third-party software (i.e., they just run Windows and your application).
Speed
Not an issue. I have a 200 MHz Pentium Pro with 384 MB RAM from 1998 that I test my software on, and my WPF applications have comparable performance with equivalent MFC applications. If your WPF application uses lots of fancy graphics and animation it will run slowly on ancient CPUs and graphics cards, but so would an ordinary MFC application with the same features.
Don't even bother trying to use WPF if you are sticking with Visual Studio 2008 for the next year or two. The experience will be way too painful. I'm talking about "my IDE crashed again" type of pain.
If you are going to use VS 2010 in the near future, then WPF is a blast. Download the beta, a couple of themes off CodePlex, are start playing. Once you get past the (freaking huge) learning curve I think you will find it to be quite enjoyable.
IMHO, you should wait for Visual Studio 2010 and WPF 4.0 to make the actual migration. They will close some very annoying gaps in the product.
Meanwhile, you can try it out. In terms of coding/readability -- it's going to be WAAAY better than with MFC =)
As for the performance and platform -- it shouldn't be a problem unless you have any very special circumstances (like if you can't require users to install .NET).
Also see this related question on switching to WPF from Windows Forms.
If you are thinking about a larger, modular, appliation I recommend checking out Prism. It's a bit of a beast itself, but you should be able to tackle it after coming to grips with C#, Dependency Properties and XAML. Plus, learning Prism gave me a much better understanding of WPF/Silverlight, at least from the development/binding side.
Mike Taulty posted an excellent 10 part video series on Prism. It's a great way to get your head around the platform.
I'd also recommend the pages linked to from the Getting Started page on codeplex. After all that, you're probably ready to tackle the Reference Implementation which comes with the download.
A previous answer of mine might also help clear up any remaining confusion around Controllers/Presenters in the framework that you might have (I did).
Why do we have to spend more $$$ for Expression Blend after I already spent $$$$ for Visual Studio 2008 with MSDN subscription? Will there be a service pack for 2008 to support this, will it be part of VS2010, or will we always have to use a separate tool?
Thanks
Well, you can do it today (vs 2010 beta). Is it a great idea? I'm not sure.
It seems to me, there will always be room for a design tool for xaml. With animations and brushes and everything else, it doesn't make sense to ball that all into VS. My 2 cents.
HTH,
Erik
I believe Microsoft is planning to keep this as a separate tool, and not include it (at least in the Pro level MSDN subscriptions).
The official thought seems to be Visual Studio->Programmer and Expression->Designer, and officially, the two programs are meant to be used by two separate people. This gives them another revenue source, and a good enough excuse that I doubt they'll change it.
But... I don't work for Microsoft, and I won't pretend to understand the depth's of the craziness associated with Microsoft's development tools business model...