Get a jump on the next release of Silverlight with early insights from a Technical Evangelist on the Microsoft Silverlight team. This guide describes how you can simplify the development and deployment of rich interactive applications (RIAs) by using Silverlight 2 tools with Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 and the Microsoft .NET Framework. RIAs are Web applications with the features and functionality of full desktop applications. Processing tasks are performed on the client, but data is stored on the server. With Silverlight, RIAs install quickly via a small, on-demand plug-in. This book demonstrates how you can easily use existing skills and tools to deliver next-generation user interfaces and media experiences. You ll discover how to begin building different types of Silverlight-based solutions, generate Silverlight applications dynamically on the server, create an XAML service, and more. The book also features a companion Web site with code samples in Microsoft Visual C# and Visual Basic .

Key Book Benefits:

* Delivers practical, grounded advice from a member of the Silverlight team, including an insider's view of the evolution of this Web presentation technology

* Describes how Silverlight 2 will simplify development and deployment of RIAs with the .NET Framework and Visual Studio 2008

* Provides context about the relationships among Silverlight and the various .NET Framework 3.0 and 3.5 technologies

* Places RIAs in context for both Web and Windows-based developers

* Features a companion Web site with code samples in Visual C# and Visual Basic