While writing Silverlight 2 in Action, I found it difficult to keep up with Silverlight happenings in the blogosphere. A lot of my free time was spent deep in the bowels of the Silverlight SDK and writing sample code to try and test one thing or another. Thankfully, there were several individuals in the Silverlight community that really helped me zero in on the things I was missing through Twitter. Here are the 7 Twitter accounts, in alphabetical order, that I have followed related to Silverlight and have found valuable.
@adkinn - Adam Kinney is a UI Technology Evangelist for Microsoft. He regularly posts great demos of Silverlight and WPF in use in the real world and on Channel 9. I really enjoy seeing how others are using Silverlight and WPF in the real world.
@john_papa - John Papa is the author of the great Silverlight book: Data-Driven Services with Silverlight 2. It's really good stuff. John posts very regularly and is very active in the Silverlight community. For some reason I just recently started following him (my bad).
@Pete_Brown - Pete Brown is a fellow Silverlight insider and Microsoft MVP. He regularly posts info about Silverlight and his personal musings which makes for an entertaining Twitter feed. In addition, he has committed to picking up the baton and running with Silverlight 3 in Action. I'm really excited to see what Pete puts together for this book.
@ShawnWildermuth - This is the Twitter account of Shawn Wildermuth. Shawn runs the Silverlight Tour. He does a great job of posting content related to the bleeding edge of Microsoft development platforms on his blog.
@teamsilverlight - This is the official Silverlight Team Twitter feed. This is a great feed to get Silverlight related information straight from the horse's mouth. A lot of times content is posted that links back to the official Silverlight Team blog. What's really cool is that the team regularly responds to individuals through this Twitter feed.
@timheuer - Tim Heuer is a Silverlight team member. He regularly posts information related to Silverlight through his Twitter feed and on his blog. The content of this blog is generally targeted at developers and fairly technical in nature.
@WynApse - This Twitter account posts very regular (near daily) updates of the "Cream of the Crop" in the Silverlight community. The links generally post back to the very valuable Silverlight Cream site. If you want to keep up with the latest in the Silverlight community, make sure you are watching this site.
This is my personal list that I have found valuable. I am sure there are plenty of other Silverlight Twitter folk out there that I am not aware of just yet. You can find more here. Whether I am on your list of Silverlight Twitter accounts is up to you (you can follow me here). Either way, are there any Silverlight Twitter accounts I'm missing? If so, please list them in the comments.
Thanks!
Showing posts with label Silverlight 2 in Action. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Silverlight 2 in Action. Show all posts
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Silverlight 2 in Review and Silverlight 3 (yes Three) in Action Discussion
Silverlight has had some phenomenal success in the past six months. This success has been spread across several categories of experiences including, but not limited to:
Based on the reader reviews on Amazon.com, it seems like most individuals were happy with Silverlight 2 in Action. I know that you cannot make everyone happy (as shown here). However, I do want to try to identify and remedy those flaws in Silverlight 2 in Action. We will attempt to address these flaws in Silverlight 3 in Action. With that said, would you please consider responding to the following questions:
- Historical Events
- The Presidential Inauguration - Silverlight was used to stream the event live on the official presidential inauguration committee site and on CBS. In addition, both CNN and MSNBC used Silverlight to provide a unique view of the event thanks to some help from Photosynth.
- TV and Movie Viewers
- Netflix is using Silverlight for its Watch Instantly feature
- Blockbuster will be using Silverlight for it's MovieLink functionality. If the NFL would do the same, I would actually watch the NFL online (Dear NFL: If you want to push advertisements on me, you must at least provide an experience I can endure. I will not use your current viewer. You are losing revenue. You should consider using Silverlight)
- Sporting Events
- Utilities
- Hard Rock Cafe is using Silverlight to display their memorabilia online.
- AOL is using Silverlight for its rich mail client.
- Inkubook is using Silverlight to empower individuals to build photo books online.
Based on the reader reviews on Amazon.com, it seems like most individuals were happy with Silverlight 2 in Action. I know that you cannot make everyone happy (as shown here). However, I do want to try to identify and remedy those flaws in Silverlight 2 in Action. We will attempt to address these flaws in Silverlight 3 in Action. With that said, would you please consider responding to the following questions:
- What was missing from Silverlight 2 in Action?
- What did you not like?
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Silverlight 2 - Getting Started with the Chart Control
This post has been moved to my new blog. You can find this post at http://blog.ecofic.com/?p=155.
Thank you for reading!
Thank you for reading!
Silverlight 2 - Introducing the Chart Control
This post has been moved to my new blog. This post can not be found at http://blog.ecofic.com/?p=133.
Thank you for reading!
Thank you for reading!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Silverlight 2 RTW - Forward Ho!
Greetings!
I am excited about two things right now. First, as you have probably heard by now, Silverlight 2 has reached RTW (Release To Web). Second, Silverlight 2 in Action is finished. Over the course of this post I will provide you with some details surrounding these two thrilling announcements (at least IMHO).
Silverlight 2 RTW
The lead up to Silverlight 2 has been pretty amazing. In fact, I hadn't realized how amazing it was until I reviewed the official press release. Even more incredible though is the RTW milestone that was just reached. The honest-to-goodness, full-blown, install-it-on-every-machine version is available here! In addition, there are some more goodies coming as described in the press release. These goodies include:
Silverlight 2 in Action
This project started in May of 2007 and the time requirements have steadily increased. Most recently, John and I have been working feverishly to finalize Silverlight 2 in Action, while ensuring technical accuracy with the RTW release. At this time I am pleased to announce that I literally just gave my "go-ahead" to push the print button. Printing will begin tommorow (Wednesday). Print copies will be available at the PDC conference if you are going. If you have ordered it through Amazon.com or another channel, thank-you, and you should receive your copy around the PDC time period. I am sorry, I do not have more specific dates to announce at this time. I am working to get the code for the book posted this week.
There are a lot of individuals to thank. Those individuals are listed in the book itself. However, for the individuals that generally read this blog, I would like to specifically thank the Silverlight team and John Stockton.
The Silverlight team at Microsoft was incredible throughout this process. To those individuals that say Microsoft is not committed to openness and interoperability, I say horse dung. From January of 2007 on I have personally witnessed a commitment to these items. I am confident with the announcment of the Eclipse Tools for Silverlight that this is a direction instead of a reaction to some naysayers. In the future, I hope to write a blog post about my experiences working with Microsoft over the course of Silverlight 2 in Action.
Next up is John. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, John had to sort of step in at the last minute and take the reigns of chapter 6. I think John did an incredible job with chapter 6. I sincerely hope you enjoy John's efforts and I definately appreciate his help with this. He has had to endure quite a bit in a small amount of time. Without John's dedication, I think this book would have been lacking in some areas. However, because of John's commitment, I believe we have a book that we are both happy with and others seem to be happy with as well. If you enjoy it, I hope you'll join us in the Facebook Fan Club.
What's Next
I have been asked what I plan to do next. I really don't like to talk about myself and I think that is beyond the scope of this blog. However, I will share what I plan to do with Silverlight now that Silverlight 2 in Action is done.
First off, I will not be writing Silverlight 3 (or whatever the next version of Silverlight is called) in Action. This experience has taken a lot of energy out of me. It has challenged me in so many ways and pushed me to my extremes. I know it sounds cliche, but I would have never guessed it going into the project. Instead I will be focusing more on the Silverlight platform itself.
This blog will return to its format before Silverlight 2 in Action. Among other things, I would like to post some details on the ListControls in Silverlight. I would like to talk about templating in more detail. I want to blog about my experiences working with MS during Silverlight 2 in Action. This is just a sampling of how I want this blog to focus on Silverlight going forward.
I also plan to more regularly speak and provide webcasts. However, providing all of this content does not directly drive adoption. That is what Silverlight needs now. In order to do that we as developers need to create applications that users want. Because of this, a lot of my time will be focused on a side project I hope to finish in the March 2009 timeframe. This project will use Silverlight and I think it will help drive some adoption. Or maybe I'm just being overly optimistic :)
Either way, go and download Silverlight 2 now. Get your development environment setup. Learn about the details of Silverlight 2 and build something smoking hot! :)
I am excited about two things right now. First, as you have probably heard by now, Silverlight 2 has reached RTW (Release To Web). Second, Silverlight 2 in Action is finished. Over the course of this post I will provide you with some details surrounding these two thrilling announcements (at least IMHO).
Silverlight 2 RTW
The lead up to Silverlight 2 has been pretty amazing. In fact, I hadn't realized how amazing it was until I reviewed the official press release. Even more incredible though is the RTW milestone that was just reached. The honest-to-goodness, full-blown, install-it-on-every-machine version is available here! In addition, there are some more goodies coming as described in the press release. These goodies include:
- More controls through the Silverlight control pack. This control pack will be released under the MS-Pl and should be available around the PDC. The controls in this pack include: Accordian, AutoComplete, DockPanel, ViewBox, TreeView, and more to be annnounced later.
- Eclipse Tools for Silverlight. Personally, this makes me think of my Java days. I am very excited to see the Silverlight tool set extend beyond Visual Studio. I believe this will help the Silverlight development community flourish. If you are a Java developer, or know of a Java developer, and have questions about Silverlight, please do not hesitate to contact me. I am more than willing to share my experiences working with Java on a number of levels and comparing and contrasting them to my experiences with .NET / Silverlight and Flash
Silverlight 2 in Action
This project started in May of 2007 and the time requirements have steadily increased. Most recently, John and I have been working feverishly to finalize Silverlight 2 in Action, while ensuring technical accuracy with the RTW release. At this time I am pleased to announce that I literally just gave my "go-ahead" to push the print button. Printing will begin tommorow (Wednesday). Print copies will be available at the PDC conference if you are going. If you have ordered it through Amazon.com or another channel, thank-you, and you should receive your copy around the PDC time period. I am sorry, I do not have more specific dates to announce at this time. I am working to get the code for the book posted this week.
There are a lot of individuals to thank. Those individuals are listed in the book itself. However, for the individuals that generally read this blog, I would like to specifically thank the Silverlight team and John Stockton.
The Silverlight team at Microsoft was incredible throughout this process. To those individuals that say Microsoft is not committed to openness and interoperability, I say horse dung. From January of 2007 on I have personally witnessed a commitment to these items. I am confident with the announcment of the Eclipse Tools for Silverlight that this is a direction instead of a reaction to some naysayers. In the future, I hope to write a blog post about my experiences working with Microsoft over the course of Silverlight 2 in Action.
Next up is John. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, John had to sort of step in at the last minute and take the reigns of chapter 6. I think John did an incredible job with chapter 6. I sincerely hope you enjoy John's efforts and I definately appreciate his help with this. He has had to endure quite a bit in a small amount of time. Without John's dedication, I think this book would have been lacking in some areas. However, because of John's commitment, I believe we have a book that we are both happy with and others seem to be happy with as well. If you enjoy it, I hope you'll join us in the Facebook Fan Club.
What's Next
I have been asked what I plan to do next. I really don't like to talk about myself and I think that is beyond the scope of this blog. However, I will share what I plan to do with Silverlight now that Silverlight 2 in Action is done.
First off, I will not be writing Silverlight 3 (or whatever the next version of Silverlight is called) in Action. This experience has taken a lot of energy out of me. It has challenged me in so many ways and pushed me to my extremes. I know it sounds cliche, but I would have never guessed it going into the project. Instead I will be focusing more on the Silverlight platform itself.
This blog will return to its format before Silverlight 2 in Action. Among other things, I would like to post some details on the ListControls in Silverlight. I would like to talk about templating in more detail. I want to blog about my experiences working with MS during Silverlight 2 in Action. This is just a sampling of how I want this blog to focus on Silverlight going forward.
I also plan to more regularly speak and provide webcasts. However, providing all of this content does not directly drive adoption. That is what Silverlight needs now. In order to do that we as developers need to create applications that users want. Because of this, a lot of my time will be focused on a side project I hope to finish in the March 2009 timeframe. This project will use Silverlight and I think it will help drive some adoption. Or maybe I'm just being overly optimistic :)
Either way, go and download Silverlight 2 now. Get your development environment setup. Learn about the details of Silverlight 2 and build something smoking hot! :)
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Silverlight 2 in Action - RC0 ready!
Greetings,
As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, the first release candidate of Silverlight 2 was made available late Thursday evening. This exciting release includes a bevy of enhancements and changes from Silverlight 2 Beta 2. A lot of these enhancements and changes are outlined here and here. It is important to acknowledge that Silverlight 2 RC0 is only intended for developers and should not be used for applications that are publicly visible yet. This release is designed to help you migrate your Beta 2 applications to the RTW release, which will be coming in the near future. To further help you in this migration, John Stockton and I have been burning the midnight oil on Silverlight 2 in Action.
Silverlight 2 in Action has been carefully reviewed to ensure consistency with the Silverlight 2 release candidate. Because RC0 is feature complete, we will be printing the book based on this build. If you would like a jump start on the fun, the content is available right now to MEAP customers. If you would like to become a MEAP customer you can do so by visiting here. When you do this, make sure to use the coupon code "slso35 " to save an extra 35%. Please feel free to share this code with others. This is a gift to those of you that are just as excited about Silverlight 2 as we are.
At this point, John and I are running through the book one final time to ensure accuracy before we hit the physical “print” button. There is a lot of content including:
• 12 chapters
• 423 pages
• 295 snippets
A website with all of the code from the snippets and walkthroughs should be available later this week. Because of this, if you are a MEAP customer, you can get the code associated with the snippets very soon.
Chad
P.S. I’m speaking on 2 separate topics at the IndyTechFest on October 4. If you are visiting this great day of events, stop by and say “hey”.
As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, the first release candidate of Silverlight 2 was made available late Thursday evening. This exciting release includes a bevy of enhancements and changes from Silverlight 2 Beta 2. A lot of these enhancements and changes are outlined here and here. It is important to acknowledge that Silverlight 2 RC0 is only intended for developers and should not be used for applications that are publicly visible yet. This release is designed to help you migrate your Beta 2 applications to the RTW release, which will be coming in the near future. To further help you in this migration, John Stockton and I have been burning the midnight oil on Silverlight 2 in Action.
Silverlight 2 in Action has been carefully reviewed to ensure consistency with the Silverlight 2 release candidate. Because RC0 is feature complete, we will be printing the book based on this build. If you would like a jump start on the fun, the content is available right now to MEAP customers. If you would like to become a MEAP customer you can do so by visiting here. When you do this, make sure to use the coupon code "slso35 " to save an extra 35%. Please feel free to share this code with others. This is a gift to those of you that are just as excited about Silverlight 2 as we are.
At this point, John and I are running through the book one final time to ensure accuracy before we hit the physical “print” button. There is a lot of content including:
• 12 chapters
• 423 pages
• 295 snippets
A website with all of the code from the snippets and walkthroughs should be available later this week. Because of this, if you are a MEAP customer, you can get the code associated with the snippets very soon.
Chad
P.S. I’m speaking on 2 separate topics at the IndyTechFest on October 4. If you are visiting this great day of events, stop by and say “hey”.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Silverlight 2 - Discussion and Halo 3
Greetings...
I hope your summer is going well. Mine has been busy finalizing Silverlight 2 in Action. I have been working closely with John Stockton to make this book as solid as possible. John has stepped up and has been working really hard to provide deep and informative content around communication and services for Silverlight 2 in Action (chapter 6). I'm working with John to ensure that the content and structure is consistent with the rest of the book. This is really important because chapter 6 really glues together the content from some of the previous chapters.
With that said, we are nearing completion. We are doing a lot of editing and filling in the holes. We will wait until the release candidate (mentioned in some comments by Scott Guthrie) to actually finalize the content. While Beta 2 is looking pretty good, we really want this book to be as accurate and complete as possible. With that said, we have some time and I would like to get some feedback from YOU.
On Sunday, July 20th at 9 p.m. EST I would like to discuss Silverlight 2 with anyone interested. I would really like to find out what you really want to know about and make sure that it is in the book. I figure if one person has a concern, there are certain to be others that share that concern. The forum for this discussion will be Halo 3 over X-Box Live. I've been itching to play it as I have been disconnected due to the book. If you would like to party up, please post a comment on this post. Please include your email address and gamertag. This comment will NOT be published in order to respect your privacy. Once I receive your comment, I will send you an email and a friend invite.
Have a great day!
Chad
I hope your summer is going well. Mine has been busy finalizing Silverlight 2 in Action. I have been working closely with John Stockton to make this book as solid as possible. John has stepped up and has been working really hard to provide deep and informative content around communication and services for Silverlight 2 in Action (chapter 6). I'm working with John to ensure that the content and structure is consistent with the rest of the book. This is really important because chapter 6 really glues together the content from some of the previous chapters.
With that said, we are nearing completion. We are doing a lot of editing and filling in the holes. We will wait until the release candidate (mentioned in some comments by Scott Guthrie) to actually finalize the content. While Beta 2 is looking pretty good, we really want this book to be as accurate and complete as possible. With that said, we have some time and I would like to get some feedback from YOU.
On Sunday, July 20th at 9 p.m. EST I would like to discuss Silverlight 2 with anyone interested. I would really like to find out what you really want to know about and make sure that it is in the book. I figure if one person has a concern, there are certain to be others that share that concern. The forum for this discussion will be Halo 3 over X-Box Live. I've been itching to play it as I have been disconnected due to the book. If you would like to party up, please post a comment on this post. Please include your email address and gamertag. This comment will NOT be published in order to respect your privacy. Once I receive your comment, I will send you an email and a friend invite.
Have a great day!
Chad
Friday, June 06, 2008
FREE Silverlight 2 EBook Raffle
Greetings,
I've been heads down working on Silverlight 2 in Action over the past couple of months. With the release of Silverlight Beta 2, we are ready to make a couple of announcements. First, I would like to announce a raffle for Silverlight 2 in Action. Then, after providing a brief history of the book, I would like to announce the roadmap for the book.
In celebration of the release of Beta, I have been given FIVE (5) coupons for one FREE Ebook to distribute. In order to provide everyone with an interest in Silverlight 2 an equal chance at this content, I have decided to create a raffle. The winners for this raffle will be randomly selected on Saturday, June 21st, 2008.
In order to enter the raffle, please visit www.farfle.com and fill out the form. You will receive a confirmation email after you fill out the form. If you do not receive a confirmation within 10 minutes of submitting, please post a comment on this blog. My web hosting provider has been having some issues, and I want to make sure your entry gets in. Regardless, please note that you may only enter once, duplicate entries will be removed.
On Saturday, June 21st, 2008 I will randomly select FIVE (5) winners. On that day you will receive one e-mail that will inform you if you or another individual has won. If you win, you will have 48 hours to respond. If you do not respond within 48 hours, another particpant will be selected and you will not receive the coupon.
Your e-mail address WILL be kept private. In addition, I will NOT spam you to buy the book. If you do not win, don't worry, you will still have the opportunity to get the content thanks to Manning Publishing's Early Access Program. If you are not familiar with this process you can find out more here.
Believe it or not, I started this book in the middle of May of 2007. In other words, this book has been in development for over a year. I spent a lot of time playing with Silverlight and WPF to help me write the content. I want to publicly thank the MEAP adopters that have provided some excellent feedback. Especially Ben Hayat. Ben has been encouraging and a positive voice. He has also provided some excellent feedback. I also want to thank my publisher, Manning Publishing, as well as my editor, Cynthia Kane, for their patience and guidance on this project. But we're not done yet...
Currently, there are 8 chapters available through the MEAP program. These chapters are going through some finalizations. Because of this, there are still some remnants from SL2 Beta 1. Those will be fixed before we publish. If you see "bugs" in the content, please do not hesitate to let me know. I have some time scheduled to go over the whole book one final time to make sure it is all correct before we actually publish the book. MEAP customers get the updated content as it becomes available.
In regards to the remaining 4 chapters, those will come very quickly. In fact, I just sent off the o.k. to prepare chapter 12 for MEAP-ing. So that should be available next week. Chapter 4 is about 90% complete. Chapter 10 is about 80% complete. I will be focussing on Chapter 10 this weekend and I hope to finish it up. Chapter 6 is sort of in limbo right now. It is a bit of a long story, but I hope to make an announcement around that content during my next blog post.
Thank you and Good Luck!
I've been heads down working on Silverlight 2 in Action over the past couple of months. With the release of Silverlight Beta 2, we are ready to make a couple of announcements. First, I would like to announce a raffle for Silverlight 2 in Action. Then, after providing a brief history of the book, I would like to announce the roadmap for the book.
Raffle
In celebration of the release of Beta, I have been given FIVE (5) coupons for one FREE Ebook to distribute. In order to provide everyone with an interest in Silverlight 2 an equal chance at this content, I have decided to create a raffle. The winners for this raffle will be randomly selected on Saturday, June 21st, 2008.
In order to enter the raffle, please visit www.farfle.com and fill out the form. You will receive a confirmation email after you fill out the form. If you do not receive a confirmation within 10 minutes of submitting, please post a comment on this blog. My web hosting provider has been having some issues, and I want to make sure your entry gets in. Regardless, please note that you may only enter once, duplicate entries will be removed.
On Saturday, June 21st, 2008 I will randomly select FIVE (5) winners. On that day you will receive one e-mail that will inform you if you or another individual has won. If you win, you will have 48 hours to respond. If you do not respond within 48 hours, another particpant will be selected and you will not receive the coupon.
Your e-mail address WILL be kept private. In addition, I will NOT spam you to buy the book. If you do not win, don't worry, you will still have the opportunity to get the content thanks to Manning Publishing's Early Access Program. If you are not familiar with this process you can find out more here.
Silverlight 2 in Action - History
Believe it or not, I started this book in the middle of May of 2007. In other words, this book has been in development for over a year. I spent a lot of time playing with Silverlight and WPF to help me write the content. I want to publicly thank the MEAP adopters that have provided some excellent feedback. Especially Ben Hayat. Ben has been encouraging and a positive voice. He has also provided some excellent feedback. I also want to thank my publisher, Manning Publishing, as well as my editor, Cynthia Kane, for their patience and guidance on this project. But we're not done yet...
Silverlight 2 in Action - Moving Forward
Currently, there are 8 chapters available through the MEAP program. These chapters are going through some finalizations. Because of this, there are still some remnants from SL2 Beta 1. Those will be fixed before we publish. If you see "bugs" in the content, please do not hesitate to let me know. I have some time scheduled to go over the whole book one final time to make sure it is all correct before we actually publish the book. MEAP customers get the updated content as it becomes available.
In regards to the remaining 4 chapters, those will come very quickly. In fact, I just sent off the o.k. to prepare chapter 12 for MEAP-ing. So that should be available next week. Chapter 4 is about 90% complete. Chapter 10 is about 80% complete. I will be focussing on Chapter 10 this weekend and I hope to finish it up. Chapter 6 is sort of in limbo right now. It is a bit of a long story, but I hope to make an announcement around that content during my next blog post.
Thank you and Good Luck!
Friday, May 02, 2008
Silverlight 2 in Action - Co-Author
Greetings,
In an effort to ensure that Silverlight 2 in Action becomes available in a timely fashion, I have asked to bring on a co-author. I am excited to announce that Michael Schwartz will be writing one of the chapters in this book.
Michael is a Microsoft MVP and seasoned Silverlight professional. In fact, I believe that Michael was one of the first three non-Microsoft individuals to get on board with Silverlight. That number may be off slightly. However, I do not think by much. Michael was an extremely early adopter.
We are hoping to MEAP some more content very soon. Thank you for your patience.
In an effort to ensure that Silverlight 2 in Action becomes available in a timely fashion, I have asked to bring on a co-author. I am excited to announce that Michael Schwartz will be writing one of the chapters in this book.
Michael is a Microsoft MVP and seasoned Silverlight professional. In fact, I believe that Michael was one of the first three non-Microsoft individuals to get on board with Silverlight. That number may be off slightly. However, I do not think by much. Michael was an extremely early adopter.
We are hoping to MEAP some more content very soon. Thank you for your patience.
Thursday, April 03, 2008
DataGrid and DeepZoom Info Available in Silverlight 2 in Action
Greetings!
Today we released two new chapters to Silverlight 2 in Action MEAP customers. With that in mind, I want to give you some information related to the new content, as well as the previous content. In addition, I also want to let you know what you can expect moving forward.
I’m still not sure what happened, but some previously released content was re-released. This was unintentional because the content originally covered Silverlight 1.1. I will say that the MEAP content that has just been released still has some Silverlight 1.1 stuff (especially in chapters 1 and 2). However, the necessary changes have been made to be consistent with Silverlight 2. I hope that by the next MEAP release, this will be resolved.
With that said, if you still feel there is content out-of-date beyond chapter 2, please do not hesitate to let me know.
I really want this book to be a solid resource. Because of this, if you want something or feel something is missing; please do not hesitate to let me know. I will see if it can be worked in.
Currently, I am working on chapter 10. This chapter covers resources, styles, and templates. I’m hoping to finish this chapter up by the end of this weekend. From there, MEAP customers will get the content approx. 1 week after I finish the chapter.
I hope you have enjoyed what you have seen thus far. Now, I’ve got get back to writing the actual book.
Today we released two new chapters to Silverlight 2 in Action MEAP customers. With that in mind, I want to give you some information related to the new content, as well as the previous content. In addition, I also want to let you know what you can expect moving forward.
New Content
The new chapters cover two very exciting and important aspects of Silverlight: Data and Media. This information is covered in chapters 4 and 7.- Chapter 4 – This chapter covers a wide range of data-related topics in-depth. These topics include: data binding, data templating, using the DataGrid, and an overview of LINQ. The content in this chapter is pretty meaty. This has personally been my favorite chapter to write thus far. The reason why was primarily because of data templates. Data templates are really, REALLY cool (if you don’t believe me, come to my presentation in Indianapolis, IN on April 26th). In addition, I am pretty impressed with the DataGrid, even though it is still in its infancy.
- Chapter 7 – The focus of this chapter is media, including deep-zoom. In this chapter you will see an old-friend from Silverlight 1.0: the MediaElement. This will include information related to the properties and lifecycle of this element in Silverlight 2. You will also see information about playlists and interactive playback. In addition, there is a high-level overview of the content access (a.k.a DRM) features of Silverlight 2. From there you will get a detailed tour of the imaging and deep zooming features.
Previous Content
I have received some comments / questions regarding the current MEAP content. These items have generally expressed concern that the content was outdated with Silverlight 2. In fact, if you mentioned this, you are correct.I’m still not sure what happened, but some previously released content was re-released. This was unintentional because the content originally covered Silverlight 1.1. I will say that the MEAP content that has just been released still has some Silverlight 1.1 stuff (especially in chapters 1 and 2). However, the necessary changes have been made to be consistent with Silverlight 2. I hope that by the next MEAP release, this will be resolved.
With that said, if you still feel there is content out-of-date beyond chapter 2, please do not hesitate to let me know.
Roadmap
Another common question that has been asked has been “is the MEAP version the final version of the content?” The answer is definitely NO. For instance, in chapter 4, I already know that I will be updating the DataGrid section and fixing up the LINQ portions a bit. Currently, both of these sections provide a lot of content as-is. However, there is still more that needs to be included in this book (like the sorting features of the DataGrid coming in Beta 2).I really want this book to be a solid resource. Because of this, if you want something or feel something is missing; please do not hesitate to let me know. I will see if it can be worked in.
Currently, I am working on chapter 10. This chapter covers resources, styles, and templates. I’m hoping to finish this chapter up by the end of this weekend. From there, MEAP customers will get the content approx. 1 week after I finish the chapter.
I hope you have enjoyed what you have seen thus far. Now, I’ve got get back to writing the actual book.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Silverlight 2 in Action - New Content Available
Hello, 
I am very excited to announce two things. First, there is more content available for Silverlight 2 in Action. Second, I would like to extend the opportunity to you to make some easy money promoting the book (if you like it). After providing the details surrounding those two announcements, I will discuss how and when future content related to the book will be released.
Chapter 1 - This chapter, which is available for free, provides an overview of Silverlight and XAML. This overview explains several of the key reasons to use Silverlight. I refer to these drivers as the "Three P's of Silverlight". These are: Performance, Portability, and Productivity. This content was provided because, like you, I have individuals that I must report to. Because of this, I need to be able to confidently answer why Silverlight is a responsible choice for web application development. Considering Silverlight is a newer technology, I assumed that you may need to have similar discussions. Based on the large amount of misconceptions I have seen floating around the web, I am really glad this material is in the book. Some have mentioned they felt this material was not technical enough for this kind of book. I respect that viewpoint. However chapter 2 switches gears and goes uber-technical.
Chapter 2 - Throughout chapter 2, you will learn about Silverlight's tight integration with the web. This chapter will explain, in detail, how to add Silverlight to any new or existing web application. This includes adding Silverlight to any ASP.NET, PHP, JSP, or [name your webby server technology] application. From here, the chapter will turn to examining the Silverlight application model. Then, their will be an indepth discussion over Silverlight's rich HTML DOM APIs. This content will empower you to manipulate a web page's HTML from managed code, specifically with C#. In addition you will learn how to call managed code from the scripting world.
Chapter 3 - This chapter shifts the focus to the UI. This chapter will cover the intricacies of layout including the Canvas, StackPanel, and the Grid. In addition, the irreplacable TextBlock will be detailed. Significantly, this chapter will discuss the core visual classes in Silverlight: UIElement and FrameworkElement.
Chapter 8 - This chapter details the things you have probably already seen. These items include the 2D graphics features. These include shapes, geometries, brushes, and transformations. Significantly, these items are really an important component of what is possible with Silverlight. These items are a critical component of animation, which is the topic of chapter 9.
Chapter 9 - This chapter covers the powerful animation features within Silverlight. This is covered in detail with a number of illuminating figures. In addition, this chapter will teach you how to use animations from managed code.
Chapter 11 - This chapter shifts the focus back to items new in Silverlight 2. This includes the cross-browser-session enabling isolated storage feature. In addition, you will learn how to dynamically load XAML at runtime. This powerful feature can be complemented by the useful BackgroundWorker class. This class empowers you to perform a task behind-the-scenes, naturally, it will be covered. In addition, this chapter will explain, in detail, how to asynchronously download content on-the-fly! And finally, this chapter will conclude with a discussion around the impressive Dynamic Language Runtime (DLR).
As you can see, there is a lot of content. The breakdown of the content that is currently available is as follows:
Everyone likes money. If you like the book, and would permit a small advertisement on your blog, you can make some money. This advertisement would be the "Silverlight 2 in Action" animation you see along the right side of this blog. This animation is 138px wide and 173px high. If you have an interest, read on.
One of the really cool aspects of Silverlight is the number of ways you can deploy such content. One such way is with Silverlight Streaming. This option is used on this blog to host the previously described advertisement. In order to add this advertisement to your blog, you can follow these steps:
That's it. As you can see, the Silverlight Streaming service opens the doors to some new possibilities. Silverlight Streaming will be discussed in chapter 12 of "Silverlight 2 in Action". Chapter 12 will be coming in the future.
Over the next couple of months, early adopters will get the remaining six chapters. These chapters will be distributed as soon as they become available. In addition, there will be a website that contains the book's content. I was going to get the site up for this initial release, however, the site currently looks like crap. I didn't want it to reflect poorly on the book, so I have decided to withhold it for the moment. But there will be a website. And finally...
Thanks for reading! Enjoy Silverlight 2
I am very excited to announce two things. First, there is more content available for Silverlight 2 in Action. Second, I would like to extend the opportunity to you to make some easy money promoting the book (if you like it). After providing the details surrounding those two announcements, I will discuss how and when future content related to the book will be released.
Announcement 1 - Content
To coincide with the Silverlight 2 beta, we are making 6 chapters of Silverlight 2 in Action available. These chapters cover a wide variety of items. These items include things that you have seen in 1.1, but also a lot of stuff that has not been available until now. To give you a sneak peek at what is currently available, please look at the following list:Chapter 1 - This chapter, which is available for free, provides an overview of Silverlight and XAML. This overview explains several of the key reasons to use Silverlight. I refer to these drivers as the "Three P's of Silverlight". These are: Performance, Portability, and Productivity. This content was provided because, like you, I have individuals that I must report to. Because of this, I need to be able to confidently answer why Silverlight is a responsible choice for web application development. Considering Silverlight is a newer technology, I assumed that you may need to have similar discussions. Based on the large amount of misconceptions I have seen floating around the web, I am really glad this material is in the book. Some have mentioned they felt this material was not technical enough for this kind of book. I respect that viewpoint. However chapter 2 switches gears and goes uber-technical.
Chapter 2 - Throughout chapter 2, you will learn about Silverlight's tight integration with the web. This chapter will explain, in detail, how to add Silverlight to any new or existing web application. This includes adding Silverlight to any ASP.NET, PHP, JSP, or [name your webby server technology] application. From here, the chapter will turn to examining the Silverlight application model. Then, their will be an indepth discussion over Silverlight's rich HTML DOM APIs. This content will empower you to manipulate a web page's HTML from managed code, specifically with C#. In addition you will learn how to call managed code from the scripting world.
Chapter 3 - This chapter shifts the focus to the UI. This chapter will cover the intricacies of layout including the Canvas, StackPanel, and the Grid. In addition, the irreplacable TextBlock will be detailed. Significantly, this chapter will discuss the core visual classes in Silverlight: UIElement and FrameworkElement.
Chapter 8 - This chapter details the things you have probably already seen. These items include the 2D graphics features. These include shapes, geometries, brushes, and transformations. Significantly, these items are really an important component of what is possible with Silverlight. These items are a critical component of animation, which is the topic of chapter 9.
Chapter 9 - This chapter covers the powerful animation features within Silverlight. This is covered in detail with a number of illuminating figures. In addition, this chapter will teach you how to use animations from managed code.
Chapter 11 - This chapter shifts the focus back to items new in Silverlight 2. This includes the cross-browser-session enabling isolated storage feature. In addition, you will learn how to dynamically load XAML at runtime. This powerful feature can be complemented by the useful BackgroundWorker class. This class empowers you to perform a task behind-the-scenes, naturally, it will be covered. In addition, this chapter will explain, in detail, how to asynchronously download content on-the-fly! And finally, this chapter will conclude with a discussion around the impressive Dynamic Language Runtime (DLR).
As you can see, there is a lot of content. The breakdown of the content that is currently available is as follows:
- 6 chapters
- 167 pages
- 142 code snippets
- 38 figures
- 2 walkthroughs featuring Blend
- 57521 words
- 397678 characters
Announcement 2 - Promotion
Everyone likes money. If you like the book, and would permit a small advertisement on your blog, you can make some money. This advertisement would be the "Silverlight 2 in Action" animation you see along the right side of this blog. This animation is 138px wide and 173px high. If you have an interest, read on.
One of the really cool aspects of Silverlight is the number of ways you can deploy such content. One such way is with Silverlight Streaming. This option is used on this blog to host the previously described advertisement. In order to add this advertisement to your blog, you can follow these steps:
- Sign up with the Manning Affiliate program. Manning is the publisher of Silverlight 2 in Action and they have a referral program. This program keeps track of individuals who purchase the book by clicking the ad on your website. The payment details are discussed on the site. It probably won't be much, but if it is something you are interested in, please continue.
- Add the following script to your web site:
- Add the advertisement where you see fit. The following HTML/JavaScript will add the advertisement to your page.
- Change the
initParamsproperty value to point to your affiliate link. This link is available by logging into the affiliate site you registered with in step 1. It is important that you enter this value correctly to ensure you get credit. After you set theinitParamsvalue, test the advertisement. It should redirect you to "http://www.manning.com/campbell/". If it doesn't please post a comment on this blog.
That's it. As you can see, the Silverlight Streaming service opens the doors to some new possibilities. Silverlight Streaming will be discussed in chapter 12 of "Silverlight 2 in Action". Chapter 12 will be coming in the future.
Silverlight 2 in Action - Roadmap
Over the next couple of months, early adopters will get the remaining six chapters. These chapters will be distributed as soon as they become available. In addition, there will be a website that contains the book's content. I was going to get the site up for this initial release, however, the site currently looks like crap. I didn't want it to reflect poorly on the book, so I have decided to withhold it for the moment. But there will be a website. And finally...
- Feel free to join the Silverlight 2 in Action Facebook Group
- If you have comments related to the book, please feel free to share them. It is not too late to change content.
Thanks for reading! Enjoy Silverlight 2
Monday, March 03, 2008
Silverlight Info
Greetings,
Today I noticed two awesome Silverlight-related items that I think you may find interesting. These items are a great way to pass the time if you are chomping at the bit for Silverlight 2.
Today I noticed two awesome Silverlight-related items that I think you may find interesting. These items are a great way to pass the time if you are chomping at the bit for Silverlight 2.
- Silverlight Blueprint for SharePoint - Very cool stuff if you are doing line of business applications.
- Using Web Analytics with Microsoft Silverlight - Some really great information if you have a Silverlight application you want to expose to the search spiders.
- Silverlight 2 in Action - When the Silverlight 2 Beta becomes available (we know its soon), I will have a total of six chapters of my book available. I am pretty excited about these six chapters. I personally feel they are VERY solid however, I will let you decide for yourself. The remaining six chapters will come rapidly afterwards. However, we will NOT release a printed copy until we are confident of the quality and technical accuracy of the book (I have worked very hard to make sure things are as accurate as possible).
- Over the next 2 weeks, I have two other FREE surprises up my sleeve. Stay tuned to this blog for more info
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