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With XAML, Silverlight, and the Expression suite of web development software, Microsoft has provided all the tools that designers, developers, and managers need to collaborate on creating breakthrough user experiences. However, designers and developers have traditionally found it difficult to collaborate, and the mere presence of the tools doesn't solve that problem. There's been a growing clamor for reliable, practical information on making this collaboration work in real enterprises. In The Zen of XAML, Robby Ingebretsen offers this desperately needed guidance. Ingrebetsen is singularly well qualified to write this book. He is a leading edge "creative developer" with a deep understanding both the technical and design issues involved - and also former program manager for Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF). Ingrebetsen offers a specific and detailed roadmap for effective collaboration and workflow on projects that involve both state-of-the-art design and software development. Drawing on his unique experience, he shares a nuanced perspective on the collaboration-enabling capabilities of WPF and Silverlight. He gives designers the information and support they need to buy in and "take ownership" of their new integration-related roles; and helps developers understand how implementing workflow can benefit them, and what they need to do to support it.

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Four-color graphics and screenshots throughout make Pro Silverlight 3 in C# an invaluable reference for professional developers wanting to discover the new features of Silverlight 3. Author Matthew MacDonald's expertly crafted tutorial guides you through creating rich media applications using Silverlight in the environment you're most productive in–no matter what the target platform.

As you learn about the features that put Silverlight in direct competition with Adobe Flash, such as rich support for 2D and 3D drawing, animations, and media playback, you'll experience the plumbing of .NET and the design model of WPF through Silverlight–all of the same .NET technology that developers use to design next-generation Windows applications. Author Matthew MacDonald provides an expertly crafted tutorial written from professional developer to professional developer. You'll learn to create rich media applications using Silverlight in the environment you're most productive in–no matter what the target platform.

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"We did what would normally take six months in eight days-with a team learning from scratch." -from Chapter 1 of Hacking Silverlight

Writing good code is hard enough using established, well-documented technologies; with something new like Silverlight, you need to think like a hacker. Hacking Silverlight is a unique tutorial that shows the reader how to build great Silverlight web applications fearlessly. Each chapter starts and ends with carefully annotated code examples that range from Silverlight basics to undocumented techniques you won't find anywhere else.

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Professional Expression Blend 3.0: with Silverlight shows developers how to use the 3.0 release of Microsoft Expression Blend to build rich interactive Silverlight and other applications. The initial chapter introduces readers to the basic architecture and features of Expression Blend 3.0 and the advancements in design and development that it achieves. The concepts are stated in terms that Microsoft .NET application developers will understand, and include references to previously known concepts within development models such as methods, events, triggers etc..   The author then quickly provides a demonstration of how to use Blend 3.0 to create a simple Silverlight application.   The following chapters then dive into the details, showing how to build more sophisticated applications.

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Essential Skills Made Easy!

This hands-on guide prepares software developers to create next-generation Web and Windows applications using Microsoft Silverlight--the new technology that extends the .NET Framework to the client. The book covers Microsoft Silverlight 2.0, the .NET Framework 3.5, and prerequisite technologies. You will learn to use Silverlight to stream multimedia content across the Web, create dynamic, data-driven Silverlight applications, and implement security.

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Silverlight design tools have important differences compared to those used to create Ajax and JavaScript functionality. Robert Lair takes you on a tour of all the tools, including Microsoft Expression Design, which plays an important part in creating Silverlight assets; Microsoft Expression Blend, which is used to build user interaction for Silverlight elements; and Microsoft Visual Studio, which manages the interaction between designers and developers, providing the coding environment for "nuts and bolts" wiring.

Once you've mastered the basics, you'll move on to gaining a more in-depth knowledge of some of the groundbreaking new features of the Silverlight technology.

The growing popularity of Web 2.0 applications is increasing user expectations for high-quality web site design, presentation, and functionality. It is into this climate that Microsoft is releasing Silverlight 3, the third iteration of its cross-browser web presentation technology and the second to ride on top of the .NET platform. Beginning Sliverlight 3 brings you to the cutting-edge of Web 2.0 application design and includes plenty of practical guidance to get you started straightaway.

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This valuable reference—in full color—explains the major new release of Silverlight 3 which is dramatically improved over previous versions and makes the development of powerful Rich Interactive Applications (RIAs) achievable for everyone. Packed with examples and written by a highly-seasoned team of developers and designers, this book guides you through the languages, tools, and techniques that are used to build applications on the Silverlight 3 platform (Build 40522). Each chapter provides a mini-tutorial on the respective topic, and the examples serve to both educate and inspire you. The information in this book is structured to help prepare you for the real-world challenges you may face when building applications on the Silverlight platform. By the end of the book, you’ll have gained a thorough understanding of how Silverlight applications are architected, developed, and designed.

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Accelerated Silverlight 3 teaches you how to get up to speed with the latest version of Silverlight quickly and efficiently. The book assumes you're already comfortable with the basics of .NET coding and with WPF and builds on your existing knowledge to make your journey to Silverlight 3 proficiency as quick and painless as possible. Where coding techniques are similar to other, more established, areas of .NET, the text says so. Likewise, where there's a syntax or conceptual "gotcha" that you're existing coding habits will walk you into, the text points that out, too.

This book provides you with fast-track coverage of all the most important elements of the Silverlight 3 technology ranging from XAML to standard controls, from dealing with media to networking, from testing to deployment. It concludes with a pair of fully worked sample applications for you to follow through, because nothing reinforces your understanding of how concepts fit together as much as looking at finished code.

It is assumed that readers are already be comfortable with the workings of the .NET Framework. Knowledge of Expression Blend is useful, but not mandatory: you'll learn the Blend techniques that you need to know as you go through the book. By the end, you will have followed a sound, concise, path to mastery of Silverlight 3.

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Microsoft Silverlight is a leading cross-platform, Rich Internet Application (RIA) technology that allows you to create more compelling and interactive Web experiences than were possible with simple HTML browser pages. Silverlight 3 includes significant improvements over previous versions, including “out-of-browser” operation, H.264 video, 3D graphics, and real-time effects.

Essential Silverlight 3 is the definitive reference and insider’s guide. It not only covers all the key features of Silverlight 3 and how to use them but, in Under the Hood sections, explains why each feature was developed and how each one works. These “insider” explanations often lead to concise, practical performance tips that can help you speed up your own Silverlight applications.

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Silverlight 2 Lab presents a new approach to learning about Silverlight. Andrew Troelsen, author and .NET trainer, simulates the highly effective teaching and presentation techniques of a corporate training workshop in order to provide a deep treatment of Silverlight 2 in an accessible manner.

Each chapter begins with a focused “traditional treatment” in which the scope of the chapter and the topics that will be covered are discussed and the course of the training lab laid out. Then, once the stage has been set, the bulk of the chapter takes the form of a hands–on lab that walks you deeply through the topic in a highly experiential manner, with new techniques and ideas encountered and explained as you progress. For this reason, the book is targeted at experienced .NET developers who already possess a good knowledge of C# and an outline understanding of what Silverlight is. Starting at this level allows readers to dive deeply into the subject from the very beginning.

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