Silverlight: Microsoft Set to Mix It Up in RIA Delivery

Silverlight: Microsoft Set to Mix It Up in RIA Delivery

hile the industry continues to grapple with the meaning behind Web 2.0 and Web 3.0, or the semantic web, it’s nevertheless seeing more tangible technology advancements in frameworks and tools for developing rich Internet applications (RIAs) that exhibit visually robust user experiences and interactive UIs. In the midst of the busy 2007 conference season, recent announcements from the Microsoft MIX ’07 and Sun Microsystems’ (12th annual) JavaOne 2007 conferences provided developers of web applications with an array of new and upcoming alternatives to consider for their development environments.

The MIX ’07 opening keynote featured splashy presentations of Microsoft’s latest efforts in web development and rich content delivery, the most noteworthy of which expanded on its recent unveiling of Silverlight?formerly code named Windows Presentation Foundation/Everywhere (WPF/E). Silverlight is a cross-platform, browser runtime providing a high-quality media experience supporting standards-based codecs that is now available as a 1.0 beta download. The production release will ship later in the summer, and there is mixed speculation as to whether it will rival the Adobe Flash Player technology.

Perhaps even more satisfying to the developer community in attendance at MIX was the announcement that Silverlight 1.1, now available as an alpha download, will include cross-platform support for the .NET Framework Common Language Runtime (CLR). The news certainly got a big round of applause. Microsoft executives touted it as a high-performance runtime of the .NET Framework that will allow developers to write client-side applications in any .NET-supported language.

The extremely quick Silverlight download and install?20 seconds, as demonstrated by Scott Guthrie, general manager within Microsoft’s developer division?provides a runtime for Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Microsoft Windows Vista, and Apple’s Mac OS X 10.4. Plug-ins are available for Microsoft Internet Explorer (6.0 and 7.0), Mozilla Firefox (1.5 and 2.0), and Apple’s Safari 2.0. Future builds reportedly will add support for Opera Software’s Opera browser and the Microsoft Windows 2000 operating system.

The additional announcement regarding Silverlight’s dynamic language runtime (DLR) support was also widely discussed among MIX attendees. The DLR provides a set of shared language services that facilitates development using Python (IronPython), JavaScript, C#, Visual Basic, and Ruby (IronRuby).

In somewhat stark contrast to these MIX announcements, the opening keynote at JavaOne the following week unveiled a new scripting language, JavaFX, that Sun is promoting for building dynamic, interactive user experiences and rich UIs. The new language, still in an alpha phase of development, will reportedly run unmodified on the Java SE platform and will integrate across all platforms. In some ways, Sun’s preview announcement of the new scripting language, which doesn’t yet have tools support, overshadowed its more advanced developments, including the completion of open sourcing Java through the open JDK for Java SE that includes class libraries, the Java SE Technical Compatibility Kit (JCK), a preview release of the NetBeans 6 IDE, and JavaFX Mobile that provides a complete stack for mobile phones and devices. For more details on the JavaOne announcements, see the article, “JavaFX: Sun’s Late Start in RIA Race.”One aspect to the Silverlight announcements at MIX that seemed to excite developers was its proprietary Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML)-based runtime environment for developing browser-based RIAs. Microsoft also announced the release of Expression Studio, which extends Visual Studio by providing tools that allow designers and developers to work collaboratively on projects. As described by Microsoft executives, the XAML-based tools simplify workflow by letting the designer and the developer work side by side without the developer having to later “break” the designer’s build to rebuild the final application in another language.

Part of this designer-developer collaborative environment was demonstrated by Wayne Smith, group project manager at Microsoft, using Expression Studio’s Blend 2.0 application, which Smith described as a prep tool?not an editing tool?for conceptualizing the web application’s interface. Blend accepts any video format for input and has an extensive library of graphic assets that can be combined with video clips to create different effects. The user can refine video clip settings down to one-second increments, and two or more clips can be “blended” together into a single video presentation.

Also announced at MIX was the foundational Silverlight Streaming technology, which is a companion service to Silverlight that will allow developers to take advantage of Microsoft’s investment in its services infrastructure and global content delivery network. Developers will be able to post their Silverlight applications, including associated photos and video clips, to Microsoft’s storage service for delivery in their web sites. Silverlight Streaming demonstrates Microsoft’s continuing efforts in its Software as a Service (SaaS) platform by offering a highly distributed, low-latency, high-scale delivery of Silverlight applications and media with “reasonable limitations,” according to Ray Ozzie, chief software architect at Microsoft.

In his remarks during the opening keynote at MIX, Ozzie said, “The simple concept of the web is simple no more.” He said user expectations have risen progressively higher, forcing developers to write complex JavaScript in an effort “to milk the most out of a specific browser on a specific platform.”

The level of interest in pushing AJAX to the web, Ozzie said, is dominating the desire to transform the web to a medium for rich interaction that has moved the industry well beyond AJAX to the power of browser extensions for media and advanced controls. The result, he said, are RIAs extending outside the browser to the desktop once again, causing a resurgence of service-connected desktop applications that connect the activity on web sites to local media and local applications.

“The web apps of today and the web apps of tomorrow,” he said, “are by necessity complicated and fragmented across many technologies, and that fragmentation affects the designer and the developer. Developers have to make very tough choices in terms of architecture and technology these days because of the richness of all the possible delivery platforms. In a rapidly evolving technology environment, picking the key technology is one of the most important decisions that [developers] need to make, especially at the front end of a project. It’s tough to make these fundamental technology decisions?languages, runtimes, tools?because all of these technologies bring with them a range of architectural constraints. To frame these technology decisions it helps to map out, up front, very explicitly what’s trying to be accomplished in terms of the richness of the user experience and the nature of the target audience.” Though it received a lot less of the MIX spotlight, the next version of Visual Studio, “Orcas,” also garnered a lot of attention from developers in attendance. The IDE was put to use in demonstrations during many of the breakout sessions. There were a few relatively minor rough spots in which a bug caused a brief pause or a feature still under development made for an abrupt segue; however, some of the highlighted features that were demonstrated in selected sessions included dynamic IntelliSense; a script manager for loading scripts; and streamlined, automated debugging. Integrated support for AJAX solutions incorporates the same functionality provided by AJAX and ASP.NET, and examples using the ListView control and the LINQ query syntax were also provided.

While the MIX conference had plenty to offer designers and developers, it also catered to the business decision maker segment of attendees. One panel in this track provided some perspectives designers should consider when designing web interfaces that will be used by other cultures. Aaron Marcus of Aaron Marcus and Associates?a Berkeley-based consultant organization that provides user interface and visualization design information for clients who employ mission-critical, complex, and rich web sites worldwide?moderated the panel, which consisted of Ryan Freitas of Adaptive Path, Kelly Goto of Gotomedia, Royce Lee of e-Crusade, and Surya Vanka of Microsoft.

The user experience for a worldwide audience presents challenges that go beyond mere language translation, Goto said, and one of the biggest business challenges designers face is how to account for cultural differences in the design of UIs for the web because research appears to bear out that what is popular or desirable abroad in a UI may not be popular or successful here in the U.S. and vice versa.

Goto suggested that one way to design for multicultural audiences is through ethnographic studies, where designers can gain a better understanding of how products and services fit into the lifestyles of the audiences they’re targeting. Similarly, Freitas said that when working with customers, it’s important for designers and developers to have their customers tell them as much as they know about their audiences and users, and get clients to talk about the behaviors the users engage in alongside the delivery of products.

RIA development for the interactive web is bursting with a lot of new technology opportunities. Some (Silverlight) are further along than others (JavaFX), and still others (Adobe Flash) are already well established. But there seems to be a lot of interest in the developer community to see how all of these technologies will evolve as development for the dynamic web progresses.

devx-admin

devx-admin

Share the Post:
Poland Energy Future

Westinghouse Builds Polish Power Plant

Westinghouse Electric Company and Bechtel have come together to establish a formal partnership in order to design and construct Poland’s inaugural nuclear power plant at

EV Labor Market

EV Industry Hurting For Skilled Labor

The United Auto Workers strike has highlighted the anticipated change towards a future dominated by electric vehicles (EVs), a shift which numerous people think will

Soaring EV Quotas

Soaring EV Quotas Spark Battle Against Time

Automakers are still expected to meet stringent electric vehicle (EV) sales quotas, despite the delayed ban on new petrol and diesel cars. Starting January 2023,

Affordable Electric Revolution

Tesla Rivals Make Bold Moves

Tesla, a name synonymous with EVs, has consistently been at the forefront of the automotive industry’s electric revolution. The products that Elon Musk has developed

Poland Energy Future

Westinghouse Builds Polish Power Plant

Westinghouse Electric Company and Bechtel have come together to establish a formal partnership in order to design and construct Poland’s inaugural nuclear power plant at the Lubiatowo-Kopalino site in Pomerania.

EV Labor Market

EV Industry Hurting For Skilled Labor

The United Auto Workers strike has highlighted the anticipated change towards a future dominated by electric vehicles (EVs), a shift which numerous people think will result in job losses. However,

Soaring EV Quotas

Soaring EV Quotas Spark Battle Against Time

Automakers are still expected to meet stringent electric vehicle (EV) sales quotas, despite the delayed ban on new petrol and diesel cars. Starting January 2023, more than one-fifth of automobiles

Affordable Electric Revolution

Tesla Rivals Make Bold Moves

Tesla, a name synonymous with EVs, has consistently been at the forefront of the automotive industry’s electric revolution. The products that Elon Musk has developed are at the forefront because

Sunsets' Technique

Inside the Climate Battle: Make Sunsets’ Technique

On February 12, 2023, Luke Iseman and Andrew Song from the solar geoengineering firm Make Sunsets showcased their technique for injecting sulfur dioxide (SO₂) into the stratosphere as a means

AI Adherence Prediction

AI Algorithm Predicts Treatment Adherence

Swoop, a prominent consumer health data company, has unveiled a cutting-edge algorithm capable of predicting adherence to treatment in people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and other health conditions. Utilizing artificial

Personalized UX

Here’s Why You Need to Use JavaScript and Cookies

In today’s increasingly digital world, websites often rely on JavaScript and cookies to provide users with a more seamless and personalized browsing experience. These key components allow websites to display

Geoengineering Methods

Scientists Dimming the Sun: It’s a Good Thing

Scientists at the University of Bern have been exploring geoengineering methods that could potentially slow down the melting of the West Antarctic ice sheet by reducing sunlight exposure. Among these

why startups succeed

The Top Reasons Why Startups Succeed

Everyone hears the stories. Apple was started in a garage. Musk slept in a rented office space while he was creating PayPal with his brother. Facebook was coded by a

Bold Evolution

Intel’s Bold Comeback

Intel, a leading figure in the semiconductor industry, has underperformed in the stock market over the past five years, with shares dropping by 4% as opposed to the 176% return

Semiconductor market

Semiconductor Slump: Rebound on the Horizon

In recent years, the semiconductor sector has faced a slump due to decreasing PC and smartphone sales, especially in 2022 and 2023. Nonetheless, as 2024 approaches, the industry seems to

Elevated Content Deals

Elevate Your Content Creation with Amazing Deals

The latest Tech Deals cater to creators of different levels and budgets, featuring a variety of computer accessories and tools designed specifically for content creation. Enhance your technological setup with

Learn Web Security

An Easy Way to Learn Web Security

The Web Security Academy has recently introduced new educational courses designed to offer a comprehensible and straightforward journey through the intricate realm of web security. These carefully designed learning courses

Military Drones Revolution

Military Drones: New Mobile Command Centers

The Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) is currently working on a pioneering project that aims to transform MQ-9 Reaper drones into mobile command centers to better manage smaller unmanned

Tech Partnership

US and Vietnam: The Next Tech Leaders?

The US and Vietnam have entered into a series of multi-billion-dollar business deals, marking a significant leap forward in their cooperation in vital sectors like artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, and

Huge Savings

Score Massive Savings on Portable Gaming

This week in tech bargains, a well-known firm has considerably reduced the price of its portable gaming device, cutting costs by as much as 20 percent, which matches the lowest

Cloudfare Protection

Unbreakable: Cloudflare One Data Protection Suite

Recently, Cloudflare introduced its One Data Protection Suite, an extensive collection of sophisticated security tools designed to protect data in various environments, including web, private, and SaaS applications. The suite

Drone Revolution

Cool Drone Tech Unveiled at London Event

At the DSEI defense event in London, Israeli defense firms exhibited cutting-edge drone technology featuring vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) abilities while launching two innovative systems that have already been acquired by clients.

2D Semiconductor Revolution

Disrupting Electronics with 2D Semiconductors

The rapid development in electronic devices has created an increasing demand for advanced semiconductors. While silicon has traditionally been the go-to material for such applications, it suffers from certain limitations.

Cisco Growth

Cisco Cuts Jobs To Optimize Growth

Tech giant Cisco Systems Inc. recently unveiled plans to reduce its workforce in two Californian cities, with the goal of optimizing the company’s cost structure. The company has decided to

FAA Authorization

FAA Approves Drone Deliveries

In a significant development for the US drone industry, drone delivery company Zipline has gained Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorization, permitting them to operate drones beyond the visual line of

Mortgage Rate Challenges

Prop-Tech Firms Face Mortgage Rate Challenges

The surge in mortgage rates and a subsequent decrease in home buying have presented challenges for prop-tech firms like Divvy Homes, a rent-to-own start-up company. With a previous valuation of

Lighthouse Updates

Microsoft 365 Lighthouse: Powerful Updates

Microsoft has introduced a new update to Microsoft 365 Lighthouse, which includes support for alerts and notifications. This update is designed to give Managed Service Providers (MSPs) increased control and

Website Lock

Mysterious Website Blockage Sparks Concern

Recently, visitors of a well-known resource website encountered a message blocking their access, resulting in disappointment and frustration among its users. While the reason for this limitation remains uncertain, specialists