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At my job we are developing a GIS application which will be developed using Silverlight + .NET

But, I heard that Silverlight will not be supported by Microsoft as also they are stopping Silverlight, is it true ?

Is it suggestable to use Silverlight if so with which version of silverlight we can use. ?

Thanks.,

msbyuva
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  • One thing to consider would be how your application would be accessed. I work in a .net shop and we thought about Silverlight, but the app we were developing needed to be accessed not only by desktop machines, but by mobile devices such as Android phones, IPads, IPhones, etc. This eliminated Silverlight as an option. We are using asp.net mvc and Knockout with JQuery for the front-end and so far, so good. YMMV. – PhillipKregg Jun 18 '12 at 16:32

5 Answers5

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About silver light support, you can find these answers from Microsoft Silverlight Support Lifecycle Policy.

Keeping in mind that MS would support these browsers till 2021, I would recommend using Silverlight5 if you really have to use Silverlight.

However for new developments I would recommend you to evaluate Html5 as well.

Usman
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Use Silverlight 5. Current version have 10 year support, and it better than Flash, java or damn it html. In the future you can migrate to another .NET-based framework by easily porting code.

Arman Hayots
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YES! Silverlight is still the best technology to use for web based Line of Business applications. Silverlight will be supported for another 10 years and it will be available within Windows 8 desktop. Silverlight +[Arc]GIS are a great combination. It is so easy to create full functioning application and with little effort. Silverlight is not dead. It is still a great technology to use that is available on (almost) every platform.

Ultimately it comes down to:

1) What do you know: Are you an HTML/JavaScript ninja? Then use that, do you know Flex better then your own children? Or are you a skilled .Net assassin?

2) How much time do you have? Do you want to learn something new and have gobs of time? Then go for that new shiny object (HTML5) and get yourself some street cred.

Shawn Kendrot
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  • I am a .NET Dev... have no knowledge with Silverlight or HTML5. My current company wants to use Silverlight with ArcGIS so have to learn Silverlight. – msbyuva Jun 20 '12 at 14:40
  • If you know .Net, Silverlight will be a breeze. If you have any WPF knowledge you're even better situated. – Shawn Kendrot Jun 20 '12 at 15:09
  • Yeah I know .NET and by the way If I learn Silverlight will that be useful to learn WPF as both are XAML based ?? – msbyuva Jun 20 '12 at 16:00
  • Yes, and not only that but learning Silverlight will help you for Windows Phone *AND* WinRT – Shawn Kendrot Jun 20 '12 at 16:35
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This probably belongs on programmers.stackexchange.com. However:

Silverlight will continue to be supported for some time, but all signs point to it no longer being actively developed.

If you want a technology that's actively developed, I'd recommend HTML 5 for web based applications and WinRT for Windows 8+ native applications.

Ultimately, though, you should go with what works best for your situation. After all, WinForms is still used on many successful greenfield projects.

Richard Szalay
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  • But I heard that HTML5 is not yet stable.. can we use that now for enterprise development ? – msbyuva Jun 20 '12 at 14:37
  • Sure if you're smart with your feature detection and whatnot. Noone outside your team can tell you what technology to use, it depends on the requirements of the project and the skills of the team. – Richard Szalay Jun 21 '12 at 02:17
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Silverlight is based on the NPAPI architecture that is no longer supported on Google Chrome (from browser version 42 upward) though you can still run it on IE and Firefox. HTML5 is supported on all browsers.

From a career standpoint, using Silverlight (which uses XAML) gets you an easier entry into developing apps for Metro/Windows Store/Universal Windows Apps (these can be developed using HTML5/JS too but you'll find a larger developer base using C#/XAML).

Finally if you're already a WPF developer, it's fastest if you develop for Silverlight. See Silverlight vs Flash vs HTML5.

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Arctic Vowel
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