book

Pro Silverlight 4 in VB, Third Edition

by Matthew MacDonald

December 2010

Intermediate to advanced

894 pages

24h

English

Apress

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Understanding SilverlightSilverlight System RequirementsSilverlight vs. FlashSilverlight and WPFThe Evolution of SilverlightAbout This BookWhat You Need to Use This BookThe Silverlight ToolkitCode SamplesFeedbackThe Last Word
1.1. Silverlight Design Tools1.1.1. Visual Studio vs. Expression Blend1.1.2. Understanding Silverlight Websites1.2. Creating a Stand-Alone Silverlight Project1.3. Creating a Simple Silverlight Page1.3.1. Adding Event-Handling Code1.3.2. Testing a Silverlight Application1.4. Creating an ASP.NET-Hosted Silverlight Project1.4.1. ASP.NET Controls That Render Silverlight Content1.4.2. Mixing ASP.NET Controls and Silverlight Content1.5. Silverlight Compilation and Deployment1.5.1. Compiling a Silverlight Application1.5.2. Deploying a Silverlight Application1.5.3. Silverlight Core Assemblies1.5.4. Silverlight Add-on Assemblies1.5.5. Assembly Caching1.6. The HTML Entry Page1.6.1. Sizing the Silverlight Content Region1.6.2. Silverlight Parameters1.6.3. Alternative Content1.6.4. Creating a Friendly Install Experience1.6.5. The Mark of the Web1.7. The Last Word
2.1. XAML Basics2.1.1. XAML Namespaces2.1.1.1. Core Silverlight Namespaces2.1.1.2. Design Namespaces2.1.1.3. Custom Namespaces2.1.2. The Code-Behind Class2.1.2.1. Naming Elements2.2. Properties and Events in XAML2.2.1. Simple Properties and Type Converters2.2.2. Complex Properties2.2.3. Attached Properties2.2.4. Nesting Elements2.2.5. Events2.2.6. The Full Eight Ball Example2.3. XAML Resources2.3.1. The Resources Collection2.3.2. The Hierarchy of Resources2.3.3. Accessing Resources in Code2.3.4. Organizing Resources with Resource Dictionaries2.4. Element-to-Element Binding2.4.1. One-Way Binding2.4.2. Two-Way Binding2.5. The Last Word
3.1. The Layout Containers3.1.1. The Panel Background3.1.2. Borders3.2. Simple Layout with the StackPanel3.2.1. Layout Properties3.2.2. Alignment3.2.3. Margins3.2.4. Minimum, Maximum, and Explicit Sizes3.3. The WrapPanel and DockPanel3.3.1. The WrapPanel3.3.2. The DockPanel3.4. The Grid3.4.1. Fine-Tuning Rows and Columns3.4.2. Nesting Layout Containers3.4.3. Spanning Rows and Columns3.4.4. The GridSplitter3.5. Coordinate-Based Layout with the Canvas3.5.1. Layering with ZIndex3.5.2. Clipping3.6. Custom Layout Containers3.6.1. The Two-Step Layout Process3.6.1.1. MeasureOverride()3.6.1.2. ArrangeOverride()3.6.2. The UniformGrid3.7. Sizing Pages3.7.1. Scrolling with the ScrollViewer3.7.2. Scaling with the Viewbox3.7.3. Full-Screen Mode3.8. The Last Word
4.1. Dependency Properties4.1.1. Defining and Registering a Dependency Property4.1.2. Dynamic Value Resolution4.1.3. Attached Properties4.1.4. The WrapBreakPanel Example4.2. Routed Events4.2.1. The Core Element Events4.2.2. Event Bubbling4.2.3. Handled (Suppressed) Events4.2.4. An Event Bubbling Example4.3. Mouse Handling4.3.1. Right-Clicks4.3.2. Mouse Movements4.3.3. The Mouse Wheel4.3.4. Capturing the Mouse4.3.5. A Mouse Event Example4.3.6. Mouse Cursors4.4. Keyboard Handling4.4.1. Key Presses4.4.2. Key Modifiers4.4.3. Focus4.5. The Command Model4.5.1. Building a Command4.5.2. Connecting a Command4.6. The Last Word
5.1. The Silverlight Elements5.2. Static Text5.2.1. Font Properties5.2.1.1. Standard Fonts5.2.1.2. Font Embedding5.2.2. Underlining5.2.3. Runs5.2.4. Wrapping Text5.2.5. Trimming Text5.3. Images5.3.1. Image Sizing5.3.2. Image Errors5.4. Content Controls5.4.1. The Content Property5.4.2. Aligning Content5.5. Buttons5.5.1. The HyperlinkButton5.5.2. The ToggleButton and RepeatButton5.5.3. The CheckBox5.5.4. The RadioButton5.6. Tooltips and Pop-Ups5.6.1. Customized Tooltips5.6.2. The Popup5.7. Items Controls5.7.1. The ListBox5.7.2. The ComboBox5.7.3. The TabControl5.8. Text Controls5.8.1. The TextBox5.8.2. The PasswordBox5.8.3. The AutoCompleteBox5.8.3.1. Filter Mode5.8.3.2. Custom Filtering5.8.3.3. Dynamic Item Lists5.8.4. The RichTextBox5.8.4.1. Text Elements5.8.4.2. Formatting Text Elements5.8.4.3. Manipulating Text Elements in Code5.8.4.4. Creating a Text Editor5.8.4.5. Saving and Opening Rich Text Files5.8.4.6. Using Hyperlinks and Elements in a RichTextBox5.9. Range-Based Controls5.9.1. The Slider5.9.2. The ProgressBar5.10. Date Controls5.11. The Last Word

6.1. The Application Class6.1.1. Accessing the Current Application6.1.2. Application Properties6.2. Application Events6.2.1. Application Startup6.2.2. Initialization Parameters6.2.3. Application Shutdown6.2.4. Unhandled Exceptions6.3. Custom Splash Screens6.4. Binary Resources6.4.1. Placing Resources in the Application Assembly6.4.1.1. Using Subfolders6.4.1.2. Programmatically Retrieving a Resource6.4.2. Placing Resources in the Application Package6.4.3. Placing Resources on the Web6.4.3.1. Failing to Download Resources6.4.3.2. Downloading Resources with WebClient6.5. Class Library Assemblies6.5.1. Using Resources in an Assembly6.5.2. Downloading Assemblies on Demand6.5.3. Supporting Assembly Caching6.5.3.1. The Strong Key Name6.5.3.2. The .extmap.xml File6.6. The Last Word
7.1. Loading User Controls7.1.1. Embedding User Controls in a Page7.1.2. Hiding Elements7.1.3. Managing the Root Visual7.1.4. Retaining Page State7.1.5. Browser History7.2. Child Windows7.2.1. Designing a ChildWindow7.2.2. Showing a ChildWindow7.3. The Frame and Page7.3.1. Frames7.3.1.1. Browser URI Integration7.3.1.1.1. What Happens If the Page Has More Than One Frame?7.3.1.1.2. What Happens If the Startup Page Doesn't Include a Frame Control?7.3.1.1.3. What About Security?7.3.1.2. History Support7.3.1.3. Navigation Failure7.3.2. URI Mapping7.3.3. Forward and Backward Navigation7.3.4. Hyperlinks7.3.5. Pages7.3.5.1. Navigation Properties7.3.5.2. State Storage7.3.5.3. Navigation Methods7.3.6. Navigation Templates7.4. Custom Content Loaders7.4.1. Authentication and Navigation7.4.2. Creating a Custom Content Loader7.4.3. Using the Custom Content Loader7.5. The Last Word
8.1. Basic Shapes8.1.1. The Shape Classes8.1.2. Rectangle and Ellipse8.1.3. Sizing and Placing Shapes8.1.4. Sizing Shapes Proportionately with a Viewbox8.1.5. Line8.1.6. Polyline8.1.7. Polygon8.1.8. Line Caps and Line Joins8.1.9. Dashes8.2. Paths and Geometries8.2.1. Line, Rectangle, and Ellipse Geometries8.2.2. Combining Shapes with GeometryGroup8.2.3. Curves and Lines with PathGeometry8.2.3.1. Straight Lines8.2.3.2. Arcs8.2.3.3. Bézier Curves8.2.4. The Geometry Mini-Language8.2.5. Clipping with Geometry8.3. Exporting Clip Art8.3.1. Expression Design8.3.2. Conversion8.3.3. Save or Print to XPS8.4. The Last Word
9.1. Brushes9.1.1. The LinearGradientBrush Class9.1.2. The RadialGradientBrush Class9.1.3. The ImageBrush9.2. Transparency9.2.1. Opacity Masks9.2.2. Making the Silverlight Control Transparent9.3. Transforms9.3.1. Transforming Shapes9.3.2. Transforms and Layout Containers9.3.3. A Reflection Effect9.4. Perspective Transforms9.4.1. The PlaneProjection Class9.4.2. Applying a Projection9.5. Pixel Shaders9.5.1. BlurEffect9.5.2. DropShadowEffect9.5.3. ShaderEffect9.6. The WriteableBitmap Class9.6.1. Generating a Bitmap9.6.2. Capturing Content from Other Elements9.7. Printing9.7.1. Printing a Single Element9.7.2. Printing Over Multiple Pages9.7.3. Creating a Print Preview9.8. The Last Word
10.1. Understanding Silverlight Animation10.1.1. The Rules of Animation10.2. Creating Simple Animations10.2.1. The Animation Class10.2.2. The Storyboard Class10.2.3. Starting an Animation with an Event Trigger10.2.4. Starting an Animation with Code10.2.5. Configuring Animation Properties10.2.5.1. From10.2.5.2. To10.2.5.3. By10.2.5.4. Duration10.2.6. Animation Lifetime10.2.6.1. RepeatBehavior10.2.7. Simultaneous Animations10.2.8. Controlling Playback10.3. Animation Easing10.3.1. Using an Easing Function10.3.2. Easing In and Easing Out10.3.3. Easing Function Classes10.4. Animation Types Revisited10.4.1. Animating Transforms10.4.2. Animation Perspective Projections10.4.3. Animating Brushes10.4.4. Animating Pixel Shaders10.4.5. Key-Frame Animation10.4.5.1. Discrete Key Frames10.4.5.2. Easing Key Frames10.4.5.3. Spline Key Frames10.5. Animations in Code10.5.1. The Main Page10.5.2. The Bomb User Control10.5.3. Dropping the Bombs10.5.4. Intercepting a Bomb10.5.5. Counting Bombs and Cleaning Up10.6. Encapsulating Animations10.6.1. Page Transitions10.6.2. The Base Class10.6.3. The Wipe Transition10.7. Frame-Based Animation10.8. Animation Performance10.8.1. Desired Frame Rate10.8.2. Hardware Acceleration10.8.2.1. Enabling Hardware Acceleration10.8.2.2. Bitmap Caching10.8.2.3. Evaluating Hardware Acceleration10.9. The Last Word
11.1. Supported File Types11.2. The MediaElement11.2.1. Controlling Playback11.2.2. Handling Errors11.2.3. Playing Multiple Sounds11.2.4. Changing Volume, Balance, and Position11.2.5. Playing Video11.2.6. Client-Side Playlists11.2.7. Server-Side Playlists11.2.8. Progressive Downloading and Streaming11.2.9. Adaptive Streaming11.3. Advanced Video Playback11.3.1. Video Encoding11.3.2. Encoding in Expression Encoder11.3.3. Markers11.3.3.1. Adding Markers with Expression Encoder11.3.3.2. Using Markers in a Silverlight Application11.3.4. VideoBrush11.3.5. Video Effects11.4. Webcam and Microphone Input11.4.1. Accessing a Capture Device11.4.2. Basic Webcam Support11.4.3. Recording Audio Snippets11.5. Deep Zoom11.5.1. Creating a Deep Zoom Image Set11.5.2. Using a Deep Zoom Image Set in Silverlight11.6. The Last Word
12.1. Styles12.1.1. Defining a Style12.1.2. Applying a Style12.1.3. Dynamic Styles12.1.4. Style Inheritance12.1.5. Organizing Styles12.1.6. Automatically Applying Styles by Type12.2. Behaviors12.2.1. Getting Support for Behaviors12.2.2. Triggers and Actions12.2.2.1. Creating an Action12.2.2.2. Connecting an Action to an Element12.2.2.3. Design-Time Behavior Support in Blend12.2.2.4. Creating a Targeted Trigger12.2.3. Creating a Behavior12.2.4. Finding More Behaviors12.3. The Last Word
13.1. Template Basics13.1.1. Creating a Template13.1.2. Reusing Control Templates13.1.3. The ContentPresenter13.1.4. Template Bindings13.1.5. Setting Templates Through Styles13.1.6. Reusing Colors13.2. The Parts and States Model13.2.1. Understanding States with the Button Control13.2.2. Showing a Focus Cue13.2.3. Transitions13.2.3.1. The Default Transition13.2.3.2. From and to Transitions13.2.3.3. Transitioning to a Steady State13.2.3.4. Custom Transition13.2.4. Understanding Parts with the Slider Control13.3. Creating Templates for Custom Controls13.3.1. Planning the FlipPanel Control13.3.2. Creating the Solution13.3.3. Starting the FlipPanel Class13.3.4. Adding the Default Style with Generic.xaml13.3.5. Choosing Parts and States13.3.6. Starting the Default Control Template13.3.7. The FlipButton Control13.3.8. Defining the State Animations13.3.9. Wiring Up the Elements in the Template13.3.10. Using the FlipPanel13.3.11. Using a Different Control Template13.4. The Last Word
14.1. Interacting with HTML Elements14.1.1. Getting Browser Information14.1.2. The HTML Window14.1.3. Popup Windows14.1.4. Inspecting the HTML Document14.1.5. Manipulating an HTML Element14.1.5.1. Inserting and Removing Elements14.1.5.2. Changing Style Properties14.1.6. Handling JavaScript Events14.2. Code Interaction14.2.1. Calling Browser Script from Silverlight14.2.2. Calling Silverlight Methods from the Browser14.2.3. Instantiating Silverlight Objects in the Browser14.3. Combining Silverlight and HTML Content14.3.1. Sizing the Silverlight Control to Fit Its Content14.3.2. Placing the Silverlight Control Next to an HTML Element14.4. Securing HTML Interoperability14.5. The Last Word
15.1. Building Web Services for Silverlight15.1.1. Creating a Web Service15.1.2. Adding a Service Reference15.1.3. Calling the Web Service15.1.4. Configuring the Web Service URL15.1.5. Using a Busy Indicator15.2. Web Service Data Types15.2.1. Custom Data Classes15.2.2. Web Service Type Sharing15.2.2.1. Identifying Your Data Classes15.2.2.2. Sharing the Code15.3. More Advanced Web Services15.3.1. Cross-Domain Web Service Calls15.3.2. Monitoring the Network Connection15.3.3. Using ASP.NET Platform Services15.4. Duplex Services15.4.1. Configuring the Service15.4.2. The Interfaces15.4.3. The Service15.4.4. The Client15.5. The Last Word
16.1. Binding to Data Objects16.1.1. Building a Data Object16.1.2. Displaying a Data Object with DataContext16.1.3. Storing a Data Object as a Resource16.1.4. Null Values and Failed Bindings16.1.5. Editing with Two-Way Bindings16.1.6. Change Notification16.1.7. Building a Data Service16.1.8. Calling a Data Service16.2. Binding to a Collection of Objects16.2.1. Displaying and Editing Collection Items16.2.2. Inserting and Removing Collection Items16.2.3. Binding to a LINQ Expression16.2.4. Master-Details Display16.3. Validation16.3.1. Error Notifications16.3.2. The BindingValidationFailed Event16.3.3. The Validation Class16.3.4. Creating Data Objects with Built-in Validation16.4. Data Formatting and Conversion16.4.1. String Formatting16.4.2. Value Converters16.4.3. Formatting Strings with a Value Converter16.4.4. Creating Objects with a Value Converter16.4.5. Applying Conditional Formatting16.5. Data Templates16.5.1. Separating and Reusing Templates16.5.2. More Advanced Templates16.5.3. Changing Item Layout16.6. The Last Word
17.1. Better Data Forms17.1.1. The Goal: Data Class Markup17.1.2. The Label17.1.3. The DescriptionViewer17.1.4. The ValidationSummary17.2. Data Annotations17.2.1. Raising Annotation Errors17.2.2. The Annotation Attributes17.2.2.1. Required17.2.2.2. StringLength17.2.2.3. Range17.2.2.4. RegularExpression17.2.2.5. CustomValidation17.3. The DataGrid17.3.1. Creating a Simple Grid17.3.2. How Columns Are Resized and Rearranged17.3.3. Defining Columns17.3.3.1. The DataGridCheckBoxColumn17.3.3.2. The DataGridTemplateColumn17.3.4. Formatting and Styling Columns17.3.5. Controlling Column Width17.3.6. Formatting Rows17.3.7. Row Details17.3.8. Freezing Columns17.3.9. Selection17.3.10. Sorting17.4. DataGrid Editing17.4.1. Editing with Templates17.4.2. Validation and Editing Events17.5. The PagedCollectionView17.5.1. Sorting17.5.2. Filtering17.5.3. Grouping17.5.4. Paging17.6. The TreeView17.6.1. Filling a TreeView17.6.2. A Data-Bound TreeView17.7. The Last Word
18.1. Isolated Storage18.1.1. The Scope of Isolated Storage18.1.2. What to Put in Isolated Storage18.2. Using Isolated Storage18.2.1. Opening an Isolated Store18.2.2. File Management18.2.3. Writing and Reading Data18.2.4. Requesting More Space18.2.5. Storing Objects with XmlSerializer18.2.6. Storing Application Settings18.3. Accessing Files Outside of Isolated Storage18.3.1. Reading Files with OpenFileDialog18.3.2. Writing Files with SaveFileDialog18.3.3. Transmitting Files with a Web Service18.3.3.1. The File Service18.3.3.2. The Silverlight Client18.3.4. Dragging and Dropping Files18.4. The Last Word
19.1. Understanding Multithreading19.1.1. The Goals of Multithreading19.1.2. The DispatcherTimer19.2. The Thread Class19.2.1. Marshaling Code to the User Interface Thread19.2.2. Creating a Thread Wrapper19.2.3. Creating the Worker Class19.2.4. Using the Thread Wrapper19.2.5. Cancellation Support19.3. The BackgroundWorker19.3.1. Creating the BackgroundWorker19.3.2. Running the BackgroundWorker19.3.3. Tracking Progress19.3.4. Supporting Cancellation19.4. The Last Word
20.1. Interacting with the Web20.1.1. Cross-Domain Access20.1.2. HTML Scraping20.1.3. REST and Other Simple Web Services20.1.4. Using Network Credentials20.2. Processing Different Types of Data20.2.1. XML20.2.2. Services That Return XML Data20.2.2.1. Navigating Over an XDocument20.2.2.2. Querying an XDocument with LINQ20.2.3. Services That Require XML Data20.2.4. Services That Return SOAP Data20.2.5. Services That Return JSON Data20.2.6. RSS20.3. Sockets20.3.1. Understanding Sockets and TCP20.3.2. The Policy Server20.3.2.1. The Policy File20.3.2.2. The PolicyServer Classes20.3.2.3. The PolicyConnection Classes20.3.3. The Messaging Server20.3.4. The Messenger Client20.3.4.1. Connecting to the Server20.3.4.2. Sending Messages20.3.4.3. Receiving Messages20.4. Local Connections20.4.1. Sending a Message20.4.2. Receiving a Message20.5. The Last Word
21.1. Understanding Out-of-Browser Support21.2. Creating an Out-of-Browser Application21.2.1. Installing an Out-of-Browser Application21.2.2. Customizing Icons21.2.3. Tracking Application State21.2.4. Removing and Updating an Application21.2.5. Silent Installation21.3. Out-of-Browser Application Features21.3.1. The WebBrowser Control21.3.1.1. Showing HTML Content21.3.1.2. The WebBrowserBrush21.3.1.3. Interacting with JavaScript Code21.3.2. Notification Windows21.3.3. Controlling the Main Window21.4. Elevated Trust21.4.1. Installing an Elevated Trust Application21.4.2. The Abilities of an Elevated Trust Application21.4.3. Window Customization21.4.4. File Access21.4.5. COM21.5. The Last Word

Content preview from Pro Silverlight 4 in VB, Third Edition

Chapter 1. Introducing Silverlight

In the introduction, you learned about the design philosophy that underpins Silverlight. Now, you're ready to get your hands dirty and create your first Silverlight application.

The best starting point for coding a Silverlight application is Visual Studio, Microsoft's premiere development tool. In this chapter, you'll see how to create, compile, and deploy a Silverlight application using Visual Studio. Along the way, you'll get a quick look at how Silverlight controls respond to events, you'll see how Silverlight applications are compiled and packaged for the Web, and you'll consider the two options for hosting Silverlight content: either in an ordinary HTML web page or in an ASP.NET web form.