Get a first look at Microsoft Silverlight with this practical introduction. This ideal reference delivers pragmatic advice, from in an insider s perspective, of how the tool was developed from concept to release. An expert on Silverlight and a Technical Evangelist on the Silverlight team delivers a first look at the new cross-platform, cross-browser plug-in and details the relationships among Silverlight and Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 and 3.5 technologies. Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) are Web applications that have the features and functionality of full desktop applications. Processing tasks are performed on the client, but data is stored on the server, allowing a much richer experience. With Silverlight, RIAs install quickly via a small, on-demand plug-in. This book shows how the first release of Silverlight will help simplify development and deployment of RIAs. Includes a companion Web site with code samples in Visual C# and Visual Basic.