Question about SliverLight

I know that AW was developed using C# and Silverlight. So, I just had a couple questions that I thought might be readily clarified here.

1) I understand that Silverlight is a plugin, but what exactly is it's main functionality? I assume it is used to embed programs developed outside of the typical web based scripting languages. Is this correct?

2) Can C++ be used in conjunction with Sliverlight? I have seen that Silverlight does support C#, however, I am not seeing any support for C++. Why?

3) Can Silverlight support fully animated 2d and/or 3d graphics? Is it resource intensive while doing so?

I have looked at the Silverlight web site and did not really get any real clear and specific answers to these questions. I probably wasnt looking in the right place so I could probably find these answers with further research. I am just hoping that someone will save me the grueling hours so I can focus more on learning the code that is going to best suit my needs.

From what I heard, silverlight is basically Microsoft's answer to flash. That's all i can say.

1. What Silverlight and Flash are, are generally the same - at least on the web.
By that I mean, Silverlight is a plugin, and so is Java and Flash. There's no main functionality on any of these platforms - they can be for apps, animations, games; whatever you want to come up with.

Silverlight is just a set of libraries for C#. The compiler compiles a .dll (dynamically linked library file) and a .xap . The .xap holds all the content you have in your Silverlight project (I say 'project' to be as technically correct as I can), it's literally just a .zip. You can in fact change the extension and unzip it with winzip or 7zip or whatever you like.

From now on, when I say 'Silverlight game' I just mean any Silverlight app, game, etc.
2. I don't see how C++ couldn't be used to create Silverlight games, you would of course need to use Visual C++. That is, C++ that targets the .NET runtime as the Silverlight game runs in the CLR. You could in fact write Silverlight games in IL (Intermediate Language), if you're that crazy lol.

I was looking for a quick link on google to find other people saying what I'm saying, but I just got people saying you can't. They were talking about native C++ though, not C++ .NET. If you decide to write Silverlight in C++ I expect you to do a lot of mucking around trying to figure out how to use the Silverlight libraries (learning cross-language scripting).

If you already know how to do that, then bravo, you know more than I do haha.

3. What do you mean by fully animated 2d and/or 3d graphics?

I don't know how technical you are, or how much you know, so I'll give you a catch-all answer.

2d animations are simply a set of pictures that are changed every few frames. This is supported in Flash and Silverlight. I don't know Java deeply, but I definitely assume it is too.

Flash animations you see are done using frames, artists may use a paint brush tool in the Flash IDE on each frame, or they can use a vector pen tool to create their animations. So every few frames has some different stored data on it, different points are stored (for vector) and for the brush I don't know. Brushes are probably vectors too... I guess.

Silverlight does something similar, they don't have a nifty brush tool though. If you want to create anything decent without switching out images (or being fancy with a usercontrol that shows only part of a sprite sheet at a time), then you'll need to explore using Microsoft's Blend IDE. It's nice I guess, but I'm used to Flash.

3. As for 3d graphics - Silverlight can do them. 3d animations? You're probably not talking about 3d world space transformations like translate, rotate and scale. For rigged up animations like... a dude walking around, well, I can ask somebody at work. I'd be damned if they didn't know - they're the ones that made it! Lol.

Performance: http://forums.silverlight.net/forums/t/185416.aspx

I've got a couple questions.
Why do you want to use C++ for Silverlight?
Are you familiar with the basics of the CLR and .NET?
How much C++ experience do you have?

Just curious, not trying to derail you or anything.

Good luck!

Eshkruar nga AdmittingZero, 21.03.2011 at 00:58

I've got a couple questions.
1)Why do you want to use C++ for Silverlight?
2)Are you familiar with the basics of the CLR and .NET?
3)How much C++ experience do you have?

1) I am basically reviewing options for what language I should learn to develop online games. I t has always been an ambition of mine. I have no experience with C# and a couple months working with C++, which is why I was curious as to if C++ could be used in conjunction with Silverlight for online games. (I use Visual Studio 2008 Express Ed.)

2) in a word, no.

3) just a few months. I am trying to determine if extending that experience is going to have lucrative results towards my goal.

I have experience with HTML4 and PHP.
I was lead developer on a Neverwinter Nights server for 2 years using nwscript, a proprietary language based in C. This is my strongest skill as far as coding is concerned and I was quite successful with it.
I am currently learning JavaScript and HTML5 and so far it is looking as if this going to be the best option as both are capable of 2d animated graphics.
My wife is a 3d animator using 3dsMax and Maya (both are 3d modeling and animation apps)among others, which is why I wanted to know SL's capabilities with 3d, as she will be working with me on any projects (hopefully, in 3d, but at this point, it looks like 2d lol).

Ok, my recommendation is that you should definitely go with C#, and I'll tell you why.

You want to know language to learn to create web games - C# is your best bet for Silverlight. C# is also extremely similar to Flash ActionScript 3.0, Java, and still somewhat similar to ActionScript 2.0 . It's not as close to JavaScript as to the languages/scripting languages I just listed, but it's much closer than C.

C# is also faster to develop in, something cited very often.
C++ would not run faster than C# for Silverlight either as both would be compiled into IL anyways.

If you are going to be creating JavaScript games using the HTML canvas then please, *please* test on all major browsers. You should also be aware of each browser's capabilities and lack thereof. HTML5 support is not even across all browsers like Silverlight, Flash and Java are which hurts it. I can't imagine HTML5 games being faster than them either - mostly because of the JavaScript.

Eshkruar nga AdmittingZero, 21.03.2011 at 12:43

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I second all that.
Also, as I've already suggested, take a good look at Unity (http://unity3d.com/) if you're interested in 3D stuff. It's cross-platform, uses C# as a scripting language, and can even be run on iPhone and Android.

Ok cool, thank you both for that information. It is very helpful.

Eshkruar nga AdmittingZero, 21.03.2011 at 12:43

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Eshkruar nga Amok, 21.03.2011 at 13:22

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Lol, I tried reading that and I was confused on the first paragraph... Like, Sificvoid, I also would like to do something that has to do with computer programming, but so far, the only code I know pretty well is python. I've been using BlueJ to help out with learning Java and I think I get the basics, but its still very confusing. Any tips would help... What code should I attempt to learn after I master Java?

(Edited for grammer)

Eshkruar nga Hotshot, 29.03.2011 at 04:11

What code should I attempt to learn after I master Java?

It all really depends on what you are trying to achieve.

I would really like to do things in computer programming, like designing and creating programs.

So, not creating games? But creating software that runs as a stand-alone application (.exe executable files)?

I recommend C#, you can get C# Visual Studio Express for free from Microsoft.

You can do stand-alone apps with Java, but that's not really what Java is used for mainstream these days. IMO Java is used more for mobile phones and embedded devices. That's just my impression of it - I could be totally wrong.

Eshkruar nga AdmittingZero, 31.03.2011 at 14:05

You can do stand-alone apps with Java, but that's not really what Java is used for mainstream these days. IMO Java is used more for mobile phones and embedded devices. That's just my impression of it - I could be totally wrong.

Actually, Java is mostly about enterprise software, and that's partly the reason why it's evolving so slowly.

Eshkruar nga Amok, 31.03.2011 at 14:35

Actually, Java is mostly about enterprise software, and that's partly the reason why it's evolving so slowly.

Haha ok, so I was off =P.

Bump

Eshkruar nga Soykirim, 29.03.2015 at 16:10

Bump