Exploring Silverlight 4 Beta ........

Hello Friends,

Recently Microsoft announced the next version of Silverlight to be released very soon. Currently in its beta Silverlight 4 has come up with very cool new features.

For writing this article i took the help of the recent Silverligt 4 Beta Documentation available online. You can also download the same and get started.

Those who are new to Silverlight, lets see what this documentation says about it .....

What is Silverlight ?

Microsoft Silverlight is a cross-browser, cross-platform implementation of the .NET Framework for building and delivering the next generation of media experiences and rich interactive applications (RIA) for the Web. Silverlight unifies the capabilities of the server, the Web, and the desktop, of managed code and dynamic languages, of declarative and traditional programming, and the power of Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF).

Silverlight enables you to create a state-of-the-art application that has the following features:

- It is a cross-browser, cross-platform technology. It runs in all popular Web browsers, including Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Apple Safari, and on Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac OS X. You can design and develop your application without having to worry about which browser or platform your users have.

- It is supported by a very small download that installs in seconds.

- It streams video and audio. It scales video quality to everything from mobile devices to desktop browsers to 720p HDTV video modes.

- It includes compelling graphics that users can manipulate—drag, turn, and zoom—directly in the browser.

- It reads data and updates the display, but it doesn't interrupt the user by refreshing the whole page.

Other Features Of Silverlight ....

- WPF and XAML. XAML. Silverlight includes a subset of the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) technology, which greatly extends the elements in the browser for creating UI. WPF lets you create immersive graphics, animation, media, and other rich client features, extending browser-based UI beyond what is available with HTML alone. Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML) provides a declarative markup syntax for creating elements.

- Extensions to JavaScript. Silverlight provides extensions to the universal browser scripting language that provide control over the browser UI, including the ability to work with WPF elements.

- Networking support. Silverlight includes support for HTTP over TCP. You can connect to WCF, SOAP, or ASP.NET AJAX services and receive XML, JSON, or RSS data.

- LINQ. Silverlight includes language-integrated query (LINQ), which enables you to program data access using intuitive native syntax and strongly typed objects in .NET Framework languages.

Whats new in Silverlight 4 (Beta) .....

- New Out-of-Browser Features

- Elevated Trust

- Support for Late Binding

- DRM for Offline Scenarios

- Right to Left Flow Direction

- RichTextArea Control

- WebBrowser and HtmlBrush Controls

- ViewBox Control

- Implicit Styles

- Applying Multiple Transforms is Simplified

- Networking with Multicast

- Printing

- Data Binding Improvements

- Navigation Extensibility

- Collection Sets

- Parsing and Formatting Time Intervals

- Drag-and-Drop and Clipboard Scenarios

- Right-click Mouse Events

- Webcam and Microphone Support

- ADO.NET Data Services

- WCF RIA Services

- Silverlight Designer Improvements

- Dynamic Language Runtime

I will be discussing all of above features in my coming blogs .... so keep pinging me on http://blog.aashishnegi.com/

- Aashish Singh Negi

Mail : aashish.negi@sitgeeks.com

Twitter @aashishnegi

Phone : +919970141082

Use Windows Azure SDK to deploy your Azure Project to Development Fabric ...

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Today we will learn how to deploy our Azure Project to our local Azure Development Fabric using Windows Azure SDK. This method helps deploying the application onto the computer which doesn't have Visual Studio installed in it.

Lets start off with it. You need to have Windows Azure SDK installed onto your computer to start working with following.

1. Start the instance of Development Fabric and the Development Storage as shown in following figure .......

2. Start the Windows Azure SDK (with elevated admin privilege; right click and select Run as Admin). Navigate to the directory ..\Windows Azure SDk\v1.0\bin\

find two file cspack.exe and csrun.exe in this folder. these are the files needed to pack and deploy the project.

3. At the Azure SDK Prompt, type cspack/? This would provide the information about the cspack command. it provides few examples at the end.

As we can see in the help, we need to provide the Service Definition file (.csdef) as a parameter to the cspack command.

There are some other options also we can pass along with cspack command.

a. If we want to deploy our project locally, then we should provide the /copyOnly option. This option provides us with a folder named .csx containing the roles and the csdef file.

b. If we execute without "copyOnly" parameter, we get the Package File (.cspkg) file. this Package file and the Configuration file (.cscfg) can be uploaded to Azure Portal and the project can be deployed online.

c. if we are using the Worker Roles in the project, we should specify the workerroles as well as the workerrole-entrypoint-dll for the Worker Role.

Now after we run the cspack command (in this case with /copyOnly option) , we get following output ...

*** In this example I am using the HelloWorld azure project that is included in the Azure SDK Samples ...

Now after we have packed our application, its time to deploy it or run it to see it working.

For deploying the project we would use teh csrun.exe.

To get overview of csrun command type csrun/? in the SDK.

Get to the folder that contains the *.csx folder and then execute the following command as shown in figure ....

csrun /run:ServiceDefinition.csx;ServiceConfiguration.cscfg /launchBrowser

thus we need to provide the *.csx folder and the Configuration file.

/launchBrowser options starts the Browser with your Web Role running ....

You can open up the Azure Development Fabric to view the Deployment Information .....

Please post comments ........

Aashish Singh Negi

Twitter @aashishnegi

Introduction to Expression Studio 3 ...............

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All of you must have heard or read about the new Software Suite from Microsoft .... "Expression Studio 3" ...................

today i will introduce you all to the new Expression Studio and tell you the tools it provides .............

You can follow the above links to download the whole suite ...... students can get the full version Expression Studio using their DreamSpark accounts ..................

After you install the Expression Studio Pack ... you can get following tools or application in your start menu under Microsoft Expression.

As you can see the list of following applications in the Microsoft Expression Folder ............

• Expression Blend 3
• Expression Web 3
• Expression Design 3
• Expression Encoder 3
• Expression Encoder 3 Screen Capture
• Expression Web 3 SuperPreview
• Deep Zoom Composer.

Out of above aplications, DeepZoom Composer needs to be downloaded from Download Centre.

I am placing the screenshots of all these applications ... and brief overview of all of these.

I will soon provide an overview of each and every product ......

Silverlight Tutorials .... A new initiative to spread the LIGHT !!!

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Hey guys i am now uploading some of the tutorials - the pdf onto my SkyDrive so that everyone would be able to download it from the web and learn Silverlight and other technologies .....


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Topics covered till now :

• Creating a SketchFlow Application
• Element to Element Binding in SL3 Application
• Database Connectivity using RIA
• Silverlight Business Application
• Silverlight Navigation Application
• DeepZoom and Silverlight
• Making Your Application run Out-of-Browser

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I will be covering some more topics in my future blogs and tutorials like

• Using DataForms in Silverlight Applications
• Using Actions and Behaviours
• More About SketchFlow Projects
• Integrating Your Silverlight page with Windows AZURE
• and some other features of Silverligt.

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How can u get the tutorials ?

Its very simple ..... just visit My Live Space. There is a folder by name "Silverlight Tutorials".

Open the folder and download the required PDF.

I have also uploaded the Projects which i show in the Tutorials. you can download them also.

Waiting for suggestions and replies from all of you ....

- Aashish Singh Negi

aashish.negi@sitgeeks.com

Twitter @aashishnegi

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Visit my Cloud Application at http://aashishsingh.cloudapp.net/ . I will soon blog about how to create a Windows Azure Cloud Application and how to deploy it to the Cloud.

A package of NEW TECHNOGIES ........

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I haven't blogged from a long time ........

Now after attending the PUG DevCon on 8-9 th August, I cant wait about writing what i learnt there.

A whole set of new technologies .....

DevCon (Developer Conference) was organised by PUG (Pune User Group) sponsered by Infragistics and INETA. It was an awesome event.

There were variuos sessions on various technologies by Professionals.

Let me open the PACKAGE for U all and tell U what I learnt ......

• AZURE CLOUD COMPUTING
• SILVERLIGHT 3
• RIA Business Application
• ASP .NET MVC
• JQuery

AZURE CLOUD CPMPUTING :

This is a nice technology from Microsoft to support the concept of cloud computing, The sessions were taken by Abhishek Kant (MVP Lead), Vikram RajKondawar and Monish Darda.

All of them cleared the concept about AZURE. All the doubts inmind about AZURE and CLOUD COMPUTING were cleared.

there is a lot of theorotical concept involved but seeing it practically or working on it LIVE is very nice experience.

U all can also visit Azure's WebSite and register for an account so that U can access the features of AZURE PORTAL.

I have also created a HELLO WORLD AZURE APPLICATION. U can visit it at http://aashishsinghnegi.cloudapp.net/

SILVERLIGHT 3 + SKETCHFLOW + RIA :

This is another latest technology from Microsoft. It all started with Silverlight 1.0 (XAML), then Silverlight 2.0 (XAML + C#) and now SILVERLIGHT 3.

Silverlight 3 can be said as a package of new features over the old Silverlight. You can download the latest Silverlight 3 Tools and Expression Studio 3 to make use of new features.

Expression Blend 3 + Sketchflow (Included In Expression Studio 3) comes with a new feature of SketchFlow.

Using Sketflow U can create a rough sketch of your application. U can manage the flow between the XAML pages. The rough SKETCH can be presented to the user and the suggestions of user can be saved and reviewed by the Developer.

Using RIA Services in the Silverlight 3 Application, we can create a business application very fast. It takes only 15minutes to create a database business application with built-in user management support.

Use of Domain Service makes it easy and fast to create a database rich application.

Vic Parmar (from Infragistics) showcased all new set of Silverlight UI tools. It was awesome.

ASP .NET MVC :

We all have been creating ASP .NET Web Applications and Web Sites. But now here we get a new feature MVC ( Model View Control ). Rahul Rajadhyaksha was the great mind to tell us about this. That was a little HiFi session for me but afterwards when i worked on it and created some Projects on it, it was very easy to understand.

I will blog about ASP .NET MVC sometime later when i get better hold of it.

JQuery :

This was also a HiFi session by Dhaval Faria. You can refer JQuery site to know more about it. I cannot blog about it right now as i haven't gone through it till now. What i think is that it will be nice using JQuery in our application to make it faster.


Thats al for now guys. I will be back blogging more on SILVERLIGHT 3.

Vikram Rajkondawar had one nice SILDE with him ...... WORDS OF WISDOM ...


" TECHNOLOGY has the POWER to ALTER REALITY !!! "

DeepZoomPix - A New & Interactive Way to SHARE & EXPLORE Photos ...

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Hello Friends ..... All of u have must seen the old DeepZoom Online Composer - "PhotoZoom".

Now the old service of Photozoom has been replaced by a newer one - "DeepZoomPix"

• Go and visit DeepZoomPix WebSite to experience the new technology ....
• You will get a Welcome Screen on this site ... Click On "Get Started"
• SignIn with your Windows LiveID. If you have used the PhotoZoom service just signin with the same ID to get the previous albums you have uploaded.
• Now you get a screen where you can see all your previous albums, add photos, etc
• Click on any of the album or Click on "Add Photos" to add new photos.
• After adding the photos just click on the Album you want to start with .
• You will get a new screen "Deep Zoom View" . Just hover your mouse over the area where the Photos are shown and you will get a new window to customize the view of your photos.
• You get an option of putting Tags to photos, Change the Layout, etc.
• Click on "Share" to get a code you can add to your blog or your web page to embedd a DeepZoomPix control onto your site, blog, etc.

What are the key user experience features of DeepZoomPix?

Seamless navigation:
DZP enables the seamless exploration of albums of photographs. Users can navigate the photographs using mouse or keyboard and zoom into them to see them at their highest resolution. Users never wait to reload a page – the entire experience is fluid.

Layout options:
Arrange images in different ways including by in a calendar style view by date.

Dynamic filtering:
Tagged images can be filtered interactively with live updates to the displayed set of images and you can add your own tags to images.

Interactive slideshow:
Users can zoom into and pan around images while they are playing a slideshow. Slide timings are customizable and navigation can be controlled using the keyboard.

Import photos from the web:
DZP can access images stored in other services on the web. If you are a Facebook user, the DeepZoomPix Facebook application enables you import your public Facebook galleries into DZP. If you are a Flickr user, DZP can use the Flickr API to import your Flickr photos. Finally, if your photo service provides RSS feeds containing JPEGs, DZP can use those too.

Shareable mini-viewer:
Embed your slideshow in your blog or website, or send to a friend using the DZP mini-viewer.

What are the key architecture components of DeepZoomPix?

There are four main architectural components:

Image Ingestion:
Import images from the user’s local file system, Facebook, Flickr API or RSS feed. This takes place on the server.

Tile Processing:
Imported images are sliced into tiles for use by the Silverlight Deep Zoom technology.

Image Storage and Retrieval:
Tiles are stored as blobs using the Windows Azure Services Platform, specifically Windows Azure Storage.

Client Viewer:
Silverlight application for managing and viewing images.

Which technologies does DeepZoomPix use?

DeepZoomPix is a technology demonstration designed to show three technologies: use of Microsoft Silverlight to create a rich interactive UX for exploring images, the Silverlight Deep Zoom technology and Windows Azure Services Platform.

Goto DeepZoomPix FAQ to checkout more queries on DeepZoomPix.

*** DeepZoomPix is a technology demonstration that will be available until December 31st, 2009.

Get started by importing your own photos and prepare to be amazed!

Using Silverlight Live Streaming ...........

Hey Friends .... First Of All Happy New Year to All Of You ......

Pray To God That We all have a Hapy,Prosperous And Techno Full Semesters This Year ....

Pray to our Techno Gods That We Meet Up With More New Exciting And Thrilling Technologies ....

Friends In last session i told u all "How To Create Panorama using The DeepZoom Composer" .......

-> Now this session we would be talking of how to Upload our Silverlight Applications (Whether Application of VS2008,Expression Encoder,Blend,DeepZoom Composer etc.) or Videos to our Web Pages or to Our Blog Pages Using Silverlight Live Streaming ..........

-> We would also talk about the Web Version of DeepZoom Composer i.e. Photozoom that helps us to create our Silverlight Enabled Deep Zoom Album online ..... Just Upload The Photos And Get The Online Album ....


1) Uploading Using Silverlight Live Streaming .........

- First of all goto Silverlight Live Streaming Web Page .......... And SignIn Using Your Windows Live ID ....

- Now After Signing In Just Complete The Other Processes Needed To Complete Registration And Click On "Manage Application" Link That Appears On Left Side Of Page ....


- Now After Clicking Manage Application You Will Get The List Of Applications Already Uploaded To The Silverliht Live Streaming as Shown In figure below .....





Click on any of the Application Title uploaded Before To Edit Their Properties .....

Click "Upload An Application" to Upload A new Application To Silverlight.Live.Com

Give The Name For The Application as Shown in figure below ...And Click Create .....




*** Now Follow The Following Instructions Carefully ***

* As u all know the life of the silverlight application we create is present in the XAP File created while creating silverlight appliation.

* To View The original contents of this XAP file just rename the file to "JAR File" Or "ZIP File". For Eg. Just Rename 'Pro.xap' to 'Pro.xap.zip'. Now If U extract this ZIP file, u will get following two files - 'DLL File' And 'XAML File'.

* In case of Silverlight Applications Using Video Files eg. Application created using Microsoft Expression Encoder,etc. u may find the 'Video File' along with the DLL & XAML Files.

-> Now U need to create a file "Manifest.xml" whose contents will be as follows :

DeepZoomProject.xap is the XAP file of Application ....

-> Now Zip the existing XAP file along with this Manifest.XML file. ** In case U are uploading the DeepZoom Application ZIP the "GeneratedImages" folder along with the XAP File And XML File

-> Now Select This Compressed File In The File Select Dialog Box U get After Clicking The "Browse" Button




-> Click "Upload" And Your File Will Get Uploaded To The Server. After The Upload Is Complete U Will Get A Screen As Shown Below ... telling Various Informations And Properties Of Ur Application.

-> Here U will get various options such as Launch Application test Page - To view Ur Uploaded Application Delete Appliation options For Embedding This Application Into Ur Web Pages Or Blogs

-> To Embed the application onto ur web page/blog follow any of the method and U will get a nice Silverlight Application Added To Ur page ..........



2) Creating An Online Album Using Photozoom .... Its Very Simple ... A person having 0 knowledge of programming/deepzoom/silverlight,etc can us the Photozoom to create his online Photozoom Album ......

-> Just head to Photozoom Site ..... SignIn with Ur LiveID .......Click "Get Started" ......

-> Just A Give The Name For The Album ........ And Select the Photos To Be Uploaded ....

* Silverlight RunTime Needs To be Installed as needed By Upload Application

-> After Uploading The Photos ... U get Various options of Viewing the Album, Email the Album, Delete The Album etc.


-> Select View Album To View Ur Photozoom Album .......... U will get an iframe code to embed this photozoom viewer into ur web pages/blogs ...


Thus Friends here We saw beautiful and easy methods for uploading our silverlight applications and creating Online PhotoZoom Album and embedding them to web page/blogs .............




U can see on this page .... I have Uploaded two Silverlight Frames ........


-> My Panorama - As Told in Previous Blogs, I created A Panorama Using DeepZoom Application and Uploaded It Using Silverlight Live Streaming .....


-> My Photozoom Album - I have created an Online PhotoZoom Application And Embedded It To My Blog page


*** Friends pls Share Ur Views About My Posts,Blog Page,My Presentation,etc to help me knowing the mistakes i would be making and let me correct them and make my future posts error free ***


-Aashish Singh Negi
SIT Lonavla
Email: negiaashish2008@hotmail.com
Blog: http://aashishthepro.blogspot.com/
Site: http://sites.google.com/site/aashishthepro