Silverlight 2 is a next-generation plug-in technology for building Rich Internet Applications. This session provides a high-level overview of how Silverlight works, the tools used to build Silverlight applications, and the benefits of using Silverlight technology. Several Silverlight applications will be demonstrated to provide a perspective on the type of applications that can be built using Silverlight.

In this session you will learn about how Silverlight 2 works from an architectural and technical perspective. You will examine the new Silverlight project templates in Visual Studio 2008 to see exactly how the various components fit together and how Silverlight applications are deployed to end users.

Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML) is the fundamental language of Silverlight applications. In this session, you will gain a clear understanding of how XAML works and see the benefits of using a declarative approach to user-interface design.

Silverlight 2 includes support for rich, vector-based graphics and a full library of re-usable user interface controls. In this session, you’ll learn about how the Silverlight renders user interface graphics and how you can leverage the rich set of built-in controls. You’ll also learn how to use styles and templates to customize the look-and-feel of your Silverlight applications.

Silverlight’s user interface model is highly extensible. In this session, you will learn how to create your own reusable controls to bring a highly customized look to your Silverlight applications.

Storing, consuming and retrieving data is essential to any application. In this session you will see a variety of scenarios in which Silverlight can use local and remote data stores. Topics include isolated storage, XML, and relational data scenarios.

The Silverlight platform offers a complete solution for providing rich animation in your applications. In this session you will learn the fundamentals of animation in Silverlight – you will see how you can specify animations declaratively in XAML, you will understand the different types of animations, and you will learn how to create and control animations in code.

Silverlight’s media support is a cornerstone of its platform. In this session you will see how rich media can be integrated into Silverlight applications. A complete media player will be demonstrated, and topics such as high-definition video, supported codes, and Silverlight Streaming will be discussed.

Silverlight is a web technology that provides a richer user experience when compared with traditional web-based solutions. However, in some cases it may be necessary to interoperate with older web technologies such as HTML and JavaScript. In this session you will see how Silverlight supports full interoperability with these existing technologies.