Silverlight 1.0 and 2.0

Silverlight exists in two versions:

The first version, Silverlight 1.0, is a relatively modest technology. It includes the 2D drawing features and the media playback features. However, it doesn’t include the CLR engine or support for .NET languages, so any code you write must use JavaScript.

The second version, Silverlight 2.0, adds the .NET-powered features that have generated the most developer excitement. It includes the CLR, a subset of .NET Framework classes, and a user interface model based on WPF (as described in the next section, “Silverlight and WPF”). Many developers consider Silverlight 2.0 to be the real first release of theSilverlight platform.

At present, Silverlight is only on a fraction of computers. However, Microsoft is convinced that if compelling content exists for Silverlight, users will download the plug-in. A number of factors support this argument. Flash grew dramatically in a short space of time, and Microsoft has obvious experience with other web-based applications that have started small and eventually gained wide adoption. (Windows Messenger comes to mind, along with numerous ActiveX plug-ins for tasks ranging from multiuser coordination on MSN Games to Windows verification on MSDN.)