I have a webapplication that heavily uses JQuery. I would like to start using silverlight in its place if its possible. Instead of using jquery ajax features and other jquery features I would like to use silverlight. is this possible to do with silverlight?
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3Why do you want to go backward? Flash is on its way out in favor of HTML5 and JavaScript. Silverlight is nothing more than a Flash rip-off and will probably fade away in favor of more advanced solutions before it gains any real market share.Noah Goodrich– Noah Goodrich2010-06-17 02:06:33 +00:00Commented Jun 17, 2010 at 2:06
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2Realize that you're going to cut out a fair portion of the internet, since there's still a lot of the market that doesn't have silverlight support (where all the major browsers are supported by jQuery)...ircmaxell– ircmaxell2010-06-17 02:06:34 +00:00Commented Jun 17, 2010 at 2:06
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1interested in this question. i haven't used silverlight yet. but what about compatibility across non-microsoft browsers such as firfox, chrome, opera etc? will you have to force people to install plug-ins to view the contents of you web app?Vicer– Vicer2010-06-17 02:08:26 +00:00Commented Jun 17, 2010 at 2:08
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1@Vicer - Silverlight fits in all of the major browsers. It will require the add-in for them all (just as flash would). It's still in its infancy, but it has a very rich interface for developing business apps in web pages consistently. Having .Net is a double bonus.Joel Etherton– Joel Etherton2010-06-17 02:12:00 +00:00Commented Jun 17, 2010 at 2:12
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1@Robusto - I wasn't directly equating any one solution as being better than Silverlight. But considering the emerging prominence of mobile devices in computing and especially of mobile devices from a particular M$ competitor that fully backs HTML5 as a platform but supports neither Silverlight nor Flash, its easy to see why switching from an existing jQuery solution to either Silverlight or Flash would be foolhardy.Noah Goodrich– Noah Goodrich2010-06-17 16:26:50 +00:00Commented Jun 17, 2010 at 16:26
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6 Answers
Different tools. jQuery is best for manipulating the DOM. Silverlight is (ostensibly) best for rich internet apps, not manipulating the DOM. If your web application tries to create a cool UI using JavaScript, Silverlight might be a good fit to replace tons of JavaScript code.
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If you application uses JQuery now replacing it with Silverlight will most likely not only entail redoing your JQuery features but also any HTML, CSS, forms processing and really everything about your application depending on what it does and how it is current designed.
I agree with Jonathon, they are really are two different tools.
Thanks.
Nick
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Technically, Yes.
But you must understand that you will have to rewrite all your application from the bottom. Microsoft propose the RIA Services as the best practice design to use with Silverlight but with this will make you change all your design and even the Data layer.
So the answer is Yes. But you would better stick with jQuery.
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Ryan
Very true! I experimented with RIA services last summer when it was a preview. I wasn't impressed at all. It's very intrusive into your domain. Basically my impression was that it favors data containers over rich behavior models so it didn't work out for me.
@Luke101, you can design an whole website using Silverlight no probs. The question though is what is your target audience?
Silverlight doesn't come shipped with the browsers as yet so a lot of computers don't have it yet and so need to download it.
Given the amount of paranoia out there I think people are a little hesitant to download something when a broswer asks you to.
The environment you'll be working in i don't think will be HTML any longer and you'll be working in xaml.
Also consider your target browser. There are still a lot of people using <gasp> IE6 and i'm not sure if SL will run on it.
What is the motivation behind moving to SL? If it's because it looks cool, don't forget a lot of that comes down to design and if you're not a design person you're likely to make a bigger hash of it than if you were working in HTML.
You may also want to look at how you integrate with a designer. I know MS Expression is designed to make the job easier but it's still an early product. Also, does your designer know about Expression or Blend and know how to use it?
What I'm getting at is there is a large learning curve here which equates to someones money and you may not see anything for some time.
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Yes.
Silverlight runs in the browser, jQuery (JavaScript) also runs in the browser. So they can technically replace each other, assuming all the functionality you want in one exists in the other (including support in various browsers).
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Yes. Silverlight with RIA services can replace a jQuery AJAX site. Depending on the site's features, you may even be able to break up the features of the site into silverlight "widgets" for individual functionality. The danger is that Silverlight can quickly balloon into an application that is difficult to update (though it will guarantee cross browser compatibility). Silveright is entering version 4 and it's still not finished yet, so it's changing rapidly.
