Why is there a silver light?

Question

Why not expand the capabilities of WPF or ASP.NET instead of creating a new product?

Answer 1

ASP.NET is just a server-side language for websites. Although they added support for things like AJAX ASP.NET Controls, it still can't get closer to the level at which Silverlight is capable.

And then WPF requires 200+ MB.NET Framework, which can only work on Windows.

Silverlight was created as a lightweight 5 MB plug-in that can run on both Windows and Mac, subject to strict security rules for use on the Internet. From my point of view, Silverlight is a different tool for a different purpose.

Answer 2

WPF is designed for regular desktop applications and cannot be embedded in a web page (XBAP is not the same), and ASP.Net has nothing to do with Silverlight. (ASP.Net is a server technology, Silverlight is a client technology).

Answer 3

To perform the flash and offer all in one solution for all types of development and capture the world. Not that in the near future he will beat the flash and its composition of instruments.

Answer 4

Because no matter how you use ASP.NET or WPF, you won’t get the wealth of Silverlight, Flash, ... in your web browser. Javascript type is limited.

Answer 5

ASP.NET runs on the server, it was necessary to run something on the client.

WPF is already fairly empowered, what you need is something that can work safely on the client and cannot easily be used to commit malicious things. In other words, far from the “empowerment” of WPF, it was necessary to seriously limit some form of WPF.

In addition, it cannot be assumed that the client has a complete .NET infrastructure; Silverlight is designed to contain enough necessary infrastructure for everything to happen with the minimum requirements for the client.

Answer 6

A better question might be - why are the different things WPF and Silverlight 2 different?

My best guess is that it was decided to separate them from "because we always have separate technologies for developing web applications or developing desktop applications" - but things are not so carefully split, and it would be reasonable to see that 2 merging together.

Answer 7

Probably starting from scratch, you would not have both Silverlight and WPF.

I suspect that in the depths of the psyche of MSFT they still do not receive web pages - WPF was a way to modernize the picture on the desktop, adapting it to the network was obviously belated.