Top 10 Silverlight Elements Every Developer Should KnowSilverlight, Microsoft’s once-popular framework for building rich internet applications, introduced a powerful set of UI elements and controls that made creating interactive, media-rich web experiences straightforward. Even though Silverlight is now deprecated, many legacy applications still rely on its components. This article covers the top 10 Silverlight elements every developer should know, why they matter, and practical tips for using them effectively.
1. Grid
The Grid is the primary layout panel in Silverlight, allowing developers to arrange child elements in rows and columns. Unlike simpler panels such as Canvas or StackPanel, Grid supports complex layouts with shared sizing using star (*) values and auto sizing.
- Use RowDefinitions and ColumnDefinitions to define structure.
- Combine Grid with nested panels for responsive-like layouts.
- Example use cases: form layouts, dashboards, control panels.
2. StackPanel
StackPanel arranges child elements in a single line, either vertically or horizontally. It’s ideal for simple linear layouts.
- Set Orientation to Horizontal or Vertical.
- Avoid overusing StackPanel for complex nested layouts; prefer Grid for precise alignment.
- Good for toolbars, lists of buttons, and simple stacks of controls.
3. Canvas
Canvas provides absolute positioning with Canvas.Left, Canvas.Top, Canvas.Right, and Canvas.Bottom attached properties. It’s the go-to for custom drawing and animations where exact coordinates matter.
- Use for custom shapes, drag-and-drop, and freeform layout.
- Not responsive — elements stay at fixed coordinates.
- Pair with transforms for animation and movement.
4. Border
Border is a lightweight container that adds a border, background, and corner radius around its child content. It’s often used to visually isolate or emphasize content.
- Supports CornerRadius, BorderBrush, BorderThickness, and Background.
- Can contain a single child, typically a panel or control.
- Useful for card-like UI elements and highlighting.
5. TextBlock
TextBlock is used for displaying read-only text and supports inline formatting, wrapping, and simple text styling. It is the lightweight alternative to TextBox for static content.
- Supports TextWrapping, TextTrimming, and Inlines for mixed formatting.
- For editable text, use TextBox instead.
- Performance-friendly for displaying many text elements.
6. TextBox
TextBox provides editable text input and supports single-line or multi-line input. It includes features like Selection, CaretIndex, and events for text changes.
- Use AcceptsReturn for multi-line input.
- Validate user input with events like TextChanged or by data binding with validation rules.
- Pair with styles and templates to match application look and feel.
7. ListBox and ItemsControl
ListBox and ItemsControl are core elements for presenting collections of items. ItemsControl provides the basic item presentation, while ListBox adds selection behavior.
- Use DataTemplates to control item appearance.
- Virtualize large collections with VirtualizingStackPanel (where available) to improve performance.
- Bind to ObservableCollection
for dynamic updates.
8. DataGrid
DataGrid is a powerful control for displaying tabular data with built-in sorting, editing, and templating capabilities. It’s essential for business apps that need to show lists of records.
- Define Columns explicitly or auto-generate them.
- Support for row/column editing, custom cell templates, and grouping.
- Optimize performance for large datasets with paging or virtualization.
9. MediaElement
MediaElement enables audio and video playback inside Silverlight applications. It supports common formats and exposes playback controls and events.
- Use Source to set media URI and control playback with Play, Pause, and Stop.
- Handle MediaOpened and MediaEnded events for lifecycle management.
- Consider streaming strategy and hosting requirements for large media assets.
10. Storyboard & Animations
Storyboards and the animation system power visual transitions and motion in Silverlight. Animations target properties like Opacity, TranslateTransform.X, or Width over time.
- Define animations within Storyboard tags and start them via Begin().
- Use easing functions for natural motion.
- Combine Storyboards with VisualStateManager for state-driven UI changes.
Tips for Working with Silverlight Elements
- Use styles and control templates to ensure consistent look-and-feel across elements.
- Prefer data binding and MVVM patterns to separate UI from logic.
- Test performance on lower-end machines; Silverlight apps often run in constrained environments.
- When maintaining legacy Silverlight apps, document custom controls and third-party libraries to ease future migration.
Migration Considerations
Silverlight is deprecated and modern alternatives include Blazor, WebAssembly-based frameworks, and client-side JavaScript frameworks (React, Angular, Vue). When planning migration:
- Inventory controls and custom behaviors used.
- Prioritize functionality: media, data grids, and complex animations often require the most effort to port.
- Consider progressive migration strategies where backend APIs stay while front-end is replaced incrementally.
Despite its deprecation, understanding these Silverlight elements helps maintain legacy applications and provides historical insight into UI design patterns used for rich internet applications.
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