Blake Niemyjski said
I have read many technical books over the years and this is one is one of those books that you know you better keep handy. I really like how Robert has this book laid out and how he introduces you to Silverlight. I've been a .NET guy since version 1.0. But like most developers, I haven't had the chance to really dive into Microsoft's latest technologies like Silverlight until they have a few versions released.
I found that the book is laid out very nicely; the first few chapters will introduce you to the tools (Visual Studio 2010). Then it will lead you into what Silverlight is and how to use it. What I really liked about this book is that it gave you background information about previous versions of Silverlight. This is a great way to learn Silverlight as you soon realize the early gotchas of the framework so if you are developing a new Silverlight application or joining a team tasked with upgrading a Silverlight 2.0 application. You will be ready to go.
Beginning Silverlight 4 will walk you through data binding, layout management, Silverlight controls and much more. It takes a slightly different but much appreciated way of presenting information to the reader. Each section offers two methods of implementation that contain pictures code samples to solve the presented task; usually declaratively and in code. I like this approach because it allows you to learn the approach that's fits your coding style.
I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn Silverlight. You should be knowledgeable in C# before picking up this book! My only recommendation for Robert in a second edition is I wish the code that was presented in the book was in color!
Denis N. said
This is a very good silverlight book.
I like it more that Matthew MacDonald's book.
Also it is more advanced than Beginning Silverlight by Robert Lair.
Read it if you want to learn silverlight or to see what's new in silverlight 4.
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