i just got a new laptop and probably will be my main keep for the next 3 years. I am looking for suggestions for software needed for a productive silverlight developer. In addition to the basics Visual Studio, Blend and the SDK.
+1
A:
With the exception of SketchFlow, I would say the following:
If you're truly trying to be a productive developer, don't install anything else. That way, you won't be tempted to leave 'the zone'.
Justin Niessner
2009-12-02 15:31:53
Stack Overflow comes pre-installed with all browsers though...
Ben S
2009-12-02 15:33:19
Only if you allow yourself an Internet Connection...haha
Justin Niessner
2009-12-02 16:09:27
How can you be productive without an internet connection? ;-) Surely you need to deploy your app to your clients and receive feedback in order to improve it.
tomlog
2009-12-02 17:43:41
@tomlong - That's what your other computer is for!
Justin Niessner
2009-12-02 17:50:31
A:
If you want to do data-driven apps, you may be interested in RIA Services.
Dave Swersky
2009-12-02 15:32:24
+1
A:
I would start with everything from the Get Started site.
Kaxaml is always fun to play with, although a bit outdated, and free. This comes with some nice templates that can be a great learning tool.
Recently I've really been enjoying Silverlight Spy (not free, but there is a trial)
Fiddler (or another proxy) is a must have for monitoring traffic from your Silverlight application. Check out this post for monitoring localhost traffic.
Additionally, you might want to take a look at the Composite Application Guidance (aka Prism) library. This is not something you install, but is great guidance for building Silverlight (and WPF) applications.
Andy May
2009-12-02 16:48:24
i have used Kaxaml for past WPF work. will see if they have a newer version. I am not looking for guidance/frameworks as that would depend on what u are trying to do.
silverArc
2009-12-02 17:01:57
+1
A:
In addition to the set of tools you've started with I would add:-
AnthonyWJones
2009-12-02 17:19:18
A:
+1 for Kaxaml - I use it quite frequently to get color values, test the widths of things, and other XAML miscellany. It's a lot more light weight than Blend and I am more frequently than not editing XAML in the code editor of Visual Studio.
I don't know if this is the right forum to prove this hypothesis but I think most Silverlight developers edit their XAML in Visual Studio, not Blend which is why having a light weight alternative is handy some of the time.
You will need Blend, however, it has no equal for editing control templates / styles.
David in Dakota
2009-12-02 17:39:32