Could you tell me what are the main scenarios that Silverlight 4 allows and Flash does not?
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Maybe not the exact answer - I don't know Flash, and have only a short view of Silverlight - but I once read it coined like this:
Flash has been created for Designers to implement funny stuff and games, while Silverlight has it's roots in more process orientated development and got the graphics, video, etc on top.
Whether one of both is the way to go for a specific projects surely depends on the project. For me as a mostly Microsoft focused developer Silverlight is attractive, but again, that's based on little knowledge. Just thought I share what I read a while ago (in a German paper WEAVE, a paper done for and by designers/digital artists).
Sascha
2010-04-04 10:51:33
Sascha, that's not any feature of the runtime capabilities. Flash is more accessible to designers who may prefer to work on design-heavy content, and Silverlight is more accessible to .NET programmers, who may tend to work on programming-heavy content, but either technology can be used for either use.
fenomas
2010-04-04 14:10:48
@Fenomas - My understanding of Sascha is that you *can* use either technology for either, but each one has its own strong points. He's not arguing with what you're saying.
Moshe
2010-04-04 14:52:08
Moshe, I'd argue that it's really the tools that have the strong points. I don't know of anything in the runtimes that makes Flash better for games or Silverlight better for RIAs...
fenomas
2010-04-04 17:31:14
@Moshe - You're right, that was my main point. @Fenomas - Yes tooling is a point to consider - but isn't tooling (as long as you can basically achieve everything you need with every tool) a personal choice? In case of Java there are many full grown IDEs. Some people prefer vi or emacs (no I'm not starting a flameware ;)) as their preferred text and code editor. Mostly the considered tooling is the one you know best...
Sascha
2010-04-04 20:49:53
I agree Sascha.. in theory tooling is just a personal choice, but if the feature gap is small enough then it naturally becomes the main issue. Also, real-world factors tend to entangle - if you're a programmer, and your designers all use Creative Suite or they all use the MS Expression tools, you can make your life easier by using a complementary runtime..
fenomas
2010-04-05 00:29:56
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I'm also no expert but from what I understand, Sascha is pretty much on the mark. There are two things I'd mention: 1. Silverlight can run out of browser without an additional install, Flash/Flex needs to install the AIR runtime. 2. Silverlight is the platform for Windows Phone 7 Series, which may or may not be an issue.
Doobi
2010-04-04 12:24:01
Um, that's not really true: silverlight runtime needs to be installed on both mac and pc, according to their site:http://www.silverlight.net/getstarted/
Richard Inglis
2010-04-04 17:45:40
Richard, what he means is that SL covers both browser use and apps with a single runtime. So a user with the browser runtime doesn't need an extra install to see standalone apps.
fenomas
2010-04-05 00:17:03
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I think the biggest differentiators right now are tooling and browser penetration. On a feature-by-feature basis, I don't know of any large gaps. (Although for a lot of features, like DRM, they offer solutions with very different external requirements - so even though both runtimes "support DRM", Adobe's and Microsoft's DRM solutions have different features that might then be a differentiator.)
Anyway for all major uses I'm familiar with, the choice between Flash and Silverlight is dominated by which development IDE and programming language you prefer, and by how willing you are for some users to see a "Please install runtime" page.
fenomas
2010-04-04 14:07:20