Silverlight security on the downloaded xap file

Question

Hi,

I want to develop a online trading application using silverlight in which I want to perform all the calculations at the client side instead of server.

First, Is it possible to run the whole application on the client side?? Second, How secure is silverlight xap file to prevent decoding the logic??

Please let me know.

Thanks, Mahesh

Answer 1

You can use Silverlight Out-of-Browser which will increase your access to the local system if that is needed however is is still sandboxed and you do not get full access to system resources. If that is not a concern then you can perform your logic internal to the Silverlight application which remains in the browser and is indeed client side.

In terms of security to your .XAP file is nothing more then a re-branded .ZIP file. If someone can download your .XAP they can then get access to the .DLL's within the .XAP. Obfuscating the DLL's may hinder individuals from getting access to your code see this, however if intellectual property is something on the top of your list, I'd recommend not performing that logic client side as the other post mentions as well.