Blogs|Nov 18, 2009

Dynamic Module Loading with Silverlight Navigation using Prism

I started a project to update my personal website using Silverlight. The goal is to use Prism/Composite Application Guidance to build out a nice site that demonstrates some Silverlight capabilities and make the source code available as a reference. One of the first pieces I chose to tackle was ensuring I could facilitate deep linking…
Read More→
Blogs|Nov 13, 2009

Inline Hyperlinks in Silverlight 3 (Equivalent of A HREF)

One common complaint I see regarding Silverlight is the inability to include inline hyperlinks. While Silverlight does provide a HyperlinkButton, you cannot do something simple like: This is some text. This is <a href="https://training.atmosera.com/">a hyperlink</a>, in case you were wondering. There are a few solutions available via third-party controls, but it’s a good exercise to…
Read More→
Blogs|Nov 12, 2009

ASP.Net Dynamic Data (LINQ) Tips and Tricks

Dynamic data is a technology that enables RAD (rapid application development) for data-driven applications. What is a data-driven application, or rather, when does it make sense to use ASP.NET Dynamic Data? Any type of CRUD (create/read/update/delete) application is a prime candidate for dynamic-driven applications. In fact, if you are building an internal site simply to…
Read More→
Blogs|Nov 3, 2009

Silverlight Communication: Three Ways to Connect

Silverlight has myriad ways to connect to other systems and retrieve information for your applications. It is a common question people ask (“How do I get my data from the database to Silverlight?”) and each method has its own pros and cons. The purpose of this project, “Silverlight Communicator,” is to provide a simple, easy…
Read More→
wintellect-blogs|Nov 1, 2009

Triggering Storyboards Sans Code Behind in Blend

OK, so we’ve been through quite a series of iterations and refactoring for something simple: triggering a story board animation based on an event somewhere else. We used dependency and attached properties, we used custom behaviors, and now we’re going to do it completely “out of the box.” I figured this one would be easiest…
Read More→
wintellect-blogs|Oct 20, 2009

A Weak Post

The WeakReference is one of those fun interview topics. Some people have never heard of it and when they learn about it will say, “That’s a textbook question … why would I ever use a Weak Reference?” A weak reference references an object while still allowing that object to be reclaimed by garbage collection. Why…
Read More→
wintellect-blogs|Oct 16, 2009

Silverlight Behaviors and Triggers: Making a True Behavior

We have explored using dependency properties and attached properties to abstract behaviors and triggers. In my last article, TextBox Magic, I showed how to create a dependency property to enable a textbox filter that would prevent anything but digits. In this article, we’ll take it a step further and turn it into a “true” behavior.…
Read More→
Blogs|Oct 11, 2009

Silverlight Behaviors and Triggers: Making a Trigger Action

So far we’ve explored how to use dependency properties and attached properties to create reusable behaviors and triggers. I showed you recently how to refactor an attached property to use the Behavior base class instead. Today, we’ll look at the TriggerAction that is also available in System.Windows.Interactivity (either as a part of Expression Blend, or…
Read More→