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Silverlight, as a pure web development platform is no longer under active feature enhancement development. This doesn't mean that there won't be bug fixes and the likes, only that the main plugin based component will not see significant new features.
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I think you're right Pete, but as I mentioned in my brief but eloquent post, for all in tents and porpoises, it might as well be dead. Surely, nobody in their right mind would use it to start developing a major and/or important piece of software NOW? 
Anything that is unrelated to elephants is irrelephant
Anonymous
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The problem with quotes on the internet is that you can never tell if they're genuine
Winston Churchill, 1944
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I'd just like a chance to prove that money can't make me happy.
Me, all the time
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I'm being very careful in my wording as the plugin is no longer going to be enhanced significantly, but Silverlight itself is now the underpinnings of things like Windows Phone (including the strategy of XAML development across the board with the Universal apps proposition).
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Pete O'Hanlon wrote: but Silverlight itself is now the underpinnings of things like Windows Phone
I think it's more accurate to say - it transformed into WinRT...
I'm not questioning your powers of observation; I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is. (V)
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Pete O'Hanlon wrote: but Silverlight itself is now the underpinnings of things like Windows Phone
Actually that would be WPF, silver light is just a subset of WPF targetting the Web:
Windows Phone 8.0 Roadmap[^]
I wouldn't invest anything in Silverlight itself. WPF on the other hand is far from dead IMO. The only threat to WPF is microsft itself with javascript and HTML5 support on Windows 8 and Phone.
To alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems - Homer Simpson
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Our heads are round so our thoughts can change direction - Francis Picabia
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I know what Silverlight is, but if you look at WP and WinRT, they share a much closer model to Silverlight than they do with WPF.
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Pete O'Hanlon wrote: I know what Silverlight is
Sorry, didn't mean to imply otherwise. What I mean is that Silverlight is not going anywhere anymore, but WPF is. And they are very similar to each other except, Silverlight is focuses the web. And you're right, silverlight's navigational flow resembles well WP model.
To alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems - Homer Simpson
----
Our heads are round so our thoughts can change direction - Francis Picabia
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This is quite true, Silverlight as a technology is no longer being developed, however Microsoft will support it for many more years.
However, the bigger issue is that Chrome will likely start to block Silverlight (and other plug-ins) in the near future:
http://blog.chromium.org/2013/09/saying-goodbye-to-our-old-friend-npapi.html[^]
The FireFox browser is also following suite (although I can't find a reference to that right now).
RIP Silverlight!
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It seemed to me that Silverlight didn't end...it evolved into Windows 8 Metro 'Apps'?
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I think it's 'no further development' but it looks like they are committed to supporting the client runtime until at least 2021, which should be well long enough for a web app. So I don't think there are any obsolescence reasons not to recommend it.
However, like Flash or Java applets, it relies on users installing browser plugins, and if it's a public release some of them may not want to do that. In general I'd recommend against using plugin-based thick clients unless the application requires it.
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BobJanova wrote: it relies on users installing browser plugins
Yeah, and that might be the biggest roadblock. If the users don't already have Silverlight installed, it probably won't get installed (DoD computers, and admin rights are required to install/update the plugin). Also, if access will include mobile devices, that's also a deal killer as far as Silverlight goes.
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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When you pry the gun from my cold dead hands, be careful - the barrel will be very hot. - JSOP, 2013
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We run under the same strictures and Silverlight is a PITA to get through the policy nuts, while we are still working on SL development we are looking at retraining to MVC.
Although POH's comment about it being the underpinning of some other strategy will need investigating, even when we get up to speed in MVC I think we will be doubling our delivery cycle.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity
RAH
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It may be supported until 2021 but clearly new devices and apps/plugins wont!
I used to use the OS getamap service in the uk which was excellent but only supports silverlight, so when I switched from windows laptop to chromebook I had to give it up, I spoke to os and they do not have any clear plans as I can see to move to html5 however I notice that on there site it mentions silverlight supported on 60 percent of internet platforms which has to be a concern for any company with such a product as this percentage is not going to increase!
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It was too advanced so has been scrapped
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There is also some (posible FUD) discussion that new versions of Chrome will not support it?
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I'm thinking that if this is an intranet application with limited lifespan, i.e., not beyond 2021 then you could use Silverlight, otherwise use something else. Also, does it require features in Silverlight that are not yet available in current standard web technologies?
Kevin
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With jQuery and/or HTML5/CSS3 available, Silverlight does not really matter much. I am no web development guru but still, if I were to choose, as a client, I would go for half-baked HTML5 and crazy client side scripting in jQuery. Reason would be simple, Silverlight is not going to evolve. Others might.
Moreover, if I were to move on to phone and other gadgets, I would go for HTML5 and MVC combination. It all depends on the employer. We can only provide scenarios and solutions.
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Comments from d@nish mention HTML5/CSS.
I work primarily with products for a particular vendor. One of their visualization tools was developed using Silverlight a couple of years back. I think they saw the direction Silverlight was headed and decided to port the application and all further visualization tools to HTML5.
The stated advantages were: users could use non-Windows devices for browser based applications and it lent itself to mobile devices. The first non-Windows ports of the application were for iPhones and iPads.
Tim
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It's effectively dead.
If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.-John Q. Adams
You must accept one of two basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe, or we are not alone in the universe. And either way, the implications are staggering.-Wernher von Braun
Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.-Albert Einstein
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Opinion: Dead, as far as I'm concerned, because 1) it only plays with Microsoft mobile products and 2) because the industry has moved on (not necessarily in the right direction, but it has moved.)
Marc
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Silverlight is the predecessor to XAML.
Xaml is the windows one standard for GUI's.
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DOA
It would be hard to recommend something that is frozen in time and will need an add-in in order to work.
The report of my death was an exaggeration - Mark Twain
Simply Elegant Designs JimmyRopes Designs
I'm on-line therefore I am.
JimmyRopes
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Silverlight is very much alive and kicking. It just morphed into "modern apps" for windows phone and windows 8.x
Internally at microsoft, these technologies are refered to as "Silverlight 8".
But you off course mean Silverlight as a webbrowser plugin.
Well, as others have said, it's supported through 2021. So I consider it still a viable technology to use for applications that typically don't have a long lifespan of 5+ years.
For apps with longer lifespan... Silverlight is probably not the best idea.
For me, the go-to tech for line of business apps now is either ASP MVC for web or WPF for desktop.
And it makes me sad, because I love XAML and MVVM.
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It name now serves as a differentiator between "real WP 8.1" and "WP Silverlight 8.1" apps  so I think this is the last time we see Silverlight name, now that W 8.1 and WP 8.1 share the same core finally. We should be working on business apps for Windows 8.1, Silverlight as we knew it (web hosted) is dead
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