By the time Silverlight came around, the problems afflicting web applications all round were well known and somewhat well understood. The burden of dealing with network latency, cancellation and errors should not be thrust on every web developer. Platforms have a unique role in abstracting away these problems. However, beyond band-aid solutions, web platforms haven’t provided any effective remedies. With Silverlight we’ve tried to tackle these head on. I wouldn’t say we’ve solved them, but we’re a ways ahead than many others out there in recognizing and fixing issues in this space. Our strategy involves giving fish as well as fishing lessons. Silverlight enforces an asynchronous programming model for just about every latency, cancellation or conflict -afflicted scenario your web app would encounter. We further the mindset that much everything you’re trying to access can be on a remote machine or can take forever to return or can simply fail. This defensive posture is critical. And so whether Read More...