Windows 8: SL and HTML
- by xamlnotes
I was just pointed to comment on my friend Andrew Brust’s blog about Silverlight versus HTML 5. Andrews blog is here: http://geekswithblogs.net/andrewbrust/archive/2011/11/23/windows-8-will-be-here-tomorrow-but-should-silverlight-be.aspx#600915 You can get another idea from another friend of mine Billy Hollis here: http://geekswithblogs.net/jalexander/archive/2011/04/09/the-eternal-battle-rich-v.-reachhellip--guest-blogger-billy-hollis.aspx The commenter is raving about HTML 5 and how that’s the future and SL is not. Well, my reaction is “hogwash”. Sure, HTML 5 is important and does some interesting stuff. Checkout what Bing.com is doing with it on some days and you can see. But to say that XAML is dead is nuts. I have been wrapping up bugs on a cross browser version of an application for awhile now. Whats the state of cross browser today? Well, better than a few years ago but far from perfect. Each browser vendor interprets the specs in a little different way and you must account for them. The worst offender for major browsers? Apple and its Safari. I had to make more changes for it than any other. Whats that got to do with XAML and SL/WPF? Well, you write your SL code once and it runs in all browsers that support it, no changes. ipad does not? Well, they should be taken to court and forced too just like MS and others have been in the past for locking out competitors. Line of business applications? Write them in SL or WPF or both. Use the power of XAML witch far out reaches html in any flavor and move on. We do need HTML 5 but its not a panacea nor will it replace all other technologies.
