In response to the proliferation of other frameworks used to create rich
Internet applications such as Flex from Adobe (formerly from Macromedia) and
AJAX-based frameworks, Microsoft Silverlight was recently introduced.
All three of these applications, as well as the others on the market, enable
a web developer to create an interface on a web page that is much more robust
than traditional HTML-based pages once were. Extending the limits of
HTTP/HTML, these technologies use proprietary rendering engines running
within the browser, and XML as the major language with which to communicate
with servers.
Microsoft’s entry into the arena of rich Internet applications
represents the company’s desire to create its own version of the
technology that extends the reach of... (more)