OpenSilver: Silverlight makes an open source comeback

guest · Mar 9, 2020

OpenSilver: Silverlight makes an open source comeback
March 9, 2020
https://www.ghacks.net/2020/03/09/opensilver-silverlight-makes-an-open-source-comeback/

Ten years ago, plugins were needed for a lot of things in web browsers. Today, only Flash survived in the browser and its time is running out as well.
Adobe will end Flash development in 2020 and Microsoft revealed that it won't support Silverlight from October 2021 anymore.

Silverlight developers and projects may have a way out however. The French organization Userware released a preview of OpenSilver today, an open source implementation of Silverlight that is based on web standards and modern web technologies such as WebAssembly.

OpenSilver is a modern, plugin-free, open-source reimplementation of Silverlight, that runs on current browsers via WebAssembly. It uses Mono for WebAssembly and Microsoft Blazor. It brings back the power of C#, XAML, and .NET to client-side Web development.
Since it is no longer provided as a plugin, it is compatible with (most) modern web browsers and should run fine in those.
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Interested developers may download the preview release from the OpenSilver website. A Microsoft Account is required to download the preview to the local system.
About 60% of Silverlight APIs are currently supported.

The company launched a conversion service to convert existing Silverlight applications to the modern version so that it may run on websites without plugin requirement.
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Interested users may load the demo from here to check out the functionality that is currently available.
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xxJackxx · Mar 9, 2020

This seems like a really bad idea.

reasonablePrivacy · Mar 9, 2020

Interesting, but I am not a Silverlight developer.

Rasheed187 · Mar 14, 2020

xxJackxx said: ↑

This seems like a really bad idea.
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Well, it seems it's not based on plugins, so that's a good thing. But performance was very bad, slow loading with a lot of CPU time, seems like they have got a lot of work to do. I do wonder how it's different from HTML5.

guest · Sep 17, 2021

Introducing OpenSilver Beta
September 13, 2021
https://www.opensilver.net/announcements/introducing-opensilver.aspx

Today we are introducing the OpenSilver Beta. Our open-source reimplementation of Silverlight that runs on current browsers via WebAssembly is building up towards release 1.0 due for October 12.
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With the browser industry shifting away from the plugins model, Microsoft Silverlight will soon reach the end of support, and the installer will no longer be available for download after October 12.

OpenSilver is an open-source implementation of Silverlight that doesn’t require plugins. The technology has been in Technical Preview since March 2020 and is today being released in Beta. It provides a path forward for .NET developers and IT departments that still have legacy Silverlight applications.

To provide an alternative to rewriting from scratch with another technology, and allow for the migration of legacy Silverlight applications in a short period of time while retaining all the features of the original applications.

To create a tool to build rich web applications from scratch using C# and XAML, with the efficiency and productivity of the Silverlight SDK.

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Compatibility
OpenSilver applications are compatible with all browsers that support WebAssembly, which include all major browsers (Edge, Chrome, Firefox, Safari...) on all major platforms (Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, Linux, ChromeOS...).
When an application is compiled using OpenSilver, it runs on all those browsers without requiring users to install a plugin.
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guest · Oct 12, 2021

OpenSilver picks up where Silverlight leaves off
October 12, 2021
https://betanews.com/2021/10/12/opensilver-picks-up-where-silverlight-leaves-off/

Let us pause for a moment to remember Microsoft Silverlight. The web application framework and alternative to Flash and Java reaches the end of its support life today.
Why are we telling you this?
Because developers around the world have built countless Silverlight applications and may now be looking for an alternative.
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OpenSilver is hosted publicly on GitHub and actively developed by a large team of full-time developers. It fully supports the core capabilities of the Silverlight engine, including full language support (C#, XAML). Most of the platform APIs are supported too, allowing developers to include major C# libraries such as Telerik UI, WCF RIA Services, PRISM, and MEF. Support for additional platform APIs is being added.

Future versions of OpenSilver will also include new functionality, such as the ability to support applications written in VB.NET, and those using the Microsoft LightSwitch component. You can find out more here.
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Today we are thrilled to announce the release of OpenSilver 1.0

As Silverlight is reaching end of support, OpenSilver is now powerful enough to run complex line-of-business applications of all sizes.
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NormanF · Oct 12, 2021

It happens Github is owned by you guessed it - Microsoft. What's not so well known is Redmond's support for open source projects.

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