IronPython & Silverlight

These articles will take you through everything you need to know to write Silverlight applications with IronPython:

• Introduction to IronPython & Silverlight 2

• The Structure and Contents of a Dynamic Silverlight Application

• Getting Started: Minimal Examples of IronPython and Silverlight

• The Silverlight APIs

  Exploring the Core-CLR that comes with Silverlight. This includes accessing the browser DOM, working with XAML, creating controls, the video player, accessing server resources, using local storage and more.

• From Silverlight to Javascript and Back Again

  Interacting with Javascript from IronPython code is easy, but needs a bit of C#. This article shows you how to do it - including compiling the C# from the command line (without Visual Studio installed).

• Embedding IronPython in a C# Silverlight Application

• Interactive Python Interpreter in the Browser

  An interactive Python interpreter that runs in the browser, inside an HTML textarea. Great for documentation and tutorials where you can try the code in the browser.

Downloads & Examples

You can download several of the examples used in the articles:

• View Minimal IronPython Example 1 Online (with XAML)
• Download Minimal IronPython Example 1
• View Minimal IronPython Example 2 Online (pure-Python)
• Download Minimal IronPython Example 2
• View IronPython Controls Example 1 Online (from XAML)
• Download IronPython Controls Example 1
• View IronPython Controls Example 2 Online
• Download IronPython Controls Example 2
• View Simple Animation Example Online
• Download Simple Animation Example

The easiest way of experimenting with the Silverlight APIs is through the Web IDE:

• View IronPython & Silverlight Web IDE Online.
• Download IronPython & Silverlight Web IDE 0.5.0.

The following downloads use C#:

• Visual Studio 2008 Project Using the Scriptable Attributes
• Compiling C# from the Command Line (batch file)
• Embedded IronPython Project

One of the most exciting things about Silverlight 2 is the possibility of embedding an interactive interpreter inside web pages:

• View Interactive Interpreter Online
• Download Interactive Interpreter

The Web IDE

This is an online example of working with the Silverlight APIs. It presents you with a Silverlight Canvas and a Python editor. You can execute code in the editor and experiment with the canvas or the Silverlight APIs. Anything you print (and errors) will go to the debugging pane at the bottom of the page.

The Silverlight canvas is preloaded with several different examples. The article that goes with this demo is Exploring Silverlight APIs.

• The IronPython & Silverlight Web IDE

You can also download the latest version of the Web IDE:

• Download IronPython & Silverlight Web IDE Project 0.5.0.

Python Interactive Interpreter in a Browser

This is a proof of concept 'Interactive Python Interpreter in the Browser' which could be embedded into web based tutorials and documentation (like Crunchy) to provide live examples. For more details read Interactive Python Interpreter in the Browser.

• View the Interactive Interpreter Online
• Download the Interactive Interpreter Files

Useful Resources

Useful resources for dynamic silverlight development:

• Get Silverlight 2 Beta 1

  Currently for Mac OS X and Windows, for IE, Safari and Firefox browsers.

• Dynamic Silverlight

  To get hold of Chiron and the IronPython and IronRuby 'stuff' for Silverlight 2 - plus some examples / samples.

• John Lam's introduction to Dynamic Silverlight - mainly using IronRuby and Managed JScript:

  • Dynamic Silverlight Part 1 - Hello World
  • Dynamic Silverlight Part 2 - Flickr and Managed JScript
  • Dynamic Silverlight Part 3 - Integrating with ASP.NET MVC

• Quickstart guide: Programming Silverlight with Dynamic Languages

• Jimmy Schementi's Silverlight 2 Error Console Prototype

• Video of the Mix 08 Session

The next article in this series is:

• Getting Started: Minimal Examples of IronPython and Silverlight

• Silverlight 2 SDK

  You don't really need this...

• Silverlight 2 Beta 1 Documentation (CHM file)

  You probably do want this however...

• Silverlight 2 Visual Studio Tools

  Needed for creating Silverlight 2 projects with Visual Studio 2008. As far as I know, this doesn't work with Visual Studio Express - but I would love to be proved wrong.

• Silverlight 2 Beta 1 Samples

  Mainly in C#, but still fun / useful.

Resolver in the Browser

'Resolver in the Browser' is an example of an application that just uses Silverlight for the business logic. It is described in The Silverlight APIs page.

• View the Spreadsheet Example Online
• Download the Resolver in Silverlight Example