HTML5 vs Silverlight

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HTML5 vs Silverlight

Mark Allan

NW-MTUG talk kindly sponsored by:

MarkXA.com

What we’ll be covering

HTML5 – new features for application

development

Silverlight – a quick summary

Comparison of capabilities & reach

Choosing what to use for Rich Internet

Applications and native apps

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What is HTML5?

HTML5 is a generic term for the next

generation of web applications. It refers to:

• HTML

• JavaScript APIs

• CSS

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HTML5 Semantics - Structure

Tags for document structure,

semantic versions of <div>

and <span>:

• <header>, <footer>, <nav>

• <section>, <article>

• <hgroup>, <aside>

• <time>, <mark>

Used for document outlining,

syndication and accessibility

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HTML5 Semantics - Forms

New input tags for• Date/time

• Colour

• Numbers

• Ranges

• Email addresses

• URLs

• Telephone numbers

• Searches

Validation, autofocus, watermarks

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HTML5 Multimedia

<video>

<audio>

Only limited control

Issues with DRM, codecs

etc

Stick to YouTube / Vimeo /

Flash

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HTML5 Graphics & Effects

<canvas> - 2D bitmaps

<canvas> - 3D with WebGL

<svg> – 2D vectors

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HTML5 Offline & Storage

Offline access and events

File API

Local storage

Session storage

Web Database (SQL)

Indexed DB (LINQ-ish)

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HTML5 Connectivity

Web sockets

Server-sent events

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HTML5 Device Access

Geolocation API widely

supported

Also proposals and

implementations for

• Accelerometer

• Microphone

• Camera

• etc…

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HTML5 Performance & Integration

Web Workers

XMLHttpRequest 2

Drag and drop

Notifications (toast)

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CSS3

Web Fonts

Transitions, transforms and animations

Gradients

Flexible box model

Columns

Rounded corners

etc…

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Silverlight

Plugin and out-of-browser

Nearly all the features of

HTML5 except semantics

All available now

Extra features like printing,

webcam/microphone

support, better media,

more controls, …

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Silverlight – Ease of use

.NET framework

Visual Studio

Expression Blend

Write once, run everywhere

vs HTML5 write once, test

everywhere

So, just use Silverlight?

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Reach – the critical issue

HTML5 Silverlight

Desktops A few Most

iOS Now* Never!

Android Now* One day?

RIM Now* Unlikely

WP7 Soon* Now*But see next slide…

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How much HTML5 can we use?

Current FutureIE 8.0: 29% 9.0: 61%Firefox 3.6: 67% 5.0: 88%Safari 5.0: 79% 6.0: 90%Chrome 9.0: 89% 11.0: 90%Opera 11.0: 74% 11.1: 77%iOS 4.2: 70%Android 2.3: 60%

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Remember this?

As each browser vendor works on its own implementation of HTML “standards”, we’re back to this sort of thing:

with Modernizr and jQuery fallbacks

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Ideal for the customer

Native apps for every platform

• Objective C + Cocoa (iOS)

• Java (Android)

• Java (RIM)

• Silverlight (WP7)

• HTML (everything else)

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Write once, run anywhere

HTML5 is the best chance we have in the

long run

But the market wants native apps

Can use .NET to write native apps with

Mono, MonoTouch, MonoDroid

Can use JavaScript to write native-ish apps

with Appcelerator Titanium etc

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Conclusions

Know your audience

What platforms are they using?

What experience do they want?

Develop for the lowest common

denominator

Consider targeting multiple platforms for

the best experience

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Questions?