What is the difference between WPF and Silverlight?

Question

What is the difference between WPF and Silverlight?

Is it just the same as winforms vs asp as in desktop apps versus web app or is there an overlap?

Answer 1

Silverlight is a subset of the functionality in WPF. WPF is desktops, silverlight is cross-platform web apps. Silverlight can run out-of-browser with limited functionality. if you want full blown WPF and access to everything WPF can access on the client, you can't do silverlight out-of-browser - just build a WPF app.

WPF and silverlight use XAML at its core to describe the layout. There is a MS document that highlights the differences between the two. I just can't find it right now.

WPF is not dead like some bloggers are reporting. Due to its web and cross-platform capabilities it is doubtful SL will ever truly contain 100% of the functionality of its bigger brother WPF. WPF includes some very Windows-specific functionality.

Found the document mentioned above. Here it is...

Answer 2

One and two.

Answer 3

WPF is a desktop API that is a replacement to the venerable pixel-based GDI Winforms library. It uses XML layout (XAML) and binding, partial classes and is no longer pixel-based (it deals in units so apps still work where the user has the DPI set differently).

Silverlight is a subset of WPF that runs within a browser, much like Flash.

Silverlight 3 extended its reach onto the desktop as a counter to Adobe Air so there isn't much of a gap between Silverlight and WPF to the point where one has to question the future of WPF. See Silverlight 3 might kill Windows Presentation Foundation.