Is Silverlight the 'same' as jQuery?

Question

Could Silverlight be used for the same things as jQuery, or are they intended for different things?

For example, vb.net could be used for the same stuff as C# while C# is intended for different things than what JavaScript is. Is Silverlight and jQuery like vb.net and C#, or more like C# and JavaScript?

Unutterable

I cant beleive this got so many downvotes. I thought SO was supposed to be * freindly, a place where anyone at any level can get answers? Next time someone wants to know this they will have the answer! – Garges

for(int n=0;n<1000;n++) { Console.WriteLine( "Check Google before asking questions!"); } – Hildegaard

Well, what's the point of SO when all we have to do is ask google? – Contrivance

I agree that this shouldn't have received any downvotes. I think the person asked the question because they were looking for a good solid answer. I queried Google and did not find anyything remotely close to the poster's question on the first page. The downvoting was cheap - it is a good question and doesn't meet the criteria of "not clear or not useful". So I've upvoted the good guys. – Cath

Answer 1

Silverlight can be used to create rich interactive media, and is more akin to Flash than anything else. jQuery is a javascript library.

Liverpool

Only problem I see with this statement is that it implies that Silverlight is mainly good for interactive animations and very rich interfaces. However, Silverlight has plenty of features and controls which make it great platform for various general purpose applications. For example, I successfully used Silverlight to develop Line-Of-Business application (simply presenting data from back-end web service in data grid, chart, etc). – Kwon

A comparaison with Flex is more accurate. – Affectionate

Answer 2

Interesting riddle. No, Silverlight and jQuery are two different things entirely. If you want analogies, Silverlight is more akin to Adobe Flash. jQuery is a Javascript library akin to Prototype, Dojo, etc.

Scyphus

But they can both be used to very similar things. – Wootten

Not really. Flash is for animation, movies etc. Full size things. Javascript is for editing elements of a webpage. – Recaption

@phjr, wristwatches and the sun can be used to do very similar things as well, but I wouldn't call them the same. – Scyphus

Also Silverlight being akin to Flash is only true for version 1 really, Silverlight 2 should probably be compared to Flex rather than Flash. – Arcboutant

Answer 3

It's more like the difference between C# and JavaScript. Silverlight and jQuery at the high level are intended for similar things - rich user interaction in a web browser. However, Silverlight can do some more interesting things by using the .NET framework, and allows you to muck around with with WPF so you can add 3D rendering, advanced printing, playing back movies, DRM (ugh), and more things that jQuery just can't do yet. That said, I have no doubt that JavaScript and JS frameworks like jQuery will eventually catch up to most of the things Silverlight can do.

Another thing to mention is that Silverlight requires users to download and install a browser plugin, while jQuery works with any modern JavaScript-enabled browser. I think Silverlight is more comparable to Adobe Flash than to jQuery.

Gaberlunzie

Just a side note, silverlight cannot do 3d like WPF, although you can get 3d libraries for silverlight, albeit without HW acceleration. – Garges

Answer 4

It's not the 'same' thing.

It's more like C# and Javascript.

jQuery is a javascript framework that helps with writing javascript

but Silverlight is an interactive media technology of its own... which is... IMO... totally different.

Cnossus

Answer 5

Saying that Silverlight is "just like Flash" doesn't answer the question.

Ok, how about, can (Flash|Silverlight) produce the same results javascript?

More to the point, with today's browsers, is there any visual effect which cannot be rendered in Javascript as easily as (Flash|Silverlight)?

Are there speed and performance benefits in using (Flash|Silverlight) for things like drop down menus and animation versus javascript?

Are there difficulties in using (Flash|Silverlight) when it comes to tailoring highly data rich sites that make it easier to use code rather than designer type interface?

Irkutsk

Answer 6

Silverlight comes closer to being like Flash, than JScript.

Both Flash & Silverlight are browser plug-ins that can be used to create rich interfaces. Both use proprietary technology & formats.

Ubangishari

Maybe I would also mention that flash has stable support for open source platforms (Flex, various players for Linux) whereas Silverlight is still shaky on that ground (Moonlight...) – Fachan

Linux is a second-class citizen in the Flash world. It it released far slower, and is much less stable than on other platforms. – Papst

the same with Moonlight on Linux. So blame Linux! – Rolfrolfe

Answer 7

Think of Silverlight as "Flash.NET" -- a way to write a .NET app that runs within its own box within the browser.

Flax

Answer 8

Expanding on what been said, you may as well try comparing assembler with photoshop. On the reasoning both can be used to generate files.

They really are totally different technologies.

Javascript relies soley on the underlying page structure and DOM augmentation to yield results, Silverlight is like Flash, and tends more towards being just a "window" in the page with its own canvas etc.

Trying to compare silverlight with jQuery however, which is a library for javascript, its just nonsensical.

They're so incomparable, I'm having difficulty finding 2 other things that are equally incomparable. You may as well ask, "which is better, a house, or a slice of cheese".

Retch

Answer 9

This morning a post went up on Scott Guthrie's blog indicating that Microsoft will be shipping the standard jQuery library with Visual Studio from now on, and defining intellisense for it. That's exciting news for the future of jQuery and Silverlight, not as competing technologies but as complimentary ones!

Bullough

Answer 10

You can use them for the same tasks. You could make interactive web applications in jQuery or flash. There are advantages to each, it depends on if you need flash/silverlight or not. If you can achieve your goal without resorting to flash then you should use just JS. Some people might see it the other way around and feel that javascript is a resort and flash/silverlight is the primary method of creating interactive content. Personally, I hear that silverlight takes much longer for development than flash/flex and also has a much smaller userbase (understandably). With both flash and flex, you will get those people who haven't downloaded flash yet. With javascript you will get people who have odd browsers that have trouble running it. It just depends on what your needs are.

Shockproof

Answer 11

jQuery is for manipulating the HTML DOM and carry out complex tasks (like finding controls, animating, etc.) in a easier way..... jQuery is completely different from Silverlight. Silverlight is a client side UI language similar to Java Applets, Adobe Flex, etc.

If you are looking for a similar tool (like jQuery) for Silverlight, try XamlQuery. You can manipulate the Silverlight DOM using XamlQuery and carry out most of the tasks that can be carried out using jQuery. But remember, jQuery is for JavaScript but XamlQuery is for Silverlight.

Recuperator