An update to the source code accompanying my article has been added to work with the new Silverlight 2 RC0 release (note it needs to get through moderation, but you’ll know it’s updated when you see a red message at the top of the article). A few changes needed to be made (primarily to do with control styles) which were throwing exceptions when building/running under the new release. Thanks go to the guys from the Blacklight project (which I use in the dashboard page) for updating their project to work under RC0 too, so that update has been incorporated into this update. The main issue I had to solve when updating was the fact that I couldn’t move around or maximise the dashboard panels anymore. I discovered this was due to the fact that I had put a text block in the “caption” of each panel – whereas previously the mouse down event went straight through my text block to be captured by the panel caption undernearth (to initiate a drag or click), under RC0 the text block was capturing the mouse event and not passing it through. Adding the attribute IsHitTestable with a value of False resolved this issue.
RC0 brings some new styles and controls with it – the DataGrid now looks a lot prettier so I’ve removed my own styling from the grid in this release. It still appears you can’t style the selected cell border (well according to the comment above it when I look at the style in the Data DLL in Reflector). Also with the new styles the line between the rows doesn’t extend across the whole grid width (just to the end of the last column, and some don’t make it all this way either). I guess that would be OK if you showed the vertical grid lines but I have chosen to hide these to achieve the look I want (or as close as I can get).
On a more positive note, the new rendering such that straight lines are aligned to the nearest pixel creates a much nicer and cleaner look. You’ll note that on the login screen I now use the new PasswordBox control for the password, and I use the new MessageBox command to notify when an incorrect password has been entered.
View the article here:
Chris Anderson 
Hi Chris!
Thank you for your effort with the Silverlight LOB application .
It helped me a lot!
cheers from Hungary
This is a very nice LOB application,I would like to use it to learn more about silverlight. Is it possible to give us a more detailed walk through so I can unsertand the steps to build this application? Thanks so much. Keep the good work.
Rachida Dukes
Hi Rachida
Currently this is the first in a series of articles on building a LOB application in Silverlight. The next instalment will come within the next week – this article currently only covers the framework, login, dashboard framework, and product list. The detailed steps of setting it up to build can be found in the “Using the Sample Application” section near the start of the article. Essentially to build the application you just need to have the Silverlight prerequisites installed (see http://silverlight.net/GetStarted/) and then open the solution in Visual Studio. To run the application successfully there are a few more steps covered in the article regarding setting up the AdventureWorks database. Let me know if there is anything specifically you need further help in order to get the application running.
Chris
Hi Chris!
Thanks for your fast response, I just did what you recommends, I have Visual Studio 2008 SP1 professional edition, but no SQL server installed. I copied the AdventureWorks database. when I try configure our security settings, by using the Command Line / Run in the Start Menu, run:
C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\aspnet_regsql.exe
I got error messages. Do I need to install SQL server Express?
Thanks,
Rachida Dukes
Hi Rachida
Yes, you will need SQL Server Express, and you will need to attach the AdventureWorks database to it.
Hope this helps
Chris
Hi Chris!
I just installed SQL Server 2008 Express and none of the management tools seem to be there. At least they do not show up in Start>>All Programs>>Microsoft SQL Server 2008. I did twice now, no luck I’m still trying.
Thanks in Advance
I decided to install SQL server 2005 Express and every thing woks fine, I have now SQL server manegement tool installed. I added the ASP.NET membership tables to the AdventureWorks database.
Thanks again for your tip.
Rachida Dukes
That’s good news Rachida. You could have just used Visual Studio to attach the database (using the Server Explorer window), but the management tools always come in handy anyway.
Chris
Did you think about using Windows Live ID for the Authentication instead of ASP.net?
I’m struggling to learn ASP.NET membership just to configure your application which is the perfect example to learn about Web service and silverlight for me. I already went through most of silverlight tutorial videos from http://www.silverlight.net, I learn about it, but your application is interesting. Again thanks so much for sharing your knowledge and your fast responses.
Rachida
Hi Rachida
You could choose whichever method you prefer to authenticate users. This article was primarily aimed at developers who had previously worked with ASP.NET and thus would be familiar with the ASP.NET membership providers. In terms of LOB applications I think the ASP.NET providers are the way to go anyway, more so than Windows Live ID – but this is just an example so you are free to modify how you wish.
Chris
thanks again for responding, I really think your application is a perfect application to use to learn silverlight and I will follow your advice and use ASP.net membership for authentication.
Rachida