Opensilver has recently published the project Opensilver 3.1, which focuses on the development of the Silverlight platform. This allows the creation of interactive Web applications using C#, F#, XAML and .Net. Applications compiled using OpenSilver can function in any desktop and mobile browser with WebASSEMBLY support. Developers can use Visual Studio and VS Code for development, both of which support work in Windows, MacOS, and Linux. The project code is written in C# and is distributed under the MIT license.
The Opensilver project was initially created to extend the life of existing Silverlight applications after the platform’s development and maintenance ceased in 2021, along with the discontinuation of support for connected plugins in browsers. OpenSilver continues to support all the main features of the Silverlight engine, including full support of C# and XAML languages, as well as implementation of most platform APIs needed for using C# libraries such as Telerik UI, WCF Ria Services, Prism and Mef.
Opensilver has evolved beyond its original purpose of extending the life of Silverlight and now serves as an independent platform for creating new applications. It includes development environment advancement, support for new versions of C# and the .NET platform, and compatibility with JavaScript libraries.
OpenSilver forms the foundation of open projects like Mono (Mono-wasm) and Microsoft Blazor (part of ASP.NET Core). To run applications in the browser, compilation into Webassembly intermediate code is used. OpenSilver also continues to develop the project cshtml5, which allows compilation of C#/XAML/.NET applications into JavaScript for browser execution, and expands its capabilities to support C#/XAML/.NET in Webassembly.
In the latest version of OpenSilver, the “XAML UI Designer” visual builder is introduced, based on the Visual Studio Code editor. This visual development environment, unlike the previous one based on Visual Studio, is cross-platform supporting Windows, Linux, and MacOS. Over a hundred ready-made interface components are provided for developers, including various diagrams and tabular forms for working with data. Additionally, an AI assistant is integrated to assist in creating and modifying user interfaces using natural language commands.
