Microsoft Visual Studio Express for Windows Phone

Visual Studio 2010 Express

Microsoft Visual Studio, Express-version - a set of free tools that offer you an exciting experience with the new integrated development environment, the new editor is built in the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and supports the new .NET Framework 4., a simplified version of Visual Studio 2010 line of innovative application development tools for non-professional developers. Key features and characteristics of Visual Studio 2010 Express:Visual Studio provide key innovations in the following areas: - Creating intelligent client applications;- Provides tools to support the latest innovations in application architecture, development and deployment;- Contains many enhancements that make it easier to develop powerful and compelling applications.

Windows Phone 7 Series Emulator

Windows Phone 7 Series Emulator is a program designed to test WP7S applications and is included in the Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Express for Windows Phone development kit. The file weighs 75 MB and requires Windows 7 or Windows Vista to run. With the help of the emulator it is possible to change phone settings, create and manage Silverlight and XNA applications, the emulator is also included in Expression Blend 4. The emulator supports multi-touch on a desktop and laptop computer running on a Windows 7 platform.

XNA Game Studio 4.0

Microsoft XNA Game Studio is an integrated development environment, a set of tools for creating and managing computer games for Xbox and Windows computers. Key features and characteristics of XNA Game Studio 4.0: - It is possible to create video games for Windows Phone 7 Series, which has hardware accelerated 3D API and integration with Visual Studio 2010; - supports Xbox LIVE and premium games for WP7; - With the help of Gamer Services API it is possible to get information about the player's tag and user's 2D-avatar; - it is possible to work with offline games, in which commands are given in asynchronous mode; - replaced by StorageContainer.TitleLocation on the new OpenStream API;- Premultiplied Alpha is now enabled by default; - New customizable effects - SkinnedEffect, EnvironmentMapEffect, DualTextureEffect and AlphaTestEffect, designed to work effectively on the GPU;- Implemented automatic rotation, so you do not need to write special code for processing portraits, landscapes on the left and right;- Several improvements to the graphics API and much more.

Silverlight for Windows Phone

Silverlight is a browser plug-in that allows you to run applications that contain animation, vector graphics, audio and video clips, which is typical for RIA (Rich Internet application). Silverlight is supported by Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Mac OS X 10.4, Mac OS X 10.5, Mac OS X 10.6 and browsers Internet Explorer 6.0/7.0/8.0, Mozilla Firefox 1.5/2.0/3, Safari 3.1, Google Chrome 3.0. Future plans include support for Opera, mobile devices starting with Windows Mobile 6 and Symbian (Series 6.0), and possibly other platforms.Silverlight for Windows Phone, a platform for developing applications for the Windows Phone 7 Series, supports the core capabilities of Silverlight in .NET with XAML editor.Key features and characteristics of Silverlight for Windows Phone: - the ability to create high quality video and audio using a wide range of codecs, DRM and IIS; - the presence of Deep Zoom to expand the experience of reading and viewing photos; - the creation of vector and raster graphics and animation; - Silverlight makes it possible to get access to the unique features of the phone, including:- to hardware video and graphics acceleration; - accelerometer; - Multi-Touch settings; - camera and microphone control; - Location Awareness, etc.- Silverlight can be used with the XNA Framework to work on sound and playback; - Access to multimedia libraries and access to Xbox LIVE; - The Silverlight application is supported by Visual Studio 2010 and Expression Blend; Windows Phone Emulator integrates with both Visual Studio and Expression Blend and provides tools for deployment, debugging and execution of the Silverlight application.

Microsoft Expression Blend 4.0

Microsoft Expression Blend - a tool designed for the development of animated design of web-interfaces and graphical desktop applications using the latest technologies, is part of the package of graphical programs Microsoft Expression Studio. Key features and characteristics of Microsoft Expression Blend 4.0:- is equipped with a built-in XAML editor, which allows you to design interfaces without reliance on source code, as well as customize the interface being created; - supports WPF, using methods of OpenType and ClearType, based on 2D and 3D controls with hardware acceleration through DirectX;- allows you to combine various design elements - video, vector graphics, text, animation, raster images, three-dimensional objects - the user interface template is compatible with the Microsoft Visual Studio environment, which allows you to quickly and easily modify it and create other screenshots based on it - is supported only after installation.NET Framework 4.;- added support for Silverlight 4 and Windows Presentation Foundation 4 with the ability to create and edit Silverlight 3 and WPF 3.5 with Application Update Pack 1 (SP1);-Continuous interaction with Visual Studio 2010 is ensured;-new features have been introduced that support Model-View-ViewModel (MVVM) for business application development, as well as CallMethodAction and InvokeCommandAction, expanding the design capabilities of these applications; -new controls have been added, such as PathListBox, new shader effects pixel, transition effects and useful tool enhancements.