What is Microsoft Expression Blend?

Introduction to MS BLEND

Stepping into the new horizon of designing, Microsoft Product, Expression Blend provides  extraordinary user interfaces/tools for both windows as well as web applications. Expression Blend is itself written using the .NET Framework and Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF). Expression Blend is effectively an interactive, WYSIWYG front-end for designing XAML-based interfaces for WPF and Silverlight.Expression blend not only supports WPF text engine but also vector based 2D and 3D widgets accelerated by DirectX.

Expression Blend is used for building Rich Interactivity with Vector Graphics, Animation, 3D, Advanced Topography, bitmap graphics, data binding, Video and Audio. Having a sophisticated Interactive designing environment, Expression Blend provides easy to handle tools like menu, sliders, buttons, viewboxs, listboxes without even writing any code.

Few Terms related to Expression Blend

1. Windows Presentation Foundation :
   
   It provides the features of adding multimedia tools to the applications like audio, video, user interface etc. It is uses the markup language, Extensible Application Markup Language and thus provides ease to the developer.
   
   
2. XAML :
   
   Extensible Markup Application Language is a markup language developed by Microsoft. XAML plays vital role in developing applications in Expression Blend i.e. either the application can be created by writing XAML code or by using IDE as in this case the XAML code is reflected behind according to the design view.
   
   
3. SIlverlight:
   
   Using some features of WPF silverlight is used to create rich interactive applications and media experiences for web. It contains some website files which use features of wpf. Silverlight uses cross browser, cross platform plug ins for incorporating video, animation, interactivity, and stunning user interfaces.

Compnents Required for:

1. Windows Phone Developement

• Phone specific version of Expression Blend

• Visual Studio

• XNA Game Studio

 2.  Silverlight and WPF development

• .NET Framework4

•  Expression Blend4

•  Silverlight4

3. Development in Visual Studio

• Visual Studio2010

•   Silverlight4

Silverlight application Printing Hello World Using Expression Blend

1. Open Expression Blend and the following screen pops up, this is the MS interactive designer. It contains Project tool, Help Tool, Samples tool

2. Now select Projects--> New Project--> Silverlight Application and give name to the application.

3. Now the Designing Panel Opens up which acts as a User Interface for designing applications

 

4. Now Add a Text tool( T ) from the tool box to the artboard then properties window of the text is shown right side.In this property window you can change font type, size color etc. here we go to the Common properties panel and change the name of the text as "HELLO WORLD"

5. Now to see how this is displayed in the browser just hit the F5 button and it looks like this on Internet Explorer