14.1. Silverlight vs. Flash
When Silverlight was first released, it was inevitable that it would be compared to Adobe Flash (and Flex) because of its similar function. Although there is overlap between the two products, I don't think Microsoft's primary intention was to just launch a competing product.
Silverlight's development was the obvious offshoot of WPF, and there was no satisfactory technology for the Microsoft developer to create RIAs prior to its release. Options such as ActiveX controls or embedded Windows forms suffered from being difficult to develop and debug, were not cross-platform, and had security and deployment issues.
For a taste of just what is possible using Silverlight, take a look at the upcoming Microsoft Office Online ...
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