First released in 2007, Microsoft Silverlight offers an alternative to Adobe Flash as a means to run multimedia, animation, and graphics in a user’s web browser. The most recent version, Silverlight 5, was last released in December 2011, but it’s unclear whether or not Microsoft will develop Silverlight 6. With the advent of HTML5 and the continued relevance of Flash, some argue that we’ve already witnessed the Silverlight sunset. .
Those who believe that HTML5 will “kill” Silverlight and Flash point to HTML5’s ability to run graphical and multimedia content on the web without relying on a web visitor’s access to the latest Silverlight or Flash plugin. However, HTML5 only runs on newer browsers such as Google Chrome, Internet Explorer 9, Safari, Firefox, and a few others. Visitors who rely on older browsers only see the frustration of an error message. Silverlight generally enjoys broader browser support, but still requires the visitor to be running the same version as the site. As HTML5 has yet to be released and will take some time for widespread implementation, Silverlight will almost certainly remain in use, although Microsoft may very well be “biding its time” before making any decisions regarding Silverlight 6.
Microsoft itself has declined to comment on the matter, leaving the experts to read between the lines. Microsoft has stated that it will continue to support its platform for at least the next five years, but has also announced that its cross-platform runtime solution will be HTML5 because it facilitates portability between different devices. Other industry watchers note Adobe’s recent announcement to abandon Flash development on mobile devices to focus instead on HTML5 and expect Microsoft to take a similar stance.
Some industry observers also point to personnel changes at Microsoft as an indicator of the company’s ambivalence. Scott Guthrie, considered by most to be the “father” of Silverlight, left the Microsoft Developer Division in May 2011 for the Windows Azure team, taking many of his staff with him. Also, the well-known and influential Silverlight champion John Papa left Microsoft in September of the same year. While these changes hardly serve as irrefutable proof of Silverlight 6’s demise, two leading critics who “jump ship” of its development framework seem to suggest that Microsoft doesn’t see it as a priority.
Silverlight 6 may never see the light of day, but since HTML5 probably won’t see full recommendation until 2016, Silverlight 5 will persist as an option for the foreseeable future. Eventually, as the number of users of non-HTML5-compliant browsers declines, developers will likely abandon the plugin-dependent Silverlight and Flash options for superior, more user-friendly HTML5.
