OpenSilver 3 has been released with an AI-powered UI designer and support for VS Code. The open-source alternative to Silverlight is capable of running large, complex legacy applications, as well as newly written C# and XAML applications.

OpenSilver was first released in 2021 at the same time as Microsoft ceased support for Silverlight. It uses Mono for WebAssembly and Microsoft Blazor so developers can use C#, XAML, and .NET for client-side Web development.

The new drag-and-drop UI designer comes with 100 built-in controls, and the developers say they believe it's one of the most user-friendly designers available, and that it will simplify the creation of .NET apps and websites. The AI features are currently in preview, but are integrated into the designer. The aim is to let developers use natural language commands to generate complex UIs and make modifications. In the example application shown being generated, the developer asks for a landing page for an product called AdventureWorks CRM, then asks to add a navigation menu, change to pastel colors and set the text to black.   When a developer describes their desired changes, the XAML code will be updated automatically. The feature also lets you upload an image or a mockup, and the AI will generate the code.

You can also give the AI instructions for particular areas of the user interface. To do so, simply select an element, click the "AI" button from the contextual menu, and type your prompt. The AI will handle the rest.

Elsewhere, OpenSilver 3.0 now has support for VS Code in addition to the existing support for Visual Studio.

At the same time OpenSilver 3 was released, the team also launched a new online tool, XAML.io, This is an online XAML designer that can be used to begin work on an app directly in the web browser. Developers can then switch to Visual Studio for further development and deployment. XAML.io was itself built using OpenSilver.

OpenSilver 3 is available now. 

More Information

OpenSilver website

Source code on GitHub

XAML.IO Webpage

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