Definition: Silverlight is a multimedia content delivery and presentation platform for the web, designed by Microsoft to deliver rich media content in an environment that could almost be considered a combination of Flash and Powerpoint. Programmable in XAML and the .NET framework, Silverlight offers a budding alternative to Flash with the release of version 3.0 and the addition of many new features and functionalities.
While I wouldn't call Silverlight an animation program (while Flash fills that niche quite well), it does allow creation of animated elements and supports playback of animated media. Silverlight is more of an application development platform that integrates rich media to further blur the line between development tools and design software.
