about the technology

Just because you can hard-code every button and behavior of an application doesn't mean that you should have to. LightSwitch is a high-productivity tool built into Microsoft Visual Studio that makes it dead simple to spin up a basic data-driven line of business application. That means you can skip the busy work and concentrate on delivering apps that your customers will love. LightSwitch creates interfaces designed specifically for desktop use and interfaces designed for mobile use. Both interfaces can easily be created from one project, so you don't have to worry about coding yourself into a desktop-only corner, and it's a super-speedy way to make work of those little ad hoc apps that can suck up so much dev time.

about the book

This classroom-in-a-book mixes the "big picture" of line-of-business software development with a running hands-on tutorial. LightSwitch is particularly well-suited for business users who want to create their own applications quickly with minimal code. LightSwitch in Action is co-written by a business manager and a professional developer so there's just enough introductory content to get a tech savvy user started without putting the developer to sleep.

what's inside

• LightSwitch from the ground up
• Building fast data-driven business applications
• Consistent look-and-feel for desktop and mobile
• LightSwitch for the non-coder
• Enhancing your dev productivity

about the reader

If you've never built an application before, this book will show you how to get started with minimal code, and it will give you a road map for where you need to go next. If you're a pro, you'll appreciate the tips on how to use LightSwitch to create fast prototypes and consistent shells so you can concentrate on the real business problems you're trying to solve.

about the authors

Dan Beall is a Product Marketing Manager and technical evangelist for a productivity tools vendor and a prolific writer, presenter, and speaker. Greg Lutz is a product manager representing XAML-based developer tools for Silverlight, WPF, WinRT and Windows Phone.