Understanding XAP Files
When you compile a Silverlight project, it is all combined into a single file with a .xap extension. This file contains the assemblies and any other content files associated with the project, which are bundled together and compressed using the ZIP file format. You can prove this by simply changing the file extension from .xap to .zip and unzipping the file to inspect its contents. The XAP file can then be hosted on a web server, enabling it to be downloaded and run by client computers.
Note Some compression utilities (such as 7-Zip) add items to the context menu in Windows Explorer, which you can use to open the archive ...
Get Pro Business Applications with Silverlight 5 now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
