Can Silverlight contain ActiveX?

Question

Howdy and Thanks in Advance!

I'm trying to access the USB port from a Silverlight Application. Because Silverlight runs in the sandbox, it isn't able to do so.

Is it possible to run an ActiveX control from inside a Silverlight Application? (Preferably not an overlay)

If so: What examples exist? What are the best practices for this?

Answer 1

No, it is not possible for an ActiveX control to run inside of Silverlight.

However, it is possible to have an html page host both Silverlight and an ActiveX control and have these two communicate via javascript.

Answer 2

Action Script 3 supports external interfaces so you can combine either ActiveX or Flash and communicate through a JavaScript proxy. Either way, you can also play movies in addition to accessing the USB port.