1.6. Working with VisualStateManager

Silverlight 2 provides a way to easily manage a control's visual state and programmatically change its state based on your needs. This is possible through the use of the VisualStateManager. Particularly useful in Blend 2, the VisualStateManager allows you to define the various possible states your control can assume, and when asked to change state, will handle the low-level details of changing the control's appearance to match the correct state, either through transition effects or directly.

In the following code, you will take your existing RatingControl class and extend it to include a new property: the rating's current value. This will allow you to represent the user's actual rating and gives you an opportunity to enrich the visual display of the value.