Windows Vista and WinFX

As part of the Beta Experience we want to highlight both new features unique to the forthcoming Vista operating system, as well as features being part of WinFX.

WinFX is the set of next-generation managed APIs provided by Microsoft. It is building on and extending the .NET Framework. WinFX offers both practical solutions to today's software challenges and new opportunities to create software and services not possible now. A primary goal of WinFX is to make it simple for developers to build a broad variety of applications more quickly than they can today, whether they are part of a big team or in a small ISV.

To do this, WinFX delivers:

• A consistent programming model across all Windows Vista features
• A single, intuitive, "right way" to do common tasks
• High-level class libraries that encapsulate common tasks
• A familiar programming paradigm that builds on existing skills
• A framework that is "tool-friendly"

WinFX also focuses on helping developers improve software quality. One of the largest challenges facing developers today is how to build secure, reliable, scalable, versionable, and deployable applications easily. WinFX will provide a programming platform that makes it much easier for developers to deliver this kind of quality across the application lifecycle without sacrificing productivity.

To accomplish this, WinFX will include

• Deployment and update support that is simple for developers to understand
• Security support for common tasks that is transparent to the developer
• Default capabilities that eliminate common programming errors such as buffer overruns

WinFX also begins to reduce the gap between developers and designers to enable them to create better looking, easier-to-use applications. Traditional system-level APIs like Win32 were primarily focused on the system software developer as a customer. WinFX represents an opportunity to reach out to new customers, and consequently it needs to be simpler to build applications on. Since a core feature of Windows Vista is the new Windows Presentation Foundation (formerly codenamed "Avalon") subsystem and the AERO shell, a core customer will become the "designer" who will help provide a rich, elegant user experience.

If you develop .NET based applications today, have a close look at WinFX and plan to migrate early. WinFX includes the .NET Framework 2.0, Windows Presentation Foundation (formerly codenamed "Avalon"), Windows Communication Foundation (formerly codenamed "Indigo"), and Windows Workflow Foundation (formerly codenamed "WinOE").

Applications using WinFX can be deployed to machines running Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2 and Windows Server 2003 SP1. Current pre-release versions of WinFX can be downloaded from the Windows Vista™ and WinFX Beta Page.

The final release of WinFX will be available once Windows Vista ships. By writing to WinFX you will be able to exploit many Features of Vista and reach a huge customer base using prior Operating Systems. Obviously many improvements are unique to the our work on the Vista base operating system and how the user interacts with Windows Vista, so you should have a close look at those features to ship an attractive and useable application for Vista.