"We wanted to create a foundation for development, knowing we couldn't address the challenges of every developer or project. Open Sourcing the software was the best way to support adoption and ongoing development of ASP.NET AJAX."
-Shawn Burke, Director, .NET Developer Platform
Participating in a World of Choice
Microsoft is focused on helping customers and partners succeed in a heterogeneous technology world. This starts with participating and contributing to a broad range of choices for developing and deploying software, including open source approaches and applications. From thousands of lines of code and scripts on MSDN and TechNet, to open source applications like IronPython, ASP.NET AJAX, SharePoint Learning Kit, and WiX on CodePlex and SourceForge, Microsoft is continually growing the number of products released with open source access.
By embracing diverse application development and business models, Microsoft provides a world of choice in which individuals and organizations can pursue their goals based on what uniquely inspires them. Whether you are a developer who wants to learn new skills, connect with the community, or build a business-or a systems administrator dealing with complex interoperability and business demands-Microsoft participates in an ecosystem that offers you the tools, resources, and programs to help you succeed.
Using an approach inspired by open source, the Windows Live ID Web Authentication SDK offers developers a platform-neutral reference for accessing the Windows Live ID authentication service and makes the source code widely available for cross-platform implementations. Read the article: PDF (317 KB) | XPS (337 KB).
PHP has emerged as a leading web application language. The language is easily readable, easy to learn, and ideal for databases and content management systems. Largely open source, PHP also has a substantial code base available to developers. Since early 2006, Microsoft has reached out to the PHP community and taken an open approach to making Windows a world class platform for PHP. Read the article: PDF (284 KB) | XPS (310 KB).
In the summer of 2003, Jim Hugunin, an independent computer consultant with years of Python programming experience, found himself between projects. With a growing interest in the common language runtime (CLR)—the foundation that powers the Microsoft .NET Framework—Hugunin had begun to wonder how well the Python programming language could run on the CLR. Read the article: PDF (364 KB) | XPS (345 KB).
Released in June 2007, CodeBox is an internal online software development environment that allows Microsoft developers to create, host, and manage collaborative software development together. CodeBox provides an opportunity for Microsoft developers to explore collaboration and see how sharing and community can work towards successful solutions. Read the article: PDF (300 KB) | XPS (273 KB).
By embracing diverse application development approaches and partner business models, Microsoft participates in a world of choice in which individuals and organizations can pursue their goals based on what uniquely inspires them, including open source. Read more...
To foster a community-oriented approach to developing and delivering software, Microsoft employees Jim Newkirk and Sandy Khaund created CodePlex. Formally launched in June 2006, CodePlex is now the official open source project hosting site for Microsoft. Its features include wiki pages, source control, issue tracking, discussion forums, content management, and a site release every three weeks. Read the article:
PDF (341 KB) | XPS (303 KB)
Learn about SharePoint Learning Kit, an open source application from Microsoft, designed to help faculty and students collaborate and learn together more effectively. The Learning Kit is based on Microsoft SharePoint technology, a Web-based solution for collaborative blog, wiki, and document management. Read the PDF (244 KB)
