This morning during the keynote on day 2 of PDC 05 Eric Rudder announced lots of new interesting technology:
Windows Workflow Foundation: is the programming model, engine and tools for quickly building workflow enabled applications on the Windows Platform. It consists of a WinFX namespace, an in-process workflow engine, and designers for Visual Studio 2005. It is not a product but a set of assemblies that soon will be a standard part of the operating system just as the Windows Presentation Foundation and Windows Communictaion Foundation. Office 12, WSS 3.0 and even MBS will leverage the WWF to provide workflow capabilities in these products.
Microsoft Expression: is a set of professional design tools that give you greater flexibility to create sophisticated applications and content. Innovative technologies enable faster and richer interface development for Windows applications or the Web. Compatibility between products increases all levels of your personal productivity. Microsoft Expression consists of:
Visual Studio 2005 Tools for Applications: is an advanced environment for application customization built on the Microsoft .NET Framework. Visual Studio Tools for Applications fully supports the .NET Framework, and enables development in VB.NET and C#. A premium is placed on security, connected systems (ease of Web-services based development), high productivity and collaboration for both the technically-skilled professional developer and departmental developers involved in application customization. Visual Studio Tools for Applications allows independent software vendors (ISVs) to provide a unique user experience to their customers without having to modify their core product for each installation.
If you want to know more about this morning's keynote, make sure not to miss Jelle's post.
After the keynote most people I spoke to were super-excited about the Windows Workflow Foundation. This platform technology will indeed change the way we develop applications today: over all logical layers of an application, from the datalayer over the businesslayer to the UI. You could even imagine implementing an MVC model by using WWF. Besides that WWF is a huge present for a lot of smaller ISV's who think about building or have build workflow based applications. Only coolness!
Next on the schedule was the "OFF405 - Windows SharePoint Services: Using ASP.NET 2.0 Technology to Extend Pages, Sites, and Server Farms" session. This session was the first one to unveil some of the new Windows SharePoint Services v 3.0 features. The session covered in depth the areas of Web Parts, master pages, pluggable providers and authentication. Huge was my suprise when Mike Ammerlaan introduced the "Son of the SmartPart" aka SmartPart version 2. If you are wondering what this is all about check the Son of the SmartPart's post with details at http://weblogs.asp.net/jan/archive/2005/09/14/425192.aspx. I am amazed to see that a community tool driven by a very smart Belgian guy is picked by the Microsoft WSS teams at Microsoft Corp. and is considered as "the way" to make it possible to host APS.NET 2.0 Web Parts or user controls in the current version of Windows SharePoint Services. So congrats Jan and keep up the great community work or as Mike Fitzmaurice blogs it "Rock on, guys!".
pdc05