PDC 2005 developer summary and pre-release dev links: To Vista, and beyond...
PDC 2005 was a conference focused not just on today's technologies, but also the roadmap to Vista and beyond. The distilled message is clear: .NET the foundation for everything that's coming. Below are some of the developer announcement highlights, with links to more information and pre-release libraries.
Before I begin listing these off, an important note: We're going to be hosting a series of free hands-on labs around Ireland on these technologies. Stick to my blog to find out more about these and sign up.
In no particular order:
The LINQ Project
Anders Hejlsberg announced LINQ, the Language Integrated Query Project. In this article, he and Paul Vick discuss how LINQ's set of .NET language innovations that will bridge the semantic mismatch between programming language models and data models, making life easier for developers while speeding the development of data rich applications. There is a pre-release version of LINQ available that works with VS2005 Beta 2.
Project "Atlas"
You've probably heard of AJAX, a model which allows for richer client-side web development. Check out Atlas, the latest tools and techniques for building interactive and personalized Web applications in AJAX. And yes, there is a pre-release version of Atlas avalable.
Expression: New Professional Creative Design Tools
Expression offers advanced design and development capabilities for the delivery of richer user experiences on Windows and the Web.
Windows Workflow Foundation
The first details of Windows Workflow Foundation (WWF) were revealed at the PDC. WWF represents an investment by Microsoft in workflow technology and provides the tools and programming model needed to quickly develop Windows based workflow enabled applications. WWF consists of a managed-code framework, designers for Visual Studio 2005, panda bears, and celebrity wrestlers.
Office "12"
Office 12's innovation is found on the client and, importantly, on the server. Learn here what an expert behind the new Office "12" UI has to say about the new client design. You can also learn more about what's new at the Office Developer Center on MSDN.
Visual Studio Tools For Applications
VSTA heralds new era in .NET application customization.
The Architecture Symposium
This is the bit about putting all the bits together. The Symposium showcases the integration of traditional best practices and recent innovations.
Security Symposium
Best practices from Microsoft and industry developers, using the Microsoft Security Development Lifecycle (SDL) as the model. We're planning security hands-on labs in Dublin in October.