Windows SDK Samples: Even better through componentization

Karin Meier, the Windows SDK Samples PM, has started her own blog and I noticed it had several posts about setup issues. I especially like her post about just downloading the .NET Framework samples because it highlights one of our key achievements in setup. Now instead of having the SDK composed of a set of MSMs that are complex and sometimes error-prone, we have the SDK componentized into some 36 different MSIs. This enables us to treat the SDK in a much more modular way, allowing for users to install just one piece of the SDK via the web setup. In other words, you can just install the pieces you want rather than having to install everything.

This is a kind of indirect way of addressing one of our most frequently heard complaints: that the SDK is just too dang big and takes too darn long to download. With the componentization, we now allow you to download just one small piece of the SDK and not worry about the rest of the content. And since the full SDK is about 1.15 GB, that makes a big difference for everyone.

Componentization also allows us to move to additional scenarios for users who install multiple versions of our SDK. It enables us to do reference counting, which opens up a whole new range of possibilities for setup. This is key as we really are thinking hard about how we will integrate with Visual Studio "Orcas" in ways that keep your user scenarios from being difficult or complicated. We want to keep things as easy as possible, which will then allow us to concentrate on the next generation of items we want to deliver.