By Michael Cherry [bio]
Posted: Nov. 21, 2005

With the first beta and customer technology previews of Windows Vista, the next major release of the Windows desktop OS (formerly code-named Longhorn client), customers and partners are beginning to examine the accompanying architectural changes to evaluate how they might use these improvements in future applications. Windows Vista, the first of a series of products that Microsoft calls the "Longhorn wave," will have new programming interfaces, improvements in security, deployment tools to make IT management simpler, and a new user interface. However, the initial preview releases are designed for developers, who need the longest lead times to adopt the new technologies in their applications.

Customers who are concerned about how much time to dedicate to evaluating Windows Vista may want to proceed cautiously, as some of the key new components will also be available on current versions, such as Windows XP SP2, and the feature list for Windows Vista versions is still in flux.

Security, Developer Improvements

Windows Vista delivers a series of new OS features that will benefit both developers and IT personnel, including the following:

• Support for running applications and performing many OS operations with the least privilege needed, rather than running as a system administrator—the current default with Windows
• Greater browser security and built-in support for information distribution via Really Simple Syndication (RSS)
• A new user interface (UI) for searching and organizing files.

However, the UIs of some of these features are not complete. Other changes that will be of most interest to end users, such as changes to the main UI and shell (code-named Aero), are not present in the current releases and are not likely to appear until later betas or release candidates.

In addition, Windows Vista will be a vehicle for shipping WinFX, a set of new managed code APIs that extend the .NET Framework. The three most significant pieces of WinFX currently available are the following:

The Windows Communication Foundation is designed to make it easier for application developers to build connected systems of Web services and interoperating applications.

The Windows Presentation Foundation is designed to make it easier for application developers to create UIs and graphical applications that take advantage of today's more powerful graphics processors.

The Windows Workflow Foundation is designed to make it easier for application developers to build applications that model human and system processes.

Although the WinFX components will eventually be important for all users, they require developers to build applications that expose their functionality to users—making them of interest only to developers at this time.

Packaging, Schedule Influence Evaluation

Organizations and developers will have to weigh Vista's improvements against some important considerations.

Features are not nailed down. A reality of software development is that there are only a few variables that a development team can adjust. With Microsoft's senior executives promising customers that Windows Vista will ship before the end of 2006, and Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing Initiative demanding high levels of quality in terms of security, reliability, availability, and privacy, the only real variable for the Windows team to tweak is the final feature set. Evidence of the need to tweak the feature set is apparent in the Aug. 2004 decision to deliver Windows Vista without the Windows File System (WinFS), a unified database for storing, organizing, and retrieving both data records and conventional files.

Microsoft says that it has learned from its past efforts and made improvements to the Windows development process that will allow it to complete development of a compelling version in the approximately one year remaining before the end of 2006, but the reality is that additional features may have to be cut to meet this ship date.

Current Windows version worth evaluation. Many of the improvements planned for Windows Vista will also run on the current Windows version, Windows XP SP2. For example, most of the WinFX APIs will be available through a package called the WinFX Runtime Components. In addition, some Windows Vista features such as full-text search and Internet Explorer improvements will be available through free downloads, albeit with some limitations.

Consequently, customers will have to be selective on which Windows Vista features and prereleases they evaluate, and factor in both Windows Vista's likely development schedule and the support deadlines of existing OS versions.

What's Ahead?

The remainder of this report contains both new material and updates of material previously published in Update, and consists of the following chapters:

"Longhorn Becoming Compelling Vista?" provides an overview of OS improvements demonstrated in the first beta and explains how these improvements will impact applications and deployment strategies.

"New Graphics Framework Built Around .NET, XML" details how the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) brings high-end graphics to mainstream developers.

"Vista Communications Layer Targets Web Services" details how the Windows Communication Foundation aims to simplify Web services.

"Workflow Strategy Takes Shape" details how the Windows Workflow Foundation will include a run-time engine, tools, and programming interfaces to simplify the creation of workflow-oriented Windows applications.

"The End Game" identifies the next steps for Microsoft and customers as Windows Vista moves through the development process to release.

"Resources and Availability" contains links and pointers to additional material, arranged by chapter.