Lead Analyst: Greg DeMichillie [bio]
Posted: Nov. 15, 2004

This report provides a roadmap for existing and future Microsoft developer technologies—developer tools and APIs—that are likely to be used by corporate developers and ISVs. This roadmap is intended to help both corporate and commercial developers avoid mistakes that could lead to premature obsolescence or costly rewrites. The report reviews future releases, retirements, and migration paths for Visual Basic and its associated APIs and tools; the Office development platforms used to build smart client applications; ASP.NET and other Web application components; and Visual C++ and other tools and APIs used by ISVs. The report also takes a look at developer platform releases beyond 2005 and examines why Microsoft may find it challenging to deliver on its announced schedule.