InfoPath to Support Managed Code

A pair of planned updates—one for InfoPath and one for Visual Studio .NET (VS.NET) 2003—will allow developers to go beyond scripting and use languages such as C# and Visual Basic .NET when building InfoPath solutions. The release aligns InfoPath more closely with Microsoft’s developer strategy and makes it more likely that InfoPath will benefit from further investments in .NET developer technology. However, the technology gap between VS.NET and InfoPath and Office (which are based upon older technologies such as COM and scripting) remains and is unlikely to be bridged until Office 12.

Bringing .NET to InfoPath

Introduced with Office 2003, InfoPath is an application for building forms that enable users to enter and display XML data. In addition to providing a user interface for XML data, InfoPath forms can contain custom code, written in scripting languages such as VBScript and JScript, that is executed when certain conditions occur. For example, an expense report form may contain code that adds up the total as new expenses are added.