We almost didn't make it to Los Angeles in time for the Microsoft PDC in October. During our flight from New York, the wildfires that raged throughout Southern California took dead aim at the San Diego air traffic control center. As the center was being evacuated, we cruised over the Rockies, looking for a place to land. Well, it wasn't a problem in the end—we arrived almost half an hour early, which sort of obviates the whimpering tone of this whole paragraph. Sorry about that.
If you've never been to a PDC, it's the one must-go event if you're an early adopter. Sometimes the focus is a single advance—like the introduction of 32-bit Windows (1993) or the .NET Framework (2000). What made this event unique was that it provided the first glimpse of not one, but three upcoming products—Microsoft Windows "Longhorn," SQL Server "Yukon," and Visual Studio "Whidbey." You'll be hearing a lot more about those three products in the years to come, so it pays to know about them now so you can sound like an expert when they come up at cocktail parties. We also discovered a fourth product, Virtual PC, which makes it a lot easier to test out new operating systems while allowing you to keep your current configuration. More about that later.
Longhorn is the code name for the next version of the Microsoft Windows operating system. It sports a revamped user interface (code-named "Aero") and a new graphical subsystem (code-named "Avalon"). Avalon features a new procedural graphics language (code-named "XAML") that lets you create real programs using XML-based markup. Longhorn is also the first operating system from Microsoft that will be built with managed code.
A big question for developers is how to prepare for an upcoming OS that's a year or two away from final release. If you're working with the .NET Framework today, you've got a great head start. Since Longhorn will be based on the managed code model, you'll get a clear upgrade path from your existing .NET Framework-based apps. If you're still writing unmanaged code (with Visual Basic 6.0, for instance), this might be a good time to plan your migration path. The API for accessing Longhorn features, code-named "WinFX," is going to take some learning, but you'll understand it better if you have a solid grounding in the .NET Framework.
Yukon, the code name for the next version of SQL Server, was the second product unveiled at the PDC. Yukon has a number of remarkable features planned, the most noteworthy of which is that the CLR is built in. With Yukon, you'll be able to write stored procedures and server-side routines in managed code, which means you'll get all the advanced functions of .NET and you'll consolidate your work around a single model. Yukon also has other modern features, such as enhanced XML support and an XML datatype.
Whidbey, the code name for the next version of Visual Studio .NET and the .NET Framework, has similar advances that will make life better for developers. You'll get a radically improved IDE for development, pre-built code templates for common tasks, a whole bunch of language improvements (in C#, C++, and Visual Basic), and the introduction of improved development features for Windows Forms apps. And of course, everyone's favorite, the Edit and Continue feature, is scheduled to make a triumphant return. If you want more information about Visual Studio, see the Whidbey center on MSDN Online.
The fourth product we mentioned, Virtual PC, wasn't a focus of the PDC, but we've found it so useful that we had to give it a mention. Apple users may already be familiar with the product, but there is also a Windows-based version available from Microsoft (Microsoft Virtual PC 2004). Suppose you want to show off Longhorn, or even just run a copy of Windows 98 on your machine for support purposes. Using Virtual PC, you can cordon off a virtual disk drive and some memory, which together behave like a second machine running inside your main one. When you're looking at an early beta product like Longhorn, it's recommended that you not install it anywhere you have data you don't want to lose. What's great about Virtual PC is that you avoid dual booting. Your boot OS doesn't know it's sharing the machine with another system, and your test OS thinks that it's king of the virtual castle.
In this issue of MSDN Magazine, we're featuring information about Longhorn. Even though it's early, we wanted to make sure that our readers got the first looks at the future of Windows computing. In next month's issue, we'll follow up with coverage of Yukon. In the months to come, we'll be taking in-depth looks at all the technologies that were unveiled at the PDC. And yes, we'll still have room for articles that will help your work today.