Platform Proliferation Powers PDC 2005

icrosoft opened the PDC this year to a sold-out crowd eager to see the Redmond giant's future plans. And they weren't disappointed. Not only is Microsoft showing off future systems, it has provided each attendee with a jaw-dropping 30GB of software in a DVD box set consisting of various Community Technical Preview builds and betas, including:

• Windows Vista Beta 1 as well as a later version called Windows Vista CTP: PDC05, Ultimate Edition (in both x86 and x64 versions)
• Windows Server Codename Longhorn CTP: PDC05
• Visual Studio 2005 Team System Beta 2
• SQL Server 2005 June CTP
• Virtual PC 2004
• Virtual Server 2005 R2 Beta
• WinFX Runtime Components September CTP, plus the VS 2005 extensions for WinFX
• WinFS Beta 1

As if Windows Vista weren't enough all by itself, Microsoft discussed a profusion of new "platforms" for developers and end users, including:

• The Windows Sidebar (the area where the analog clock and other "gadgets" appear, gadgets being the semi-official term for applications that run in the Sidebar)
• Windows Sideshow (a hardware-dependent window for mobile devices (including laptops) where applications such as mail and messaging can run without booting or opening the device)
• Vista RSS (APIs that build RSS read and display capabilities directly into the OS)
• Visual Studio Tools for Office 2005 (a framework for building applications on top of Office) and the Office Task Pane.

In bygone years only Vista would have been called a platform, but the new nomenclature is indicative of a larger trend in development—a shift from old-style code-intensive programming to configuration. This shift is occurring for three reasons: First, the tools themselves have become so capable that most developers don't need to enhance them (through code) to provide application features as much as guide them (through configuration) to expose the features already built-in. Second, because the ever-increasing need to produce robust and secure code quickly demands a high level of code reuse—and configuration-driven programming is a good way of reusing existing, tested, and secure code. Finally, today's applications must often run on multiple devices; therefore, to maintain a common code base, enterprises need to isolate application functionality from the host platform.