Avalon for Developers

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Microsoft on Friday released a new preview of the presentation subsystem of its upcoming Longhorn version of Windows.

The Redmond, Wash., software giant released a CTP (community technology preview) of Avalon, the presentation subsystem of Longhorn, to gauge developer opinion on the technology's applicability on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, said John Montgomery, director of marketing in Microsoft's developer division. The company released the technology to the MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network), Montgomery said.

Microsoft Corp. initially said Avalon would be available only on Longhorn, but in September the company said it would be available for Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP—but not until 2006.

Click here to read about Microsoft sharpening its software factory vision.

Of the new Avalon CTP, Montgomery said: "This is a build we want to get into customers' hands. We wanted to get feedback on two key areas: what is Avalon going to be like on XP and Windows Server 2003."

In addition, Montgomery said that when Microsoft announced its plans to put Avalon and the Indigo communications subsystem on the two additional platforms, the company also placed Avalon, Indigo and Longhorn on different build schedules.

Last month, Microsoft released CTPs for SQL Server 2005 and for the upcoming Microsoft framework, and tools for building customized, domain-specific language designers.

Avalon features XAML (Extensible Application Markup Language), an XML-based language developed by Microsoft for building presentation-layer and user-interface technology.

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Microsoft gives developers a glimpse of Avalon

Although the next version of Windows is still about two years from release, Microsoft on Friday offered developers an early look at the new graphics engine that will accompany it.

The Redmond, Wash.-based software powerhouse released what it calls a "community technology preview" of the Avalon presentation engine for Windows. It's not a full beta, or test, version, but rather an incomplete set of code that lets developers test certain features and pass along their thoughts to Microsoft.

"It's basically a build that has a couple new features that we want to test out with customers," said John Montgomery, a director in Microsoft's developer division. "This is just our way of getting feedback."

Avalon was originally envisioned as a core feature of Longhorn, the next version of Windows. It will still be a part of that operating system, but it will also be made available as an add-on for users of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.

The main purpose of the new technology preview is to test Microsoft's ability to bring Avalon to its older operating systems. Microsoft has done community previews in the past, typically with developer-centered programs such as Visual Studio. The company created one earlier this year for its "Whitehorse" modeling tools.

Avalon is a key part of Windows' future, but it is something the average computer user will never touch directly. Instead, it's an improved method of dealing with graphics, designed to let developers write snazzier-looking applications.

So far, Microsoft hopes it will be able to bring most of the features envisioned for Avalon onto its older operating systems, Montgomery said.

The main difference is that newer graphics drivers in Longhorn allow for better performance and newer hardware. With Windows XP or Windows Server 2003, users might see slower performance, fewer shades of gray or less 3D animation, Montgomery said.

But, he said, developers wanted the support for older operating systems because it means they can write programs for Avalon that can be used by existing PCs, as opposed to only the machines that run Longhorn.

"The goal is give developers a consistent set of APIs," or application programming interfaces, Montgomery said.

The code Microsoft is releasing Friday is pretty rough, Montgomery said. Its release is limited to developers who subscribe to the Microsoft Developer Network, and the company warns customers not to use it even on a primary development computer, with there being every likelihood of bugs and a pretty good chance developers will want to reinstall their system once they're done using the Avalon preview.

A beta of Avalon is slated for next summer, along with the first beta of Longhorn. Final versions of Longhorn and Avalon are expected in the second half of 2006.

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New WinXP enabled version of Avalon up on MSDN

The Avalon team has dropped a new Customer Technology Preview (CTP) release that is now enabled to run on XP and above. This version runs on Whidbey Beta 2 (build 2.0.40607.51), which is older than the most recent Whidbey CTP (released in October). Those two versions of Whidbey probably won't mix well, so I'd recommend installing on your Beta 2 machine.

The Avalon team has been working really hard to get this build going, congrats to them!