Matevž Gačnik's Weblog

A long running rumor has been made public a couple of days ago. WinFX name is dead and is superseded by Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0.

A part of me is grateful for being able to have a common name for the shipping technologies. Who wants to be acknowledged as a WinFX developer, when in reality she/he is a .NET developer? The decision to bundle WinFX technologies with Windows Vista and making it available down-level is awesome. Having it included with the .NET Framework is even better.

But there's another poor decision being made by the marketing folks at Microsoft. If this decision wouldn't be rushed, it would have made a wonderful release.

Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 is ambiguous as a platform name. Since the press release states this explicitly, one can not complain as loudly as the reality demands. .NET Framework 3.0 is the first Microsoft .NET platform release that isn't really a platform - it's a marketing release. There's no CLR 3.0, no LINQ stuff, which was supposed to be in 3.0 release, no ASP .NET 3.0, no ADO .NET 3.0. In reality, there is current CLR 2.0 shipping, together with all the known friends: ADO .NET 2.0, ASP .NET 2.0. It even gets installed in the c:\windows\microsoft.net\framework\v2.0.50727 folder. At least, it's got its own folder inside the c:\windows\microsoft.net\framework directory. It is the 2.0 of the framework including WCF, WF and WPF. Goodness?

There exists a patronizing line of thought that nobody cares about the naming/install coherence and version matching. This is mostly heard from Microsoft, but the development community does not swallow it. The issue does not surface as this, actually.

Putting it mildly, this isn't serious. Suddenly separating CLR and framework version is a hack. A hack done to limit the damage that has already been done by establishing the WinFX bundle name. I'm happy that the LINQ team has not made a 'product name' breakthrough because suddenly we would run out of framework version numbers just to bundle the thing.

How is it possible, even in marketing terms, that .NET Framework 3.0 includes .NET Framework 2.0? What happens when LINQ gets shipped? Do we get CLR 3.0 and .NET Framework 3.5? .NET Framework 4.0? Do they get synchronized again and CLR skips versions? How do you distinguish the framework version? We will not be able to believe the compiler version, CLR version or BCL assembly version. They will all be 2.0.50727, but the framework is versioned as 3.0.

Even corflags.exe will still report a 2.5 CLR Header version, which is a mess even in current, shipping technology stack. It all follows the 'when the shit hits the fan' direction. Let's make it splatter, let's make even more mess.

Where is the compiler version change, runtime version change and metadata format version change? Where's the synchronization?

This is not serious.

Update: 2006-11-08, .NET Fx 3.0 is installed in a separate directory inside c:\windows\microsoft.net\framework.

If you happen to run Windows XP SP2 on a machine with more than a GB of RAM, you may likely see the following notification appear on the system tray:

This happens after hibernation is attempted. The error is: "Insufficient system resources exist to complete the API."

The solution is Q909095. There is a hotfix available, but you have to call Microsoft PSS to get it download the patch. It includes a new OS kernel which works flawlessly on my ThinkPad T60p with 2GB.

Knock knock. 

[Update 10/17/2006, Download available]

Having dropped all my current articles, this post is intended to sum it all up.

XML and XML Schema territory:

• Type Systems Compared - XML <> CLR (XML, XML Schema, CLR) [Preview, Download]
• The Importance of XML Typization (XML, XML Schema) [Preview, Download]
• XML Namespaces and PSVI Problems (XML, XML Schema) [Preview, Download]
• XML Schema - Specification Primer (I/II) (XML, XML Schema) [Preview, Download]
• XML Schema - Specification Primer (II/II) (XML, XML Schema) [Preview, Download]

WinFX territory:

• Concepts and Semantics of Service Contracts (WCF) [Preview, Download]
• Transactional Semantics in Loosely Coupled Distributed Systems (WCF) [Preview, Download]
• Cooperation Between Workflows and Services (WCF, ASMX, WF) [Preview, Download]

Article language: Slovenian

Last article discusses service-workflow cooperation options in WinFX and dives into communication scenarios for Windows Workflow Foundation.

Language: Slovenian

Naslov:

Sodelovanje storitev in delovnih tokov

Last article finished my XML series. This one focuses on transactional semantics in a service oriented universe.

Language: Slovenian

Naslov:

Transakcijska semantika v šibko sklopljenih, porazdeljenih sistemih

Next article in XML series is discussing XML Schema. This is a two part article.

Language: Slovenian

Naslov:

XML Schema (1/2)

XML Schema (2/2)

Next article in XML series is discussing XML Namespaces and PSVI problems.

Language: Slovenian

Naslov:

Imenski prostori XML in problemi v PSVI

This article is starting the XML series. First we dive into XML typization importance and XML Infoset.

Language: Slovenian

Naslov:

Pomembnost tipizacije XML

There's a ton of hot press stories going around today about Adobe not letting Microsoft implement the PDF export functionality in 2007 Office System.

While I can understand that Adobe is running scared by even the thought of everyone producing PDFs without a licensed Adobe Acrobat, I cannot understand the differentiation of source.

It's no secret that Apple uses PDF functionality in the base OS and its applications. You can export everything as a PDF in MacOS X. Hell, even the UI engine uses PDF technology to render those beautiful OS X windows.

See?

And this is not the only case. There are nearly 2000 products out there which can use PDF and this is a GoodThing^tm for a public specification.

WordPerfect Office has already implemented the same functionality Adobe is complaining to Microsoft about.

OpenOffice has already implemented the same functionality Adobe is complaining to Microsoft about.

While I am among the precious few, who condone IP ambivalence, this is not an IP issue, nor is it a licensing issue. Adobe can and will, as it seems, use their right to stop Microsoft in implementing their specification. And it is their specification, with all the rights the owner gets.

It seems that 'Save as...' functionality is indeed too much for Adobe to swallow when a 98% office productivity market share player gets real about it.

The second article is about concepts and semantics of service contracts. It deals with WCF (Windows Communication Foundation) contract definition and its behavioral aspects.

Language: Slovenian

Naslov:

Koncepti in semantike storitvenih pogodb

I'm going to publish a series of my articles, which went out the door a couple of months ago.

All articles are in Slovene language.

Here goes the first one.

Naslov:

Tipski sistem XML <> Tipski sistem CLR