Since Microsoft first announced its .NET strategy, users have wondered what the platform means for them. Microsoft Australia's Dave McNaughton talks to WebHead about .NET.
WebHead: What is .NET and why was the .NET strategy introduced
McNaughton: Microsoft .NET is Microsoft's XML Web services platform. .NET contains all that's needed to build and run software based on XML, the lingua franca of Internet data exchange.
Microsoft believes a silent shift to distributed computing is happening.
Over the last couple of years, people have been laying fat pipes to the point where bandwidth is a lot less limited than it has been in the past. Combined with the Moore's Law effect where the processing power doubles every eighteen months and the prices are halved, you now have the option to do really distributed computing for the first time: because bandwidth is less expensive, you can do the processing wherever it is most optimal.
Microsoft .NET will fundamentally change the way we think of and use our computers. Right now two concepts--the server and the desktop--dominate computing. But, because Microsoft .NET is a distributed-computing paradigm, it does not use the traditional distinction between desktop and server. Instead, processing occurs wherever it makes the most sense, whether that is on a server, PC, handheld, or other smart device. This is smart computing.
.NET will impact on all of Microsoft's products and services--will Microsoft's efforts with .NET impact on the way users work, day-to-day?
Yes. .NET experiences are user-centric. .NET experiences are focused on end users, using identity-based building block services for user identification, preferences, notifications, and user data. Because the user's data is managed by building block services rather than in the application, users are in control of their own data, can ensure its accuracy, and can coordinate data between different applications and services.
For end users, the changes will produce unparalleled access to a dramatically more personal, integrated computing experience. With businesses, it changes the way they build software and sell products, making IT a significant contributor to corporate success and introducing new business models.
From the enterprise's point of view, .NET can handle many tasks automatically, freeing up an employee's time. By linking systems and XML Web services through XML, data exchange is significantly easier and processing that data requires little effort.
For enterprises and enterprise end users, .NET promises highly personalised, integrated applications derived from connected XML Web services, along with the flexibility delivered through smart devices.
What sort of smart devices can users expect to work with in the future and what are the main differences between today's smart devices and those powered by .NET?
.NET assumes a world in which you have a family of devices. We're building a lot of device software so that you can use a family of complementary devices instead of one device or client. We're also doing some very interesting things in device software to make that experience as compelling and immersive as possible. So at one end, you have the device software that we're building for game machines and at the other end you have the device software we're building for PCs. In between we're also engaged in building software for everything from phones to PDAs to other sets of devices like the tablet PC. What ties these together is that all of these devices and clients are smart: they remember who you are, and they use the Web as a platform for computing instead of the server.
Some of the software for smart devices Microsoft is working on includes Windows XP, Windows Me, Windows CE, Windows Embedded, the .NET Framework, and the .NET Compact Framework.
A lot has been said about .NET's platform-independence. Why has Microsoft departed from its one product/one platform strategy?
Microsoft recognises that all the existing computing systems around the world today, which house all the information that has been collected or processed until now, have an undeniable role to play in this next generation of distributed computing. Many of these systems are based on proprietary technologies, some are based on open standards maintained by standards bodies like the W3C and ECMA, and others are based on de-facto standards determined by popular adoption.
Microsoft and many other vendors recognise that standards are the best way to facilitate this next generation of distributed computing. Microsoft intends to succeed by providing our customers with the best quality platform, delivering the best price-performance and lowest total-cost-of-ownership, and by giving end-users the richest and most productive experience all implemented on the standards required by this next generation of distributed computing. This we call .NET.
What does .NET mean for developers?
The first thing we're doing is to make writing Web services as simple and as easy as possible is with the .NET Framework and the Visual Studio toolset. We think that the best, easiest, fastest, and least expensive way to write Web services is with the .NET Framework and the Visual Studio.NET developer tools.
Programmers are relatively scarce and expensive. Microsoft .NET makes programming easier, maximising the return on programming investments. Developers can build reusable XML Web services instead of monolithic applications--they're easier to write and debug.
Also, Microsoft .NET reduces the amount of code your programmers need to write. One XML Web service works with all devices, eliminating the need to write a different version for every device. Uncoupling the display characteristics from the .NET experience makes it easy to add new interface technologies, like speech and handwriting recognition, without needing to rewrite the application.
Which products does Microsoft plan to release on the .NET platform?
Microsoft is transitioning four popular products into .NET experiences. Microsoft Office XP is taking the first steps towards providing a .NET experience for knowledge workers. MSN, including the use of the MSN Explorer local client, is on the path to creating a consumer-focused .NET experience. The bCentral small business portal is working to both provide necessary XML Web services for small business (such as inventory management) and to consume important XML Web services (such as eBay). The Visual Studio development system will provide a .NET experience for developers, exposing MSDN information and company-specific coding guidelines directly in the tools developers will use.
