A First Look At Writing And Employing Apps in Longhorn


SUMMARY The next version of the Microsoft Windows operating system, code-named "Longhorn," marks a significant change not only in terms of how the operating system works, but also in the way in which applications are built. The Longhorn version of Windows includes a new storage system, natural search technology, and an increased emphasis on security and trustworthy computing. Here the author provides an overview of Longhorn, focusing on the build-once, deploy n-times application model. In addition, he discusses the new language, code-named "XAML," that's used to create UI elements, then presents some working samples.

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he next release of the Microsoft® Windows® operating system, code-named "Longhorn," is an essential milestone for many reasons. It is the first operating system built with managed code and the first to host a new storage subsystem (code-named "WinFS") that revolutionizes the concept of a file system. It is also the first operating system to support a natural search technology (Natural UI) that automatically resolves many of the ambiguities inherent in query text. In addition, Longhorn is the first operating system designed from the ground up with security and trustworthy computing at the core. These and other features suggest that Longhorn will change the way applications are built—not something that happens every day. Since the advent of Windows, I remember two similar milestones—the move to 32-bit Windows and the dawn of the managed environment of the Microsoft .NET Framework.
One of the most important changes in Longhorn is that this operating system makes it possible to write an application one time and use it in multiple deployment scenarios. To achieve this ambitious goal, Longhorn-based applications are completely object-oriented and based on a central Application object that provides all key services that are needed for running the application. In this article, I'll examine the Longhorn application model in some deapth and apply it to a few basic scenarios, including the classic Hello World application.

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