Acropolis CTP1 released to web...

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Acropolis is a set of components and tools (add-ins to Visual Studio) to help you build smart client applications..
To check out and download acropolis, you can go here.  There is also a 12 min video there

Just a few immediate thoughts on what excites me about acropolis:

  • Framework-like features for building WPF LOB applications.
    • You get good structure out of the box -- hopefully leading to good architecture.
    • You get code out of the box (e.g. a Doc/View like we did in MFC)  so you can focus on functionality instead of wiring File->Open ..
  • Toolability
    • So far, we have had great success with developer/designer collaboration between Blend and VS; now with Acropolis we show framework-like toolability for XAML as well as WPF's rich extensibility.   {arguably that was proven with the
  • Acropolis shows our continued 'client investment'; in the midst of all this RIA buzz we have seen lately, Acropolis is a good reminder that for certain apps, a smart client architecture is still the best option.. don't compromise on experience if you don't have to..
  • The 'architecture decisions' they have made have been outstanding..
    • Though they target and are optimized for Windows Presentation Foundation, they are presentation agnostic, so you could possibly create or reuse a Windows Forms  User Interface application and reused the business components.
    • Skinning, Theming, Databinding, Commanding.. All of the UI goodness we have seen as clients evolve come together in acropolis...
  • It has a cool codename ..

[Some of you might know Acropolis as an productization and WPF implementation of the Composite Application Block released by our Patterns & Practices team..  You are right, it is all that and a bag of chips...    If you are a CAB user, no worries, the P&P team will release migration guidance to move to Acropolis.  ]

Lastly, there are several sessions for Acroplis at TechEd; be sure to look for them...
Kathy Kam and David Hill are the speakers... If you are at TechEd and want to hook up with them, drop an email w/ your contact info and I can pass it along..  else, provide feedback in the forums or their blogs: Kathy   , David's blog ..

I will get back to Acropolis soon - traveling this week..

[PS -- Claiming a Technorati Profile.  maybe that will force/encourage me to blog a little more..
I got the 'blogging for dummies book' last week but have not read it, I have been hooked on Javascript Definitive Guide and it is a long, but very good one] ..