How-to: Find Tools and Services to Enhance the Windows SDK

There are many tools, components and services to help developers and administrators work more efficiently, or that can add capabilities to applications. 

Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) Transfers files asynchronously between a client and a server, and provides information about the progress of the transfers.

CAPICOM Enables applications to offer cryptographic and other security-related services.

Debug Help Library (DbgHelp) Provides a set of functions that help you debug drivers, applications, and services.

Debugging Tools for Windows can be used to debug drivers, applications, and services on systems running Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2008 as well as for debugging the operating system itself. Versions of the Debugging Tools for Windows package are available for 32-bit x86, native Intel Itanium, and native x64 platforms.

Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) Integrates the Group Policy functionality of several tools into a single console so that administrators can perform core Group Policy tasks without needing multiple tools.

LUA Buglight™ is a tool to help both developers and IT professionals (sysadmins) identify the specific causes of admin-permissions issues (LUA bugs) in desktop applications running on Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, or Windows Vista. Once the specific causes have been identified, the bugs can more easily be resolved by fixing the app's source code, or by making configuration changes, allowing the app to work correctly for non-admin users.

Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 is Microsoft's managed code programming model building applications on Windows clients, servers, and mobile or embedded devices. It combines the power of the .NET Framework 2.0 with four new technologies: Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), Windows Workflow Foundation (WF), and Windows CardSpace (WCS, formerly InfoCard). The .NET Framework 3.0 ships with Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.

Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 is the latest update of the .NET Framework, and contains many new features that are compatible with both .NET Framework 2.0 and .NET Framework 3.0. The .NET Framework 3.5 includes several fixes for .NET Framework 2.0 and .NET Framework 3.0.

Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Provides a programming platform for creating and hosting applications that manage Microsoft Windows-based environments, and provides an integrated management user interface and administration model.

Microsoft Visual Studio Express is a set of free, lightweight and easy-to-use tools for the hobbyist, novice, and student developer.

Microsoft Windows PowerShell™ command-line shell and scripting language helps IT Professionals achieve greater productivity. Using a new admin-focused scripting language, more than 130 standard command-line tools, and consistent syntax and utilities, Windows PowerShell allows IT professionals to more easily control system administration and accelerate automation. More information on Windows PowerShell is available from the PowerShell Team Blog and the Windows PowerShell Technology Center.

Real-Time Communications (RTC) Provides documentation, sample code, and other tools that enable developers to build real-time communication applications, or to integrate real-time communication functionality into existing applications.

Rights Management Services (RMS) Helps safeguard digital information from unauthorized use—both online and offline, inside and outside of the firewall.

Visual Studio 2005 extensions for .NET Framework 3.0 (Windows Workflow Foundation) provides developers with support for building workflow-enabled applications using Windows Workflow Foundation.

Windows Installer Installs your applications efficiently, and can provide your product with capabilities to advertise features without installing them, to install products on demand, and to add user customizations.

Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) Provides a standardized way to manage your computer system, including your local computer and all the computers in an enterprise.

Windows Remote Management (WinRM) Improves hardware management in a network environment that includes various devices that run a variety of operating systems.

Windows Server 2008 Developer Center is the official site about development and management of applications on the Windows Server 2008 platform. The Developer Center includes product information, news, tools, and code samples.

Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) Enables system administrators to deploy the latest Microsoft product updates, and to fully manage the distribution of updates that are released through Microsoft Update to computers in their network.

Windows Update Agent (WUA) Enables system administrators and programmers to access Windows Update and Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) to determine which updates should be applied to a computer, to download those updates, and to install them with little or no user intervention.