Availability of "Go Live" license for WCF and WF
What’s the “big news” today?
Today we announced the availability of “go live” licenses for two big components of “WinFX”. Those components being Windows Communication Foundation, and Windows WorkFlow Foundation. The Go Live license permits you to deploy your WCF and/or WF application into a live operating system environment. Without the Go Live license you restricted to developing and testing in a non-production environment.
That’s cool, but you forgot to mention Windows Presentation Foundation!
See Arik’s blog for why we aren’t including WPF yet (but we will so stay tuned)
Ok, so what do I need to download to start working with this stuff?
- First you need the WinFX runtime components
- Second you need the Windows SDK (note that the WinFX SDK has been rolled into the Windows SDK now)
- Third, you’ll want to download the Visual Studio extensions that will allow you to build WinFX applications in Visual Studio. Actually, you’ll have to also download a separate extension for Visual Studio to let you build Windows Workflow Foundation applications
- Finally, if you want to deploy a WCF or WF application into a production environment you’ll have to head over to the Go Live website and sign the Go Live license.
Can you elaborate a bit more on each of the above?
Sure, below I’ve pasted a snippet from the “overview” section of each of the download pages just to give you a bit more info on each of the components all in one spot. If you need more details please follow the links below for the dedicated landing page for each of these topics.
"Windows Presentation Foundation", "Windows Communication Foundation", and "Windows Workflow Foundation" are the names for three strategic developer technologies that Microsoft plans to ship in 2006 as part of the Windows Vista operating system. In addition, Microsoft is making these technologies available on Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. The WinFX Runtime Components January CTP enables developers to continue experimenting with early builds of these technologies, get acquainted with the development experience, and provide Microsoft with feedback. More details about these technologies are below.
Note: This is a pre-beta release. Therefore, do not install these builds on machines you depend on. If you have a previous version of Avalon ("Windows Presentation Foundation"), Indigo ("Windows Communication Foundation"), or pre-released versions of .NET Framework 2.0 installed you must read this before download.
"Windows Communication Foundation" is the name for Microsoft’s unified programming model for building connected systems, formerly known as code-name "Indigo". It extends the .NET Framework 2.0 with additional APIs for building secure, reliable, transacted Web services that interoperate with non-Microsoft platforms and integrate with existing investments. By combining the functionality of existing Microsoft distributed application technologies (ASMX, .NET Remoting, .NET Enterprise Services, Web Services Enhancements, and System.Messaging), Indigo delivers a single development framework that improves developer productivity and reduces organizations’ time to market.
"Windows Presentation Foundation" is the name for Microsoft's unified presentation subsystem for Windows, formerly known as "Avalon". It consists of a display engine and a managed-code framework. "Windows Presentation Foundation" unifies how Windows creates, displays, and manipulates documents, media, and user interface. This enables developers and designers to create visually-stunning, differentiated user experiences that improve customer connection. When delivered, "Windows Presentation Foundation" will become Microsoft's strategic user interface (UI) technology.
"Windows Workflow Foundation" is the name for Microsoft's strategic programming model for building workflow enabled applications. It consists of a managed-code framework and designers for Visual Studio .NET. Windows Workflow Foundation includes both system workflow and human workflow. It supports a wide range of scenarios including: workflow within line of business applications, page-flow, document-centric workflow, workflow for service oriented applications and workflow for systems management. The Windows Workflow Foundation developer experience is consistent with existing WinFX technologies and includes support for VB and C#, debugging, a graphical workflow designer and the ability to write your workflow completely in code. Windows Workflow Foundation also provides an extensible model and designer to build custom activities which encapsulate workflow functionality for end-users or for re-use across multiple projects. Windows Workflow Foundation will be used across many future Microsoft products including Office “12”, BizTalk Server and the Microsoft Business Solutions. Most applications can benefit from the asynchronous state management features of the workflow model, the rapid development features of the designer, the potential for end-user flexibility, and the increased visibility into run-time code execution.
To start the installation process, you will need to run the download file; this will initiate the installation of the WinFX Runtime Components December CTP; If you have troubles with the download manager, you can download the entire package for x86 or for x64 which are both .EXE files.
This CTP release supports Visual Studio 2005 RTM and the .NET Framework 2.0 RTM. The Microsoft® WinFX® SDK contains documentation, samples, and tools designed to help you develop managed applications and libraries using WinFX. You can install the SDK that corresponds to this release here.
If you are interested in deploying an application built with Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) and/or Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) in a live operating environment, please read on.
The Microsoft license terms for the above referenced beta software releases do not permit use of the software in a live operating environment. In response to strong customer demand, Microsoft has made available supplemental license terms (referred to as "Go-Live License") for the above referenced releases of Windows Communication Foundation and Windows Workflow Foundation. Subject to compliance with the Go-Live License, the terms will permit limited deployment of these technologies in live operating environments. For each of the technologies, a separate download is provided. The Go-Live License applies for both technologies.
(please read the rest of the overview, including important factors to consider before going live, here)
The Windows SDK includes pre-release content for the APIs in Windows Vista, including the WinFX technologies: .NET Framework 2.0, Windows® Presentation Foundation, Windows® Communications Foundation, and Windows® Workflow Foundation. Because the Windows SDK now contains the WinFX SDK content, the WinFX SDK will no longer be released separately.
Microsoft Visual Studio Code Name “Orcas” Community Technology Preview - Development Tools for WinFX ®
The Microsoft Visual Studio Code Name “Orcas” Community Technology Preview - Development Tools for WinFX® (CTP) provides developers with support for building WinFX applications using the final released version of Visual Studio 2005. This support includes XAML Intellisense support through schema extensions for the editor, project templates for the Windows Presentation Foundation (formerly code named “Avalon”) and the Windows Communication Foundation (formerly code named “Indigo”), and WinFX SDK documentation integration. New to this CTP is a preview of the Visual Designer for Windows Presentation Foundation (code name "Cider"), more information can be found on the Channel 9 Wiki site for Cider. This CTP does not include a graphical design surface for the Windows Communication Foundation.
Windows Workflow Foundation is the programming model, engine, and tools for quickly building workflow-enabled applications on Windows. It consists of a Microsoft® WinFX® namespace (System.Workflow), an in-process workflow engine, and designers for Microsoft Visual Studio 2005. Windows Workflow Foundation is available (currently as Beta) for both client and server versions of Windows. Windows Workflow Foundation supports a wide range of scenarios including workflow within line-of-business applications, user interface page flow, document-centric workflow, human workflow, composite workflow for service-oriented applications, business rule-driven workflow, and workflow for systems management. The Microsoft Pre-Release Software WinFX Runtime Components - January CTP must be installed before installing this package.