How Windows Vista Affects Developers

The big news for independent software vendors (ISVs) and other Windows developers is WinFX, the new application programming interface (API) for Vista. WinFX is based on (actually, it's a superset of) the .NET Framework. That's where the name comes from: WinFX is the Windows .NET Framework Extension. Its .NET underpinnings tell you that WinFX is a managed API, which means that the runtime environment handles things such as allocating and reclaiming memory. (In the old Win32 API, programmers had to manage memory themselves.) This should mean that WinFX applications are a bit more stable than their Win32 counterparts because there's less chance of memory mismanagement or other programmer error. (Of course, the old Win32 API is still supported in Vista, meaning that most Windows applications built on the Win32 framework will still work in Vista.)

A major component of WinFX is the Windows Presentation Foundation, which developers should love because it replaces the myriad of APIsincluding but not limited to the Graphics Device Interface (GDI), Direct3D, OpenGL, DirectShow, USER32, and Windows Formswith a single API. With WPF, developers can do 2D, 3D, animation, imaging, video, audio, special effects, and text rendering using a single API that works consistently no matter what type of object the developer is working with.

Developers also get to play with a new markup language called XAMLeXtensible Application Markup Languagewhich acts as a kind of front end for building interfaces. XAML implements a simple markup language that enables developers and designers to work together to build user interfaces.

Microsoft has also put together a number of APIs that enable developers to hook into other new Vista features. Here's a list of just a few of these new features that come with APIs:

• Microsoft has published the API for viewing and manipulating XPS documents, so there's little doubt that third-party developers will come up with XPS viewers for the Mac, Linux, and other systems. Microsoft is also licensing XPS royalty-free, so developers can incorporate XPS viewing and publishing features into their products without cost. This means it should be easy to publish XPS documents from a variety of applications.

• Microsoft is giving PC manufacturers access to the Mobility Center, so we'll likely see the Mobility Center window customized with features that are specific to particular notebooks.

• Microsoft has created an API for SideShow, so third-party developers can create programs and gadgets that you can add to your SideShow menu.

• Microsoft is making I/O cancellation available to developers via an API, so programs, too, can cancel unresponsive requests and recover on their own.

• Microsoft is providing developers with an API for the RADAR tool, thus enabling vendors to build resource exhaustion detection into their applications. When such a program detects that it is using excessive resources, or if it detects that the system as a whole is low on virtual memory, the program can free resources to improve overall system stability.

• There is an API for the Windows System Assessment Tool (WinSAT), so third-party programsparticularly gamescan access the assessments and tune program features depending on the WinSAT metrics.

• Windows Vista supports DirectX 10, the latest version of the Windows graphics APIs, which have been completely rewritten to take full advantage of the powerful graphics hardware that's now available for PCs.