Search This Blog

Friday, February 8, 2008

Microsoft Declares Its Modeling Love With a New Language, 'D'

A handful of Microsoft's top developers are working to create a new
programming language, code-named 'D,' which will be at the heart of
the Microsoft's push toward more intuitive software modeling. D is a
key component of Microsoft's Oslo software-oriented architecture (SOA)
technology and strategy. Microsoft outlined in vague terms its plans
and goals for Oslo in late fall 2007, hinting that the company had a
new modeling language in the works, but offering no details on what
it was or when the final version would be delivered. D will be a
declarative language aimed at non-developers, and will be based on
eXtensible Application Markup Language (XAML), sources, who asked not
to be named, said. Sources close to Microsoft confirmed the existence
of D, which they described as a forthcoming 'textual modeling language.'
In addition to D, sources said, Microsoft also is readying a
comlementary editing tool, code-namd 'Intellipad,' that will allow
developers to create content for the Oslo repository under development
by Microsoft. Intellipad is the Emacs.Net text editor for which
Microsoft has seeking developers over the past couple of months... At
last week's Lang.Net 2008 conference -- a meeting of programming gurus
from Microsoft and other vendors held on the Redmond campus --
Microsoft's Chief Modeling Officer Don Box provided some more clues
about where Microsoft is going on the tool and platform front with
Oslo. Box said Microsoft wasn't interested in creating some grandiose
1980s' style computer-aided-software-engineering (CASE) tool; it was
thinking more along the lines of providing a class designer. The goal,
according to Box: "putting more and more of your application into data
and putting less in code."

No comments: