CodePlex: New code-repository from Microsoft

Redmond based software giant Microsoft

Corp. unveiled CodePlex, a collaborative software development portal at Open Source Business Conference in London.

Code repository, CodePlex, is Microsoft's effort to get people from different geographies together, and collaborate on application development. Developers get access to projects from several domains under one roof and a chance to learn, share and code.

Built on Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Team Foundation Server, CodePlex is a community project site where developers can start building projects, informed a Microsoft official.

Microsoft had launched a beta version of CodePlex on May 15 this year. Currently, there are more than 30 projects, developed by Microsoft product teams as well as several community members listed on CodePlex. "People cannot start making new projects on CodePlex right now, but can download the existing ones."

The Team Foundation Server provides source control, issue tracking, discussion forums and RSS feeds for each project to help project members stay updated on the development status. It also enables developers to develop, share, discuss and build software applications.






The creator of a project on CodePlex has the flexibility to set usage rights for his project, that is he can decide whether he wishes to make the source code available to others or not, informed an official at Microsoft. The projects can be accessed via shared source, GPL, OpenBSD or other licensing mechanisms.

Some popular projects on Codeplex include:

Ajax.NET Professional Starter Kit

The Starter Kit includes several ASP.NET web pages that will make heavy use of Ajax.NET Professional to improve usability of the web page.

"Ascend.NET" Windows Forms Controls

The Ascend.NET controls are a collection of Windows Forms controls written in C# targeting Visual Studio 2005 and .NET 2.0. The intent is to provide controls that are flexible but easy to use and will hold up well under heavy usage.

"Atlas" Control Toolkit

The Atlas

Control Toolkit is a joint project between the community and Microsoft. Built upon the ASP.NET "Atlas" Framework, the Toolkit aims to be the biggest and best collection of web-client components available.

The Toolkit addresses three needs. First it gives website developers a place to get components to make their web applications spring to life, second it gives a set of great examples for those wishing to write client-side code, and third it is a place for the best script developers to get their work highlighted.

IronPython

IronPython is the code name of the new implementation of the Python programming language running on .NET. It supports an interactive console with fully dynamic compilation. It is well integrated with the rest of the .NET Framework and makes all .NET libraries easily available to Python programmers, while maintaining full compatibility with the Python language.

MSBuild Extras - Toolkit for .NET 1.1 "MSBee"

MSBuild Extras — Toolkit for .NET 1.1 "MSBee" is an addition to MSBuild that allows developers to build managed applications using Visual Studio 2005 projects that target .NET 1.1.

Is Microsoft not promoting the open source model by introducing such

sites? What do you think, do drop in a line at aparnal@cybermedia.co.in