Forget Windows 2002: Whistler Gets a New Name -- Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine Online

Forget Windows 2002: Whistler Gets a New Name

By Scott Bekker
06/19/2001

ATLANTA -- Microsoft Corp. revealed Tuesday that its next generation server operating systems, code named Whistler, will be named Windows .NET Servers.

The decision follows a Microsoft-sanctioned announcement at a GartnerGroup conference in late April that the official name would be Windows 2002 Server. Either name is different from the client, which will be named Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Home Edition and will ship earlier than the server products.

The name stems from Microsoft's plans to integrate the .NET Framework in the final version of the Whistler servers. Microsoft defines the .NET Framework as the common language runtime and class libraries, including Windows Forms, ADO.NET and ASP.NET. The beta 2 version of that framework was released Tuesday along with Visual Studio.NET Beta 2.

"The inclusion of the .NET Framework in Windows .NET Servers shows the significance of the XML Web services strategy to Microsoft," Cliff Reeves, Microsoft's vice president for Windows .NET Server, said in a statement.

Dave Mendlen, lead product manager for Microsoft's Visual Studio.NET, says Microsoft only recently decided to include the .NET Framework in the Whistler servers.

"What it means for developers is they won't have to deploy the framework," Mendlen says. "They'll just deploy the executable." Analyst Al Gillen with IDC says integrating the framework is a logical and necessary move for Microsoft. "In the future you'll see that the concept of the .NET framework will go away as it's integrated into the operating system," Gillen says.

It's too late for Microsoft to include the .NET Framework in the Windows XP operating system, which is scheduled to ship Oct. 25.

About the Author

Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.

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