Why Develop for Windows Vista

Security, Reliability and Manageability, and Error Reporting

Windows Vista has been redesigned from the foundation up to provide increased security, reliability, and manageability. Windows Vista brings a new level of confidence to the desktop experience in two ways:

• From the user perspective, it means that a computer works—as expected, no surprises—and does exactly what it is expected to do.
• From a developer perspective, it is about delivering on the basics and providing a platform for rock-solid applications.

Properly leveraging these advantages requires an understanding of the technologies that Windows Vista provides in three areas: security, reliability and management, and error reporting. 

1. Run Securely

Windows Vista provides a range of enhancements to the Windows security model, including the following technologies, features, and tools:

• User Account Control (UAC)
• Internet Explorer 7 Protected Mode
• Parental Controls
• More Secure Network Infrastructure
• New APIs: Cryptography Next Generation , Windows Filtering Platform, and Certificate Enrollment
• New providers: BitLocker Drive Encryption , Trusted Platform Module , and  Re-architecture of WinLogOn and Credential Provider

Visit Security in Windows Vista for comprehensive information.

2. Design for Reliability and Management

Reliable applications behave as their users anticipate. Windows Vista offers the following new developer services that make installing and running applications more predictable:

• Restart Manager
• Event Logging and Transactional Filing Systems
• Windows Remote Management
• Microsoft Management Console (MMC) 3.0
• Function Discovery (FD)
• Task Scheduler 2.0
• Windows Power Shell

3. Establish a Customer Feedback Loop

Windows Vista provides an extensible error-reporting environment, integrated with a developer portal for viewing application reports. Developers can collect the data necessary to determine the top issues experienced by users running the applications, and then use the debug data provided to implement fixes. This feedback loop relies on the following components:

• Windows Error Reporting
• Windows Quality Online Services

User Experience

Windows Vista offers everything developers need to create impressive user experiences. Developers can provide consistency and elegance in their user-interface designs by following user-education guidelines. Windows Vista includes the Windows Presentation Foundation, which enables developers to enrich user experiences in applications. Windows Vista also provides new tools that enable users to visualize, organize, and search within applications.

1. Follow the Windows Vista User Experience Guidelines

Windows Vista offers a new look and user experience for users, including new common controls, translucent frames, a page navigation paradigm, and a standard search feature. By following the Windows Vista User Experience guidelines, developers can provide their users with a consistent and predictable user experience by implementing the following elements (among others):

• Common Item Dialogs
• Common Controls
• Aero Wizards
• Task Dialogs
• Windows Vista User Experience Guidelines

2. Enrich the User Experience

Windows Vista provides a number of tools and technologies aimed at creating a fantastic user experience, including the following:

• Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)
• Windows SideBar Gadgets
• Windows SideShow Gadgets
• Windows Device Driver Model
• DirectX API and Direct3D integration
• Desktop Window Manager
• Windows Imaging Component (WIC)

3. Enable Users to Visualize, Organize, and Search

Windows Vista changes how users interact with their files, messages, and other items. With new concepts such as search folders, stacks, grouping and filtering, users are no longer restricted to using folders only as a way of organizing their content.

Developers can directly use many of the following Windows Vista search and organization features from within their applications:

• Object Linking and Embedding Data Base (OLE DB) Provider for Windows Search
• Property System and Property Handlers
• IExplorer Browser Interface
• Custom File Formats