WinFX + .NET 2.0 = .NET 3.0

Microsoft has announced, very quietly, that WinFX is to be considered part of .NET, and will be the biggest component in the move from the .NET Framework 2.0 to 3.0. This doesn’t include C# 3.0, which will be released separately, and VB 9.0, which will be part of what will effectively be .NET 4.0, currently part of the project codenamed ‘Orcas’ (the next release of Visual Studio).

The .NET Framework 3.0 includes Windows Presentation Foundation, Windows Communication Foundation, Windows Workflow and Cardspace (previously codenamed Infocard). It is planned to ship with Windows Vista and will be available under both XP and 2003. Putting WinFX into .NET is more a psychological step than anything technical, but it does confirm that this combination is to be regarded as the definitive Windows platform API. A community technology preview of .NET 3.0 is available for download from the MSDN web site.