Project Glidepath

Project Glidepath is a MicroISV Evangelism program that delivers the workflow-based guidance, sample code, content and technology you need to create successful applications for Windows Vista.

The release of Windows Vista will create a new wave of demand for applications that MicroISVs supply. We at Microsoft know how many new features and APIs we have added to Windows Vista as well as we understand how challenging it is to start and keep a MicroISV business running.

Project Glidepath is designed to provide the knowledge you, as a MicroISV, need to be successful by providing step-by-step instructions for everything from how to get started with Windows Presentation Foundation to how to write and publish a press release. Please give Project Glidepath a test drive and let us know what you think.

What is new in this release:

Install Project Glidepath
To install the Project Glidepath Software Factory you need to follow these steps:

• Run the 2 MSI installers enclosed in the zip file in this order
  :GuidanceAutomationExtensions.msi
  ProjectGlidepathSetup.msi
• Note: Part of the ProjectGlidepathSetup process gives you the opportunity to change the SQL Server 2005 connection string. By default the string is configured to point to a default named instance (.SQLExpress) of SQL Server 2005 Express edition. You can change the string to point to any instance of any edition of SQL Server 2005. Some versions of SQL Server 2005 do not support the "User Instance=True" option so you may need to remove that from the end of the connection string.
• Start Visual Studio
• Create a new project using the Glidepath Software Factory project type which is found under the Guidance Packages node in the project type tree.
• Right click on the "_Viewpoints" project and select Update...
• When the Update Dialog appears, click on the Update from RSS Feeds button. When you do this the Project Glidepath Software Factory will retrieve the remainder of the installation data from this website via the primary RSS feed.

Requirements:

• The Project Glidepath Software Factory is delivered as an add-in for Visual Studio 2005.
• Add-ins require Visual Studio 2005 Standard Edition or above.
• Currently the Technical Preview edition of the Project Glidepath Software Factory supports development in C# only.
• Content for VB.Net will be available when Project Glidepath is released.

• Visual Studio 2005 (Standard edition or above) with C# installed SQL Server 2005 - Any version. The installer provides a connection string that assumes a default named instance of SQL Server Express (.SQLExpress) but you can override this to point to any installation of SQL Server 2005.
• To use the WPF UX Project Glidepath package with Visual Studio you need to download and install the following items:
  The .Net 3.0 (WinFX) run time (download)
  The Windows SDK (download)
  The "Orcas" preview in-Visual-Studio editor for WPF (previously code-named 'Cider') (download)