Net Net - The dot net framework

Friday, October 29, 2004

WMI and .NET

The Windows Management Instrumentation API is an implementation of WBEM, the Web-based Enterprise Management, a IETF-managed set of core standards for systems management.

The data model used is termed the CIM or Common Information Model. This includes models for Systems, Applications, Networks and Devices.

The .NET Framework provides a set of classes to use WMI. In the best traditions of .NET, it is very easy to use reflection to discover and execute operations on items represented by these WMI Classes. The WMI Classes are under the System.Management namespace.

The relevant classes are:

ManagementObject or ManagementClass: A specific management object or class

ManagementObjectSearcher: Returns a collection of ManagementObjects based on a filter from ManagementQuery

ManagementEventWatcher: WMI Event Handler class

ManagementQuery: Filter definition class

A couple of good blog entries on WMI are at "The Scripting Guys' Blog" where they look at listing a directory tree recursively using WMI

Here is a small program to illustrate accessing & using WMI objects:



using System;

using System.Management;



namespace WMITest

{

   /// 

   ///  Use WMIClasses from .NET

   /// 

   class WMIClass	

   {

	[STAThread]

	static void Main(string[] args)

	{

	try

	{

	  string[] WMIClasses = new string[10];

	  GetClasses(WMIClasses);

	  foreach(string WMIClass in WMIClasses)

	  {

	   if(WMIClass !=null)

	   {

	     ManagementObjectCollection mosColl=null;

 	     mosColl = getObjects(WMIClass);

	     showProperties(mosColl,WMIClass);

	   }

	  }

	 }

	 catch(Exception ex)

	 {

	  Console.WriteLine(ex.Message+ex.StackTrace);

	 }

	}



	static void GetClasses(string[] WMIClasses)

	{

	  int i=0;

	  WMIClasses[i++] = "Win32_Keyboard";

	  WMIClasses[i++] = "Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration";

	  WMIClasses[i++] = "Win32_PointingDevice";

	  WMIClasses[i++] = "Win32_MemoryArray";

	  WMIClasses[i++] = "Win32_MotherboardDevice";

	  WMIClasses[i++] = "Win32_PrinterConfiguration";

	  WMIClasses[i++] = "Win32_Environment";

	  WMIClasses[i++] = "Win32_Process";

	  WMIClasses[i++] = "Win32_PerfFormattedData_PerfOS_Cache";

	  WMIClasses[i++] = "Win32_PerfFormattedData_PerfOS_Memory";

	  WMIClasses[i++] = "Win32_PerfFormattedData_PerfOS_Processor";

	  WMIClasses[i++] = "Win32_PerfFormattedData_Tcpip_IP";

	}



	static ManagementObjectCollection getObjects(string WMIClass)

	{

	 // 1. Define management scope

	 // 2. Define query in scope

	 // 3. Execute query and store results

	 // 4. Iterate through results

	 string query =  "SELECT * FROM " + WMIClass;

	 ObjectQuery oq	= new ObjectQuery(query);

	 ConnectionOptions co = new ConnectionOptions();

	 ManagementScope ms  = new 

              ManagementScope(ManagementPath.DefaultPath, co);

	 ManagementObjectSearcher mosQuery = new 

              ManagementObjectSearcher(ms,oq);

	 ManagementObjectCollection mosColl = mosQuery.Get();

	 return mosColl;

	}

	

	static void showProperties(ManagementObjectCollection mosQueryColl,

                                  string WMIClass)

	{

	  Console.WriteLine(WMIClass + " Properties ");

	  Console.WriteLine("-----------------------------");

	  foreach(ManagementObject mo in mosQueryColl)

	  {

	   //Properties

	   foreach(PropertyData prop in mo.Properties)

	     Console.WriteLine("{0} - {1}", prop.Name, prop.Value);

	   Console.WriteLine("-----------------------------");

	   }

	}

   }

}

Sunday, October 24, 2004

The Microsoft.CLRAdmin namespace - Part 2

Ok - the investigations into Microsoft.CLRAdmin continue. Some interesting types in this namespace.

Contents of the Microsoft.CLRAdmin namespace (from mscorcfg.dll)

The types in this namespace:

Types in Assembly mscorcfg, Version=1.0.5000.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b03f5f7f11d50a3a -------------------------- Util.Version Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CHelpDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CReadOnlyPermission Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CReadOnlyPermission+ColumnInfo Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CReadOnlyPermission+RowInfo Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IColumnResultView Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IEnumTASK Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CNode Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CWizard Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSecurityWizard Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CAddPermissionsWizard Microsoft.CLRAdmin.PermissionSetType Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IndexPolicyException Microsoft.CLRAdmin.SuperCodeGroupArrayList Microsoft.CLRAdmin.SuperCodeGroup Microsoft.CLRAdmin.Security Microsoft.CLRAdmin.DataGridComboBoxColumnStyle Microsoft.CLRAdmin.DataGridComboBox Microsoft.CLRAdmin.AssemblyDependencies Microsoft.CLRAdmin.AssemblyInfo Microsoft.CLRAdmin.AssemblyLoadAs Microsoft.CLRAdmin.AssemblyRef Microsoft.CLRAdmin.LoadAssembly Microsoft.CLRAdmin.LoadAssembly+_creator Microsoft.CLRAdmin.LoadDefaultAssembly Microsoft.CLRAdmin.LoadCustomAssembly Microsoft.CLRAdmin.LoadCustomGetAssembly Microsoft.CLRAdmin.LoadAssemblyInfo Microsoft.CLRAdmin.SecurityXMLStuff Microsoft.CLRAdmin.SecurityElementType Microsoft.CLRAdmin.Parser Microsoft.CLRAdmin.ParserStackFrame Microsoft.CLRAdmin.ParserStack Microsoft.CLRAdmin.Tokenizer Microsoft.CLRAdmin.Tokenizer+ITokenReader Microsoft.CLRAdmin.Tokenizer+ByteTokenReader Microsoft.CLRAdmin.Tokenizer+StringTokenReader Microsoft.CLRAdmin.Tokenizer+CharTokenReader Microsoft.CLRAdmin.Tokenizer+TokenReader Microsoft.CLRAdmin.Tokenizer+StreamTokenReader Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CDuplicatePermissionDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CTaskPad Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CPropPage Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CWizardPage Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CCreateDeploymentPackageWiz3 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CCreateDeploymentPackageWiz2 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CCreateDeploymentPackageWiz1 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CCreateDeploymentPackageWizard Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSecurityAdjustmentWiz3 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSecurityAdjustmentWiz2 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CTrustAppWiz1 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSecurityAdjustmentWiz1 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSecurityAdjustmentWizard Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CTrustAppWiz8 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CTrustAppWiz7 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CTrustAppWiz5 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CTrustAppWiz4 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CTrustAppWiz3 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CTrustAppWiz2 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.TrustBy Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CFullTrustWizard Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CEvalAssemWiz3 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CEvalAssemWiz3+MyTreeNode Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CEvalAssemWiz2 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CEvalAssemWiz1 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CEvalAssemWizard Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CNewCodeGroupWiz4 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CNewCodeGroupWiz3 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSecurityPropPage Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSingleCodeGroupMemCondProp Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CNewCodeGroupWiz2 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CNewPermSetWiz1 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CNewCodeGroupWiz1 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CNewCodeGroupWizard Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CPermControls Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CComboBoxPermissionControls Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CTablePermControls Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CPermDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CCustomPermDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CPermPropPage Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CCustomPermPropPage Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CCustomPermControls Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CMessageQueuePermDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CMessageQueuePermPropPage Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CMessageQueuePermControls Microsoft.CLRAdmin.COleDbPermDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.COleDbPermPropPage Microsoft.CLRAdmin.COleDbPermControls Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSQLClientPermDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSQLClientPermPropPage Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSQLClientPermControls Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CServiceControllerPermDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CServiceControllerPermPropPage Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CServiceControllerPermControls Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CPrintingPermDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CPrintingPermPropPage Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CPrintingPermControls Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CPerformanceCounterPermDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CPerformanceCounterPermPropPage Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CPerformanceCounterPermControls Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CFileDialogPermDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CFileDialogPermPropPage Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CFileDialogPermControls Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CEventLogPermDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CEventLogPermPropPage Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CEventLogPermControls Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CDirectoryServicesPermDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CDirectoryServicesPermPropPage Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CDirectoryServicesPermControls Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CWebPermDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CWebPermPropPage Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CWebPermControls Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSocketPermDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSocketPermPropPage Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSocketPermControls Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CRegPermDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CRegPermPropPage Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CRegPermControls Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CFileIOPermDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CFileIOPermPropPage Microsoft.CLRAdmin.FilePermInfo Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CFileIOPermControls Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CEnvPermDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CEnvPermPropPage Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CEnvPermControls Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CIsoStoragePermDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CIsoStoragePermPropPage Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CIsoStoragePermControls Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CDNSPermDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CDNSPermPropPage Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CDNSPermControls Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CReflectPermDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CReflectPermPropPage Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CReflectPermControls Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSecPermDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSecPermPropPage Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSecPermControls Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CUIPermDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CUIPermPropPage Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CUIPermControls Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSingleCodeGroupPSetProp Microsoft.CLRAdmin.COpenSecurityPolicyDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CNewSecurityPolicyDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CNewPermSetWiz2 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CNewPermSetWiz2+PermissionPair Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CNewPermSetWizard Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSinglePermissionSetProp Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSinglePermSetTaskPad Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CPSetWrapper Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSecurityNode Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSinglePermissionSet Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSinglePermissionSet+CustomPages Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CCustomCodeGroupProp Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSingleCodeGroupProp Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSingleCodeGroupTaskPad Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CNonUnionCGTaskPad Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSingleCodeGroup Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CTrustedAssemblies Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CPermSetTaskPad Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CPermissionSet Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSecurityPolicy Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSecurityPolicyTaskPad Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CommandHistory Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CCommandHistory Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CGenericTaskPad Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CAssemblyDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CFusionDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CFusionNoVersionDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CDependAssembliesDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CConfigAssemWizard Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CConfigAssemWiz1 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CGenAppTaskPad Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CApplicationDepends Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CAppProps Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CApplicationTaskPad Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CChooseAppDialog Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CApplication Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CAssemVerCodebases Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CConfigAssemGeneralProp Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CAssemBindPolicyProp Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CAssemGenProps Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CCodeGroups Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CGenApplications Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CRemotingProp3 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CRemotingProp2 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CRemotingProp1 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CRemoting Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CGenSecTaskPad Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CVersionPolicyTaskPad Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CVersionPolicy Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CVersionPolicy+PropPagePairs Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CGenSecurity Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CNetTaskPad Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IAssemblyEnum Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IApplicationContext Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IAssemblyName Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IAssemblyCache Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IAssemblyCacheItem Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IHistoryReader Microsoft.CLRAdmin.ASM_CACHE Microsoft.CLRAdmin.STREAM_FORMAT Microsoft.CLRAdmin.ASM_COMMIT Microsoft.CLRAdmin.ASM_DISPLAYF Microsoft.CLRAdmin.ASM_CMPF Microsoft.CLRAdmin.ASM_NAME Microsoft.CLRAdmin.AssemInfo Microsoft.CLRAdmin.Fusion Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSharedAssemblies Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CSharedAssemblies+PropPagePairs Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IComponent Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IExtendContextMenu Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IExtendControlbar Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IExtendTaskPad Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IExtendPropertySheet2 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CComponent Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IComponentData Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CData Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IDataObject Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CDO Microsoft.CLRAdmin.ISnapinAbout Microsoft.CLRAdmin.ISnapinHelp2 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IDisplayHelp Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IExtendPropertySheet Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IPropertySheetProvider Microsoft.CLRAdmin.NodeManager Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IPropertySheetCallback Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IConsoleNameSpace2 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IHeaderCtrl Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IResultData Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IImageList Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IConsole2 Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IContextMenuCallback Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IControlbar Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IToolbar Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IConsoleVerb Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IStream Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IDropSource Microsoft.CLRAdmin.MSIDBOPEN Microsoft.CLRAdmin.LVIS Microsoft.CLRAdmin.MMC Microsoft.CLRAdmin.DOBJ Microsoft.CLRAdmin.MMCLV Microsoft.CLRAdmin.LVCFMT Microsoft.CLRAdmin.TBSTATE Microsoft.CLRAdmin.TBSTYLE Microsoft.CLRAdmin.EN Microsoft.CLRAdmin.PSM Microsoft.CLRAdmin.PSWIZB Microsoft.CLRAdmin.PSN Microsoft.CLRAdmin.WM Microsoft.CLRAdmin.PSPCB Microsoft.CLRAdmin.PSP Microsoft.CLRAdmin.MMC_PSO Microsoft.CLRAdmin.HRESULT Microsoft.CLRAdmin.IMAGE Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CCT Microsoft.CLRAdmin.MMC_BUTTON_STATE Microsoft.CLRAdmin.MMC_VERB Microsoft.CLRAdmin.MMC_CONTROL_TYPE Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CCM Microsoft.CLRAdmin.MF Microsoft.CLRAdmin.MMCN Microsoft.CLRAdmin.SDI Microsoft.CLRAdmin.RDI Microsoft.CLRAdmin.MMC_TASK_DISPLAY_TYPE Microsoft.CLRAdmin.MMC_ACTION_TYPE Microsoft.CLRAdmin.MMC_VIEW_OPTIONS Microsoft.CLRAdmin.MB Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CF Microsoft.CLRAdmin.DVASPECT Microsoft.CLRAdmin.TYMED Microsoft.CLRAdmin.SHGFI Microsoft.CLRAdmin.PSNRET Microsoft.CLRAdmin.DS Microsoft.CLRAdmin.SWP Microsoft.CLRAdmin.MMC_TASK_DISPLAY_SYMBOL Microsoft.CLRAdmin.MMC_TASK_DISPLAY_BITMAP Microsoft.CLRAdmin.MMC_TASK_DISPLAY_OBJECT Microsoft.CLRAdmin.MMC_TASK Microsoft.CLRAdmin.MMC_LISTPAD_INFO Microsoft.CLRAdmin.MMCBUTTON Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CONTEXTMENUITEM Microsoft.CLRAdmin.SCOPEDATAITEM Microsoft.CLRAdmin.RESULTDATAITEM Microsoft.CLRAdmin.MMC_RESTORE_VIEW Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CLSID Microsoft.CLRAdmin.SMMCObjectTypes Microsoft.CLRAdmin.FORMATETC Microsoft.CLRAdmin.DialogProc Microsoft.CLRAdmin.PropSheetPageProc Microsoft.CLRAdmin.PROPSHEETPAGE Microsoft.CLRAdmin.DLGTEMPLATE Microsoft.CLRAdmin.DIBSECTION Microsoft.CLRAdmin.BITMAP Microsoft.CLRAdmin.BITMAPINFOHEADER Microsoft.CLRAdmin.BITMAPINFO Microsoft.CLRAdmin.STGMEDIUM Microsoft.CLRAdmin.STATSTG Microsoft.CLRAdmin.FILETIME Microsoft.CLRAdmin.userFLAG_STGMEDIUM Microsoft.CLRAdmin.PSHNOTIFY Microsoft.CLRAdmin.NMHDR Microsoft.CLRAdmin.SYSTEMTIME Microsoft.CLRAdmin.OSVERSIONINFO Microsoft.CLRAdmin.SHFILEINFO Microsoft.CLRAdmin.WIN32_FIND_DATA Microsoft.CLRAdmin.WINDOWINFO Microsoft.CLRAdmin.RECT Microsoft.CLRAdmin.MessageProc Microsoft.CLRAdmin.WNDCLASS Microsoft.CLRAdmin.COMMANDS Microsoft.CLRAdmin.FILEPERMS Microsoft.CLRAdmin.INonMMCHost Microsoft.CLRAdmin.NotEvalCodegroup Microsoft.CLRAdmin.BindingRedirInfo Microsoft.CLRAdmin.BindingPolicy Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CodebaseLocations Microsoft.CLRAdmin.AppFiles Microsoft.CLRAdmin.RemotingApplicationInfo Microsoft.CLRAdmin.ExposedTypes Microsoft.CLRAdmin.RemotingChannel Microsoft.CLRAdmin.MyDataGrid Microsoft.CLRAdmin.DataGridComboBoxEntry Microsoft.CLRAdmin.PathListFunctions Microsoft.CLRAdmin.AssemblyLoader Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CGeneralMachineProps Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CNodeManager Microsoft.CLRAdmin.ImgInfo Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CResourceStore Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CConfigStore Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CConfigStore+XMLData Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CConfigStore+ElementConditions Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CRootNode Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CComputerNode Microsoft.CLRAdmin.CHTMLFileGen

Spelunking Microsoft.CLRAdmin

While looking at the many entries in the Add Reference dialog, I came across mscorcfg, Adding this to the project references, allows one to add the following assembly to the using list:

using Microsoft.CLRAdmin

This namespace is not documented, as per MSDN, although one does find 500+ references in Google. Stay tuned for some spelunking around this namespace, initially on my own...

The .NET Community

The .NET community is vibrant and constantly exploring the framework. Guidance to other developers is given by everyone from Don Box at his Spoutlet to Ingo Rammer, the .NET Remoting expert, to other lesser-known, yet nonetheless smart, .NETizens.

You can find responses I've made to people's queries at experts-exchange.com - this is a pretty good site for quick tips in a newsgroup-style setting.

One problem I'm currently plumbing myself is programmatically traversing the Global Assembly Cache. Somewhat inexplicably, Microsoft left out (undocumented) the APIs for accessing the GAC. A KB on the APIs is available on MSDN - DOC: Global Assembly Cache (GAC) APIs Are Not Documented in the .NET Framework Software Development Kit (SDK) Documentation This looks at stuff like the IAssemblyCache interface and the IAssemblyName interface, along with structures for use with them.

A wrapper for these APIs would be an asset. Hmmm...

Dot Net Rocks

Apart from the amorphous name, I find the .NET Framework a powerful paradigm in computing. It addresses many of the challenges programmers have faced. It does so in a way that is not all new, like say, the BeOS, created by the now-bankrupt Be Corporation. Instead, it builds on well-understood design patterns.

The pedigree of the designers is respected. Anders Hejlsberg was the creator of Turbo Pascal. He led the team that created the C# Programming language.

The power of the .NET framework comes from the fact that it takes away the Java system's focus on programming in a single language. Instead, any language, potentially even Java, can use the framework.

There are a growing number of third-party languages that run comfortably on .NET, and growing is not an euphemism here. At last count, about 70 languages ran on the .NET framework.

Microsoft has taken another key step with .NET - there are upcoming open-source implementations of .NET - The Mono project being the most well-known. While, the corporate concerns with open-source software still hold good, this is a positive trend for a company, whose boss once told a Microsoftie that recommended open sourcing Windows, to join the Peace Corps.

The well-written, though flawed essay by Neal Stephenson, "In The Beginning Was The Command Line" comes to mind here. In this essay, the author posits that the cosmos is likely a kind of Finite Automaton or a SimCity-variant, being generated by variant command lines by a proto-hacker. He riffs on the similarities between Apple & Microsoft, and recommends Linux over them, an inductive leap, that one finds a flaw. More to the point, though, he recommends that Microsoft, liberate, both itself and Windows, by making it open-source.

The dotnet community has had to wait about two years for the second version of the .NET framework (Beta here). This cycle time would likely have been reduced by an open-source approach.