From Microsoft

Nov 17, 2009 13:13 GMT  ·  By

Version 4.0 of the .NET Micro Framework is now available for download, with Microsoft releasing the solution at the Microsoft Professional Developer Conference (PDC) in Los Angeles, on November 16th. The Redmond company had promised since early 2009 that the latest iteration of the .NET Micro Framework will become an open source project, designed to get the developing community involved in its evolution, and the software giant kept this promise. The .NET Micro Framework 4.0 is open source, meaning that devs have full access to the source code. Open sourcing .NET Framework denotes that the source code for the product is currently available under the Apache 2.0 license.

“The .NET Micro Framework,a development and execution environment for resource-constrained devices, was initially developed inside the Microsoft Startup Business Accelerator, but recently moved to the Developer Division so as to be more closely aligned with the overall direction of Microsoft development efforts,” revealed Peter Galli, the Open Source Community manager for Microsoft's Platform Strategy Group. “The result of this is that the .NET Micro Framework has become a seamless development experience, bringing a single programming model and tool chain for the breadth of developer solutions, all the way from small intelligent devices, to servers and the cloud.”

While making good on the promise of open sourcing the .NET Micro Framework, Microsoft was forced to keep a few bits of closed source. Developers that will leverage version 4.0 will also be permitted access to the Base Class Libraries for .NET Micro Framework and the CLR code. What devs won’t be able to get their hands on are the TCP/IP stack and the Cryptography libraries.

The explanation for this is rather simple. Microsoft itself licenses the TCP/IP stack from a third-party, namely EBSNet, which does not offer the Redmond company the rights to distribute the source code under an open source license. Microsoft explained that, in addition to the TCP/IP stack, it did not consider the Cryptography libraries as an integral part of .NET Micro Framework.

.NET Microsoft Framework Program Manager Colin Miller revealed that Microsoft would continue to remain an active contributor to the project. “We are planning on establishing a core technology team that is made up of both Microsoft and non-Microsoft contributors that continues the goals of producing a high quality product for very small devices. This group will act as the gateway to community contributions while, at the same time, Microsoft Developers will continue add functionality and coordinate with the overall .NET team," Miller noted.

.NET Micro Framework 4.0 SDK is available for download here. .NET Micro Framework 4.0 Porting Kit is available for download here.