Microsoft Windows SDK Blog

PingBack from http://blog.a-foton.ru/2008/07/how-would-you-spend-100-to-improve-windows-sdk-components/

1.      Setup… $10

2.      Documentation… $0

3.      Samples… $25

4.      Tools… $5

5.      Reference Assemblies… $0

6.      Windows Headers and Libraries… $10

7.      SDK Build…

8.      Configuring Visual Studio… $50

How would you spend $100 on NEW Windows SDK features? We're planning our next version and subsequent

$2 1.      Setup, download, install, uninstall and repair

2.      Documentation

$10 a.      Documentation viewer (Dexplore.exe)

$10 b.      .NET Framework documents

$15 c.       Win 32 documents

3.      Samples

$2 a.      .NET Framework samples

$5 b.      Win32 samples

4.      Tools

$3 a.      .NET Framework tools

$4 b.      Win 32 Tools

$3 c.       Mobile Tools (.NET Compact Framework)

? 5.      Reference Assemblies and Intellisense [I'm honestly not sure what this is - is it the autocomplete stuff, and if so, can't this be automatically generated?]

$28 6.      Windows Headers and Libraries

7.      SDK Build environment

$8 a.      VC++ compilers that ship in the SDK

$5 b.      Command line build environment

$5 8.      Configuring Visual Studio to use Windows SDK components

So, um, yes. Documentation, in my mind, is one of the most important things when you're writing an SDK, for two reasons - firstly, there's no point in having an SDK if no one knows how to use it, and secondly, having to write the documentation can produce information on how the SDK could be improved itself: eg. if a section of the documentation you're writing seems convoluted and complicated, it can be because what you're trying to describe isn't well implemented.

Also, as jpassing says, not having two very overlapping and very similar products entirely separate would be helpful.

well, documentation indexes need some work, and have done ever since WinCE was the default result for every search... Now its replaced with .NET only. We would want to see more obvious distinctions between the two - with more focus on putting the old win32 documents back online (some of us only work with 'legacy' code, some of us may want to go .NET only but still have to maintain legacy code).

8 is the best though - I've seen too many people install VS and think that's all that needs doing. And I still see code written that #imports msxml6, still! Get integrated with VS, WDK, DDK, SDK - it can all be driven from VS, maybe a "click here to install the SDK components" in the VS installer and 'download SDK components' in a VS menu.

And - integrate some SDKs that aren't part of the SDK. I mean, come on, DirectX should be part of the one true SDK.

I'd spend all $100 on this better single-SDK approach. If I can't have that, 50/50 to the docs and configuration, nothing to the .NET stuff - thats had too much spent on it already.

I think it is time to spend some money on consolidation. I have installed VS2003, VS2005, VS2008 and the Platform SDK. Every installation brought its own documentation. My 120GB laptop harddrive is already filled up with this stuff. What bothers me is that it is all the same data. In my opinion one documentation for the Windows Platform would be sufficient. If I can set filters I can search for my target platform efficently. Why must every new version of the SDK has its own documentation? The differences between operating systems or versions could well be shown on one doc page. The use comments made for a API function for the CE-platform are almost always useful for the non-CE-Platforms. Please reduce the amount of redundant data and consolidate the documentation into the latest msdn or sdk documentation.

Given that I've essentially given up on dexplorer, I too would spend $100 on sample code.