Microsoft Windows SDK Blog : Customer input

Windows SDK Survey Results So Far

wsdkblog@microsoft.com — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:35:00 GMT

We want to share some preliminary results from the recent Windows SDK customer surveys asking how would you spend $100 on existing SDK features and how would you spend $100 on new SDK features. The results may surprise you! Thanks to those that have participated and helped to shape the future of the Windows SDK. Both surveys remain open and we’d love to hear from those that haven’t responded yet.

Please spend 5 minutes to help us understand how you use the Windows SDK. This NEW survey is 15 multiple choice questions about how you use the Windows SDK.

Preliminary Survey Results: Proposed SDK Features (See original survey for details)

Preliminary Survey Results: Existing SDK Features (see original survey for details)

Sarah Maurer
Program Manager
High School Intern
Windows SDK Team

The MSDN Windows SDK Developer Center is the place to find resources and links to Windows SDK products, release notes, technical articles, and more.

What NEW Windows SDK Features do you want?

wsdkblog@microsoft.com — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 07:46:00 GMT

How would you spend $100 on NEW Windows SDK features? We're planning our next version and subsequent releases of the SDK. In that spirit, we’re running a quick poll of Windows SDK users to help us keep our "vision" for the SDK aligned with yours. If you had a hypothetical $100 to spend on the list of brainstormed features below, how would you allocate the dollars?

Forewarning: ideally we would like to rank the results and work down the list, but the reality is that we have other constraints. Other products, such as Visual Studio, have dependencies on the SDK and we have the typical team resources constraints. We can’t guarantee which of these will appear in what version, and some of them may not be worth a further look. But we’d sure like to know what you think of these new feature ideas. And feel free to add to the list if a feature you’d like to see in a future SDK is not on the list.

1. A new, small download of “Core SDK” components is made available to customers, with only the basics. What components should be included in this product in addition to the Windows headers and libraries?

2. PowerShell Build environment. The Windows SDK would include a script similar to SetEnv that users could run, which will set up an SDK build environment under PowerShell.

3. Quick method to install “only .NET” or “only Win32” components. For example, Win32 developers could quickly choose to receive only Win32 resources in the documents, tools, samples, etc. Developers focused on managed code could choose to receive only .NET Framework resources in the documents, tools, samples, etc.

4. Improvements to documentation: better Table of Contents, better filters, search, etc.

5. Improvements to documentation: integrate the SDK docs with MSDN docs.

6. Ship a new “Tools Explorer” to group the tools and provide a more friendly and efficient way for users to search and use the SDK tools.

7. Ship a new “Samples Explorer” to group the samples and provide a more friendly and efficient way for users to search and use the SDK samples.

8. Windows SDK in non-Visual studio IDEs. Provide additional support for other IDEs, such as Windows SDK integration with non-Microsoft development environments, links to Windows SDK documentation from within other IDEs (Eclipse, IBM VisualAge for C++, Borland’s C++ Builder), among other possible integration scenarios.

9. Create a new Download portal with SDK ‘nuggets’ so that you can download small packages – perhaps a popular tool or file that shipped broken or was missing from a released SDK.

Additional surveys: how you use the Windows SDK and how would you spend $100 on existing SDK features.

Sarah Maurer
Program Manager
High School Intern
Windows SDK Team

The MSDN Windows SDK Developer Center is the place to find resources and links to Windows SDK products, release notes, technical articles, and more.

How would you spend $100 to improve Windows SDK components?

wsdkblog@microsoft.com — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 21:30:00 GMT

How would you improve the Windows SDK components? If you had a hypothetical $100 to spend on the list of existing SDK components below, what would you improve? There are no rules. You can spend it all on one component you think needs help, or divide the money out in any combination. Feel free to explain your rationale if you want. If we’ve missed a component that you think needs improvement please add it to the list.

Additional surveys: how you use the Windows SDK and how would you spend $100 on new features/components.

1. Setup, download, install, uninstall and repair

2. Documentation

a. Documentation viewer (Dexplore.exe)

b. .NET Framework documents

c. Win 32 documents

3. Samples

a. .NET Framework samples

b. Win32 samples

4. Tools

a. .NET Framework tools

b. Win 32 Tools

c. Mobile Tools (.NET Compact Framework)

5. Reference Assemblies and Intellisense

6. Windows Headers and Libraries

7. SDK Build environment

a. VC++ compilers that ship in the SDK

b. Command line build environment

8. Configuring Visual Studio to use Windows SDK components

Sarah Maurer
Program Manager
High School Intern
Windows SDK Team

The MSDN Windows SDK Developer Center is the place to find resources and links to Windows SDK products, release notes, technical articles, and more.