30 July 2003 Microsoft has unveiled more details about its forthcoming development tools, database and operating system software.

The company says that it will release an update to its Visual Studio.Net development tool suite, codenamed Whidbey, in the second half of 2004, a release that will coincide with the introduction of Yukon, the code-named for its long-awaited, next generation database.

Whidbey will include tools to speed up web development and improve database access in Visual Basic, one of the tools bundled with Visual Studio.Net. It will also include a feature to enable applications written with version 1.1 of Microsoft’s .Net framework to be converted to run on 64-bit servers.

Furthermore, Microsoft wants to encourage Visual Studio.Net developers to use the software to build applications across its entire range of operating system platforms — not just for desktop PCs and servers, but also Microsoft-powered mobile devices, including handheld PCs and mobile phones.

The Orcas release of Visual Studio.Net, which will follow on from Whidbey, is intended to tie into some of the services that will be included in the Longhorn desktop operating system, particularly the security and management features.

Instead of having to write code to build such features into applications, Orcas will be able to delegate such functions to Longhorn. Orcas is one of a number of software products that Microsoft plans to link to Longhorn, including office software and Windows server operating systems.

The Yukon database will feature at the centre of a number of Microsoft products, including its forthcoming operating systems.