A (Microsoft) Code Name a Day: Volta
I'm resuming my Microsoft Code Name a Day series that I started in December 2006. The goal: To provide the back story, each day in August, on one of Microsoft's myriad code names. Some of these code names might be familiar to Microsoft watchers; others (hopefully) will be brand-new.
Microsoft code namesoffer some great clues about the Redmondians’ development priorities, not to mention a better understanding of which future Microsoft products fit together, from a strategy standpoint. And not every product group is moving to boring, numbered codenames (like Windows 7 and Office 14).
Without further ado, let the codename games begin.
Microsoft code name of the day: Volta
Microsoft code name of the day: Volta
Best guess on what it is: A Microsoft research project dedicated to "stretching the .Net programming model to cover the Cloud"
Meaning/context of the code name: Microsoft Volta is named for one of the pioneers in the field of electricity: Count Allesandro Volta. Volta (1745 - 1827) was an Italian physicist and inventor of the electrometer. The "volt" power unit is named for him.
Back story: Volta is an academic incubation project at this point, according to the Softies. It has no direct connection with other Microsoft data-programmability products and projects, like SQL Server 2008, Jasper or Astoria. It is more focused on how developers can expose Web services and SOA data that is already in the cloud.
Additional info: Microsoft SQL Server Architect Erik Meijer, in a new Channel 9 video on Volta, goes deeper about what Volta is and means. According to a synopsis on the Channel 9 site: "Volta is exploring innovation that empowers programmers to delay decisions about tier-splitting to the last possible responsible moment by using either code refactoring or declarative annotations. Volta is also innovating ideas for frictionless deployment of pure .NET-based web-based applications by using “the materials already available in the room” in the form of zero/near-zero weight client footprints."
Got a Microsoft code name you’ve been wondering about? Send it my way and I’ll do my best to track down some leads on what it might be.
And if you want to keep track of the full month's worth of Microsoft code names I end up posting, bookmark this "Microsoft Codenames" page. You can also check out this video-whiteboard I did recently on Microsoft codenames.