Member Avatar for nizzy1115

I know that the new file system microsoft has been working on was origionally scheduled for release with windows vista. But months back it was canceled and it was said that it would be released as a "future upgrade". Then i read that it wouldnt be available for vista at all, but the os after vista. Does anybody know anything about this?

  • 6 Contributors
  • 6 Replies
  • 215 Views
  • 3 Weeks Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by MIGSoft

Dani AI

Generated

Short answer: WinFS never shipped as a built‑in filesystem for Vista or any later consumer Windows release. Microsoft shipped developer bits (WinFS Beta 1) in 2005 that could run on XP, but in June 2006 the WinFS team announced they would not deliver WinFS as a separate product — the work was being “productized” into ADO.NET (Orcas) and SQL Server (Katmai) instead. (learn.microsoft.com)

Clarifying the timeline in relation to the posts above: was right that developer previews existed and that Microsoft experimented with XP support, but the planned Beta‑2 / standalone RTM was canceled in mid‑2006. That cancellation is the key reason you won’t find a WinFS component shipped with Vista or a Vista service pack. Contemporary coverage and the WinFS team blog make that clear. (learn.microsoft.com)

What survived of WinFS was mostly ideas and pieces. Microsoft folded metadata, entity/ORM work and unstructured‑data integration into the data platform (ADO.NET/Entity features and later SQL Server capabilities such as FILESTREAM and related storage features) and incubated other user‑facing ideas elsewhere in Windows (search, saved searches, richer metadata panes). If you wanted WinFS‑style behavior, Microsoft moved it into server/data stacks and parts of the Windows shell rather than shipping a single “relational file system.” (blog.jonudell.net)

Practical takeaway for readers here in 2006 (and later): if the goal was richer metadata, search and relationships between items, use the WinFS SDK/betas only as historical/dev artifacts; for production use look to SQL Server features and ADO.NET/Entity tooling (server side) and to Windows’ search/metadata features on the desktop. For exact historical posts and the official statement, see the WinFS team blog entries linked above. (learn.microsoft.com)

Recommended Answers

All 6 Replies

Member Avatar for Dani

I didn't even know about a new FS at all. Shows how behind the times I am!

Member Avatar for Comatose

Speaking of which, can you still get the beta for vista?

Member Avatar for nizzy1115

Speaking of which, can you still get the beta for vista?

Yeah, they have been releasing new builds. The last one i tried was the February release, but i belive they have released a newer builds since then.

Member Avatar for DMR

WinFS was backported to run on XP, and is/has been available in beta (Beta 1) to developers for some time. From what I've read, Beta 2 is due to be released to developers at the beginning of May, but the final shipping version isn't due for release until at least Q3 2007.

That time frame doesn't sound like it will coincide with Vista's initial release (unless MS delays Vista further), but it also doesn't sound like it will coincide with any other MS OS release either. As it currently stands, WinFS installs on top of NTFS, so I guess it could/will just be released as a stand-alone "Plop-On".

Member Avatar for collar

Hi,

WinFS is quite an interesting system. There is s source where you can find some valuable info on it:
http://www.ntfs.com/
If you wish you can give it a look

commented: Good Information +2
Member Avatar for MIGSoft

It sounds like Microsoft is trying to adopt some of the ideas used in the iNode based filesystems. It is interesting to see what will become of WinFS.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.