Microsoft Releases New OSS Tools for Windows Azure

At its Open Source India Conference, Microsoft announced the availability of a new set of developer tools and Software Development Kits (SDKs) for PHP developers who want to build applications for Windows Azure.

“We are working to give open source developers more access to our platforms,” said Vijay Rajagopalan, Principal Architect, Interoperability Strategy team, Microsoft. “One example of this is our support for an open and interoperable cloud, which we believe is critical for businesses, governments and organizations to take full advantage of cloud-enabled innovations. The new SDKs and tools we are announcing are an important step towards ensuring an open cloud that in turn brings greater flexibility to our partners and customers.”’
The software vendor presented the technology preview and global availability of the following tools and SDKs that support open source developers working in mixed IT environments:

• Windows Azure Companion (new) Community Technology Preview (CTP): A new tool that aims to provide a seamless experience when installing and configuring PHP platform-elements (PHP runtime, extensions) and web-applications running on Windows Azure. This first CTP focuses on PHP, but it may be extended to be used for deploying any open source component or application that runs on Windows Azure
  
• Windows Azure Tools for Eclipse for PHP (update): A plug-in for PHP developers using the Eclipse development environment, which provides tools to create, test and deploy web applications targeting Windows Azure
  
• Windows Azure Command Line Tools for PHP (update): A command-line tool, which offers PHP developers a simple way to package PHP based applications in order to deploy to Windows Azure
  
• Windows Azure SDK for PHP version 2.0 (update): It enables PHP developers to extend their applications by leveraging Windows Azure services (like Blobs, tables and queues) in their web applications whether they run on Windows Azure or on another cloud platform.

The Azure Services Platform (Azure) is an Internet-scale cloud services platform hosted in Microsoft data centers, which provides an operating system and a set of developer services that can be used individually or together. Azure’s platform can be used to build new applications to run from the cloud or enhance existing applications with cloud-based capabilities. It already allows developers to use multiples languages (.NET, PHP, Ruby, Python or Java) and development tools (Visual Studio or Eclipse) to build applications which run on Windows Azure and/or consume any of the Windows Azure platform offerings from any other cloud or on premise platform.
Windows Azure has been designed from the ground up with a standards-based approach and the platform supports multiple Internet protocols including HTTP, XML, SOAP and REST —ensuring data portability.
Microsoft continues to work with many industry organizations to explore the meaning of openness in the cloud. Developer Choice is one of four foundational elements being explored, along with Data Portability, Standards and Ease of Migration and Deployment. The four foundational elements, along with practical and technical examples, are the basis for a broad industry conversation about cloud platform interoperability.
Microsoft’s continued focus on delivering comprehensive cloud services across all three layers [Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)] for businesses of all sizes has already seen strong momentum among customers and partners across the world and in India. For example, in India, over 6,000 applications are available on Windows Azure. Indian ISVs and SIs including Wipro, Infosys, TCS, HCL Technologies and Mahindra Satyam are building applications and solutions across verticals ranging from healthcare to banking to manufacturing for both local and global markets.