Earlier this month, Microsoft posted the first "blueprint" of a series that will help developers more easily build Software plus Services (S+S) applications. The project was released as a project on CodePlex, the open-source community from Microsoft.
This first blueprint is intended for developing S+S applications with Outlook 2007. Microsoft plans to offer blueprints for other office business applications, e-commerce, media/community and mobility.
The Outlook + Services Blueprint download -- available as a single file or two files -- includes the S+S framework, source code, Outlook Plus Services add-in library, workflow and other guidance. The blueprint is designed to help developers expose data and integrate services into Outlook 2007. It requires Outlook 2007, SQL Server Express 2005 and Visual Studio 2005.
Within the S+S framework, developers open up an Outlook + Services Visual Studio project and learn how to extend the e-mail app based on the guidance provided in Overview, Workflow and Detail tabs (a step-by-step walk-through). Microsoft expects to distribute a "more sophisticated" developer example, dubbed "My eBay," which features eBay Web services, a custom ribbon interface and HTML from an eBay page, in short order.
Source: reddevnews.