Building Portable Libraries?

Wonder what all the weird and wild code paths your code might have, but it hurts your brain to try to write every possible path in your unit tests?

Want a free extension that throws everything at your code, but the kitchen sink? (though I think that's an option too...

Introducing: Code Digger, an extension for VS2012

Today, the Pex team at Microsoft Research (Nikolai Tillmann and Peli de Halleux) is happy to announce that Code Digger, an extension for Visual Studio 2012, has shipped to the Visual Studio Gallery. After shipping the Moles framework as Fakes in Visual Studio 2012, this is the next step of bringing our research projects to the latest and greatest development environment

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What is Code Digger?

Code Digger generates interesting values that show different behaviors of your .NET code. The result is a table showing for which inputs your code produces which outputs.

What is the relation between Pex and Code Digger?

Under the hood, Code Digger uses the Pex engine and Microsoft Research’s Z3 constraint solver to systematically analyze all branches in the code, trying to generate a test suite that achieves high code coverage. Working together with Peter Provost from the Visual Studio product group, we tried to create a really simple user interface. We want to bring the idea of code exploration to every programmer’s fingertips. This is different from the Pex Power Tools where we gave you many options to configure, and you had to embrace the idea of (Parameterized) Unit Testing to get all benefits. Code Digger is not a full replacement of Pex, it is merely the first extension that the Pex team ships for Visual Studio 2012 – stay tuned for more.

Limitations

Code Digger only works on public .NET code that resides in Portable Class Libraries.

By restricting the code exploration to Portable Class Libraries, we avoid problems with code that has dependencies on a particular platform which the Pex engine does not understand.

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Microsoft Code Digger

Overview

Code Digger analyzes possible execution paths through your .NET code. The result is a table where each row shows a unique behavior of your code. The table helps you understand the behavior of the code, and it may also uncover hidden bugs.

Through the new context menu item "Generate Inputs / Outputs Table" in the Visual Studio editor, you can invoke Code Digger to analyze your code. Code Digger computes and displays input-output pairs. Code Digger systematically hunts for bugs, exceptions, and assertion failures.

Code Digger only works on public .NET code that resides in Portable Class Libraries.

Under the hood, Code Digger uses the Pex engine and Microsoft Research’s Z3 constraint solver to systematically analyze all branches in the code, trying to generate a test suite that achieves high code coverage.

Code Digger is the first extension from the Pex team at Microsoft Research for Visual Studio 2012. Stay tuned for future extensions that bring more aspects of the rich experience of the Pex Visual Studio 2010 Power Tools to the latest version of Visual Studio. If you have feedback for us, or bug reports, feel free to write an email to the Pex team at Microsoft Research. If you have used Pex before, let us know if you are missing a particular feature.

To stay up-to-date, like Pex and Moles on Facebook.

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Walkthrough

After you have installed the Code Digger extension for Visual Studio 2012, create a “Portable Class Library” project.

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Write some public code, right-click on it, and select “Generate Inputs / Outputs Table”.

Wait a moment, and you will see a table, listing interesting parameter values which cover all the corner cases in your code.

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So, how does Code Digger actually work? Why the PCL requirement? What happens when you click on the magic button, Alice?

Nikolai Tillmann and Peli de Halleux, software developers extraordinaire on MSR's RiSE team, join us again to dig into Code Digger in a casual setting (Nikolai's office, so native habitat). There is lots of geeking out at the whiteboard, of course. There is also a brief demo at the end. Tune in.

IllumiShare

Worldwide Telescope

Rewards on Xbox LIVE

Developer Challenge

Here, Wolf Kienzle, Senior Research Developer, Interactive Visual Media group, Microsoft Research Redmond, explains and demos this excellent new tool for C++ developers building image, video or augmented reality apps. In effect, you can step into pixels. Excellent!

• [0:56] CTP for Visual Studio 2012 Update 2 (VS 2012.2) is available (Brian Harry), February CTP for Visual Studio Update 2 (Charles Sterling)
• [1:47] Embracing Semantic Logging, Introducing Semantic Logging (Grigori Melnik), Codeplex site.
• [2:51] [Sample Of Feb 13rd] Project SaveAs VS extension (Philip Fu), http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/VBVSXSaveProject-65a4f335
• [4:01] Introducing Simple.OData.Client: a portable OData client library for .NET4.x, Windows Store, Silverlight 5 and Windows Phone 8 (Vagif Abilov)
• [5:32] Simple golden rules for async / await (Nigel Sampson)
• [6:22] Windows 8: Working with Semantic Zoom using C# and XAML (Mahesh Sabnis)
• [7:34] Make your app more attractive to customers in the Windows Phone Store (Kami LeMonds)
• [8:36] Create a blog reader Windows Store app using JavaScript and HTML
• [9:42] XAML Introduction (Shahid Aziz )
• [10:54] Visual Studio 3D Starter Kit (Windows Store only), Visual Studio 3D Starter Kit (Windows Phone only) (Roberto Sonnino)
• [11:55] Game Design [Storyboard] Shapes

Picks of the Week

• Nisha's Pick of the Week:[12:55] BLINK
• Brian's Pick of the Week:[13:42] Windows Phone 8 Bluetooth -- Fun with Gyros, Windows Phone 8 Bluetooth – Sonar and Imperial March (Matt aka @RogueCode ) [Found Via: Chris Walker]

• [0:34] Announcing Release of Windows Azure Media Services (Scott Guthrie)
• [1:42] Broadcast push notifications to millions of mobile devices using Windows Azure Notification Hubs (Scott Guthrie)
• [2:33] Now Available: Windows Phone SDK Update for 7.8 (Cliff Simpkins )
• [3:25] Fall Fury: Part 1 - Introduction (Den Delimarsky, Brian Peek, Clint Rutkas, Dan Fernandez, Rick Barraza )
• [5:16] Tile design guidelines for Windows Phone 8 (Shubhan Chemburkar)
• [6:08] Building the Bing apps for Windows 8 (Jigar Thakkar)
• [7:18] Building HTML5 Games for the Atari Arcade
• [8:36] Introducing SvcPerf - An End-to-End trace Analysis tool for WCF (Sajay Antony), http://svcperf.codeplex.com/
• [9:36] CODEMINE: Building a Software Analytics Platform for Collecting and Analyzing Engineering Process Data at Microsoft (Jacek Czerwonka, Nachi Nagappan, and Wolfram Schulte)
• [10:40] GoingNative 13: Visual Studio 3D Starter Kit, Meet Roberto Sonnino

Picks of the Week!

• Clint's Pick of the Week:[11:43] Everything you need to know about the Lumia 820 and 3D printing (Joel Willans)
• Dan's Pick of the Week:[13:00] Visual Studio ​Achievement​s; they're not Xbox live right? (Cheevos!)

• [0:42] MSR shows off IllumiRoom
• [2:10] VS/TFS 2012 Release Candidate expiring (Brian Harry)
• [2:44] Git-TF 2.0.1 Released (Brian Harry)
• [3:28] OData Service for Team Foundation Server v2 (Brian Keller)
• [4:33] TFS Source Control History Visualization (Alexandr Biryukov)
• [5:57] Apache Cordova [fka PhoneGap] and Windows Phone 8 (Jesse MacFadyen)
• [6:37] MEF 2.0 TOC (Bnaya Eshet)
• [7:52] Gemicon Icon Set (600 PNG Icons + PSD Source) (Smashing Editorial), The Noun Project
• [8:51] Recent Updates to the Windows Azure SDK - .NET 4.5, Windows Server 2012 and more (Mohit Srivastava, Dennis Angeline)
• [9:31] Codecademy adds API training with YouTube, NPR, Bit.ly, and 6 other services to help new devs build actual products (John Koetsier)

Picks of the week!

• [10:40] Clint's and Dan's Pick of the Week

Transforming Computer Interaction with Natural User Interfaces

Microsoft Research is only scratching the surface when it comes to developing new ways users can naturally interact with computers, or, with the aid of small natural user interface devices, interact with the world around them, whether it's the world of gaming, medicine, or everyday computing.

Project Information URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3Up4k1K4QE&list=UUCb9_Kn8F_Opb3UCGm-lILQ&index=2

Found via: New Microsoft Research Trailer Shows Mostly Kinect-Related Projects

Who is winning the gaming war?   [04:29]

Lumia Update  [13:57]

Outlook & SkyDrive updates  [09:59]

Predict wisely!  [17:21]

KinÊtre: Animation + Whimsy

KinÊtre lets anyone create playful 3D animations.

Imagine you are asked to produce a 3D animation of a demonic armchair terrorizing an innocent desk lamp. You may think about model rigging, skeleton deformation, and keyframing. Depending on your experience, you might imagine hours to days at the controls of Maya or Blender. But even if you have absolutely no computer graphics experience, it can be so much easier: grab a nearby chair and desk lamp, scan them using a consumer depth camera, and use the same camera to track your body, aligning your virtual limbs to the chair’s geometry. At one spoken command, your limbs are attached to the chair model, which follows your movements in an intuitive and natural manner. KinÊtre is such a system. Rather than targeting professional animators, it brings animation to a new audience of users with little or no CG experience. It allows realistic deformations of arbitrary static meshes, runs in real time on consumer hardware, and uses the human body for input in conjunction with simple voice commands. KinÊtre lets anyone create playful 3D animations.

Project Information URL: http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/animateworld/

KinÊtre: Animation + Whimsy

First, there was Kinect. You’ve probably heard of that one. Next, it was KinectFusion, which uses live data from Kinect for Windows to create high-quality, 3-D models of a room and its contents. KinectFusion made a splash in 2011 during the 38th International Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques (SIGGRAPH).

Now, it’s time for KinÊtre, the latest Microsoft Research project that uses a Kinect depth camera to provide novel functionality: Among other animations, it can make chairs dance.

No, your eyes didn’t deceive: dancing chairs. If that sounds like fun, you’ve come to the right place.

KinÊtre, which can animate all sorts of inanimate objects, will be presented as a talk by Jiawen Chen during SIGGRAPH 2012, being held at the Los Angeles Convention Center from Aug. 5 to 9. Perhaps the best introduction to the project is this informative video:

The idea is that we want to let you bring the world around you to life,” Chen says. “We want to let you use Kinect for Windows and a PC and take arbitrary household objects and make them move like a cartoon character.”

The process to engage is deceptively simple. You use a consumer depth camera to scan an item such as a chair, a desk lamp, a bookcase, or a stepladder. Then you use the same camera to track your body and align your virtual limbs to the geometry of the item. With a word—“Possess!”—your virtual limbs are attached to the item. When you jump, the bookcase jumps. When you dance, the chair dances.

And, using KinÊtre—a portmanteau that combines “Kinect” with the French verb for “to be”—anyone can create playful, 3-D models.

...

Other usage possibilities for KinÊtre include storytelling by children—the technology is sufficiently intuitive and accessible for kids to use—and gaming.

At the core of the technology is non-linear numerical optimization, enabling what Chen calls “a fairly robust, very easy method to make arbitrary things come to life.”

Still, the best way to understand KinÊtre is simply to see it in action. (Watch that video!) Chen gleefully recalls the reaction he got in March while demonstrating its capabilities during TechFest 2012.

“The best fun was seeing tons of Microsoft employees realize how fun it is,” he smiles. “Explaining it to them didn’t make too much sense. You have to experience it.”

Project Information URL: http://blogs.technet.com/b/inside_microsoft_research/archive/2012/08/07/kin-202-tre-animation-whimsy.aspx

KinÊtre - Animating the World with the Human Body

When I first saw the KinÊtre project from Microsoft Research I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it – a novel use for Kinect yes, but what would it be used for other than some fun? And then I thought about my childhood watching cartoons with inanimate objects, animated to behave like humans.

KinÊtre is being presented at SIGGRAPH 2012 this week in Los Angeles. A project from Microsoft Research in the UK, it uses the capabilities of Kinect for Windows to map your virtual limbs to the geometry of a variety of household objects such as a chair or lamp. After scanning a physical objects using KinectFusion (another project from Microsoft Research in Cambridge, England) a 3D mesh of that object is created. A spoken command (possess) attaches your limbs (virtually) where they overlap with the mesh and the virtual object then follows your movements. This is far easier to understand by simply watching the video above.

KinÊtre isn’t targeted at professional animators but for those with zero experience in the field of animation, it’s a fun tool and another demonstration of how our own researchers are continuing to push the boundaries with Kinect – and advance the state of the art in graphical-based technologies.

Project Information URL: http://blogs.technet.com/b/next/archive/2012/08/07/kin-202-tre-animating-the-world-with-the-human-body.aspx

Body controlled PC's  [04:11]

The OUTLOOK is good!  [14:28]

Win8 RTM and a very busy week...   [10:28]

Paid app submissions now open

Speech Recognition taken to the next level  [02:20]

Office 13 gets social   [12:05]

Microsoft gets REAL   [17:07]

Easter Egg or obscenity?      [06:39]

Tell us about your background and how you came to work at Microsoft?

I was an Electrical Engineering undergraduate at Virginia Tech, one day I walked past a flyer for a Microsoft scholarship contest. I applied, interviewed, and got the scholarship. As part of the package, Microsoft offered to fly me to Seattle for internship interview...I said "sweet free trip to Seattle"! After that I did 3 internships with Microsoft, loving every summer. The first one I worked on Natural Language Processing in Microsoft Office, the second one is when I developed the SideWinder 3D pro (the first commercial gaming device to inertial sensors), and the 3rd one I worked on a smart remote (it also shipped). 

What surprised you about working at Microsoft?

The vibrant culture, youth, energy, excitement, and its massive impact. It was a big company with a campus college feel to it.

What was your first computer?

Atari 130XE and the Acorn Electron... yay baby! J

If you were graduating right now, what technologies and industries would you be drawn to?

The same I went to graduate school for at the UW: BioEngineering... a revolution in the making. My job at Microsoft is interface technology with people, I view that on the spectrum of Bioengineering... As I evolve in my career here I think computing will be moving closer to the Bio end.

Who are some of your favorite people to follow on Twitter?

Changes... I jump on tweeter from time to time to read and understand people's thoughts on various events.. it is really insightful.

What are some of your favorite sites to read?

No one in particular... I look at more aggregation portals like search engines than specific sites.

What does the Applied Sciences Group at Microsoft Research do?

We help understand what is next for certain products groups and then help translate that into a products. We go from research to development and back. "The Applied Sciences Group (ASG) is an applied research and development team dedicated to creating the next generation of computer interaction technologies. The interdisciplinary group focuses on the synergy between optics, electronics and software to create novel human computer interfaces. The ASG mainly supports projects for next generation computing and interface hardware for various divisions at Microsoft." We live in the world between pure research and product development, we don't do research for the sake of research but rather to develop a new technology that enables a new experience which can have impact to Microsoft's product offering or influence the offering itself. Our impact can range from creation of defensible intellectual property, features of a product, a new product, or a whole new business. We sit and work very closely with the product groups, understanding the challenges. When it comes time to technology transfer we work side by side as one team to help cross new technology development chasm. We are neither researchers or engineers, but both, with a strong passion of making a difference in the world be creating new experiences that matter.  I love this model of invention as I see it as the new breed of corporate innovation, but I am biased J

I couldn't help but notice that Batman's R&D group is also named the Applied Sciences Group. Coincidence?

Not at all

What technologies are we on the edge of that you're most excited about?

The evolution of human interface technologies, display and sensing technology is a hot bed! Getting more data from the world and then using sophisticated software to understand that data and do something magical with it... Then turn around and communicate with  the user to immersive them as seamless as possible the information that needs to get communicated.

As the first person to integrate an accelerometer in a gaming device, you recognized early on the importance of motion detection in devices. tell us about the importance of sensors and how they are changing how we use computers. What's next?

The more the computer understands about the user and its environment, the smarter it can be and the more natural of an experience it can provide. More of that...

The role of displays are widening; on one hand we are moving to incredibly high DPI screens, on the other hand we're seeing a trend of projecting onto varied surfaces including our own body. What do you see in the future for display technologies?

I see low power being a huge trend. Today display consume 40% of the battery of a mobile or laptop device... this is a huge opportunity to extend the life of your device and make it thinner and lighter. I also see displays becoming more and more immersive—smart displays—like the one we show where two or more people can be watching the same display but looking at different content.

You have a history of connecting living things to machines, whether through the cockroach car, mothmobile, or your NUI work at Microsoft. What is the connection between man and machine look like in the future, and what benefits does it afford society?

One of the traits that separates us from other creatures is the ability to invent tools that can be used to reciprocally advance ourselves. The more seamless the interface between the tool and the mind, the more powerful the tool becomes, and the more intertwined the tool becomes with the fabric of humanity. This evolution has no ceiling but the current limits of imagination.

3D has wavered on the edge of public embrace for 50 years, but still hasn't taken firm hold. What needs to happen in this space for 3D technologies to be a part of our daily lives?

Many things for it to be ubiquitous: from the hardware needs to be better (no glasses), software infrastructure, more available content, more content creation, and content delivery... Eventually 3D will happen, else what is the point of having two eyes  

How did you get into technology?

As a child, I remember playing a few computer games and I had fun writing complex programs using LOGO, but it was my brother who was in love with computers.  I had limited interest in them.  Then, frustrated that my brother's computer was taking up the phone line by making weird sounds, I marched into his room and demanded to know what he was doing.  He showed me Usenet and IRC.  Computers became much more interesting to me once I realized that they were made out of people.

What was your first computer? 

An Apple Macintosh.

Tell us how you came to work at Microsoft?

I actually interviewed at Microsoft after finishing every degree.  When I finished my bachelor's in computer science, I was given a job offer at Microsoft to work on Passport.  Instead, I chose to go to MIT.  After I finished my master's, I thought I was done with school, but the Microsoft recruiter told me that she thought I belonged in graduate school and should come back to Microsoft to work in Research when I was done with my PhD.  I didn't plan on doing my PhD, but six months later, I ended up back in graduate school. 

As I was finishing my PhD, I decided that I didn't want to go on the job market.  I was planning on taking a postdoc in order to focus on new research before looking at faculty jobs.  During a trip to Seattle, I got a phone call from Linda Stone (former VP at MSFT) who knew I was in Seattle because of Dopplr.  She told me that I should come to dinner.  There, she introduced me to Jennifer Chayes and Christian Borgs - who were starting the new lab at the time - and told them that they should hire me.  I laughed at Linda and told them all that I was not on the job market.  Yet, I immediately clicked with Jennifer and Christian and they convinced me to come interview. 

I've always adored Microsoft Research.  It's reputation is phenomenal in computer science worlds.  And I realized that there was the potential of making that true in the social sciences as well.

What surprised you about working at Microsoft?

I'm consistently amazed at the support that I receive and the freedom that I have to continue doing my research. I fall in love with Rick Rashid and Jennifer Chayes on a daily basis. 

Tell us about what you consider "networked publics". 

Networked publics are publics that are restructured by networked technologies. As such, they are simultaneously (1) the space constructed through networked technologies and (2) the imagined community that emerges as a result of the intersection of people, technology, and practice.

What are some of the events in social networking that stand out to you as most interesting?

I realize why the "big" stories are most interesting to others, but I'm a social scientist.  I'm most in love with the small things, the everyday, the mundane, the sad. 

For example, I've been spending the week reading about Ashley Billasano who tweeted her story before she committed suicide.  It's a heartwrenching story where she highlights how the system failed her.  She told her story - publicly - because no one else would listen to her.  This story kills me. 

The internet mirrors and magnifies everyday life.  It reveals the good, bad, and ugly of what happens all around us.  That's what I find most interesting.

One of the bigger changes is that news is increasingly starting with Twitter and expanding virally. What advice can you give a newsroom to benefit from social media and not be duped by a hoax? 

Fact-checking is more important today than ever before.  It's also the case that people want to control their own stories.  Historically, we needed intermediaries to publicize our words.  Today, we have new possibilities of building our own audiences.  At the same time, we need investigative reporting more now than ever before. 

How has worldwide social connections changed 'growing up'? 

While there's the possibility of connecting to anyone, most young people actually communicate with the people that they know from school, afterschool activities, religious institutions, summer camp, etc.  The technologies are powerful, but they aren't connecting people in the ways that you might imagine.

What do you think is a good age for youths to start using social networking? 

This is a family decision.  It all depends on what's appropriate for the individual child.  As with everything, maturity is not a magical process that happens at a distinct age.

What advice would you give adolescents who are eager to start using social networks?

Whenever you share on social media, you're always navigating multiple audiences.  You aren't just talking to your friends; you're also talking to your grandmother, youth minister, and coach, even if they can't currently see what you're posting.  Think about how each message might get misinterpreted in unexpected ways and work hard to present yourself in a way that you're proud of.

What advice would you give parents whose children are eager to start using social networks? 

Digital parenting works best when there are open lines of communication.  Make sure that you're in constant conversation with your child about what she or he is doing.  Ask questions.  Recognize that your child often knows more about the technology than you do but that you have greater perspective.  Work to learn from each other.

Do you see a point in the future where two classes -- those who participate in social networks and those who don't -- have unequal opportunities?

Most folks love to highlight the democratizing potential of social media, but in fact, these technologies often reinforce existing inequalities and create new ones even as they break down existing barriers.  

For companies that have been slow to adopt social networking, what are the biggest benefits they may be missing and how do you suggest they start learning about this space?

The key to social media is to be authentic.  This doesn't mean try to be authentic or perform authentic-ness.  But actually be authentic.  Be a human, not a robot.  Sadly, most companies tend to treat it as another broadcast or publishing venue and there's no humanity to what their employees post. 

Who are some of the people you enjoy reading most on Twitter? 

My favorite people?  My close friends. 

What are some of your favorite sites? 

I'm actually really boring.  I'm a news junkie so I read multiple newspapers (online) each day.  And I go to Twitter every day.  But otherwise, it's more sporadic.  I really miss the days when I could just surf the internet but I sadly lack the time to be able to do that so I rely heavily on friends to send me fun things.

What is the last book you read and your favorite book of all time? 

Last fun book: "Ready Player One."  Soooo much fun!  Favorite book of all time: "Stone Butch Blues".

Simon and John have been friends for many years and studied mathematics together at Trinity College Cambridge. What were they like as young men? As students? What was Simon's issue with wearing shoes, anyway? It's always wonderful to learn about the humans behind the software, the science. This is classic C9. Yes, it's raining on us as we converse, but the view is spectacular with Sydney's Opera House behind us. It's funny how wet we were by the end of this interview, but the rain was refreshing—just like the conversation.

Thank you, Simon and John, for the great conversation, for being so comfortable in the rain, and for taking the random questions in stride. You're true gentlemen. Keep pushing the envelope!

Happy holidays from Channel 9 wherever you are and whatever, if anything, you're celebrating!

The YOW! Developer Conference offers outstanding opportunities to learn more about the latest practices, technologies, and methodologies for building innovative software solutions as well as the chance to meet and network with international software experts and other talented developers in Australia. Thanks to Dave Thomas and the event's excellent staff—Mary Catherine (MC), Lisa, Aino, Melissa, and others—for inviting me to this excellent pure developer event and thanks to all of the speakers for letting me take some of their time to record conversations for Channel 9. If you live in Australia, or aren't too far away, or just like to travel (who doesn't?), then you need to go to this yearly event. It's outstanding. There are many great developers down under. That's for sure. The speakers are exceptional—Dave and team set a high bar!

(Here's the video referenced at the beginning of this conversation.)

Simon's YOW! speaker page

Tune in. Enjoy. Learn.


The YOW! Developer Conference offers outstanding opportunities to learn more about the latest practices, technologies, and methodologies for building innovative software solutions as well as the chance to meet and network with international software experts and other talented developers in Australia. Thanks to Dave Thomas and the event's excellent staff - Mary Catherine (MC), Lisa, Aino, Melissa, and others - for inviting me to this excellent pure developer event and thanks to all of the speakers for letting me take some of their time to record conversations for Channel 9. If you live in Australia, or aren't too far away, or just like to travel (who doesn't?), then you need to go to this yearly event. It's outstanding. There are many great developers down under. That's for sure. The speakers are exceptional—Dave and team set a high bar!

Today's most widely used technology, by far, for static program verification is the ubiquitous type checker. Alas, static type systems inevitably exclude some good programs; and allow some bad ones.  Thus motivated, Simon describes some fun he has been having with Haskell, by making the type system more expressive without losing the benefits of automatic proof and compact expression.

About Simon Peyton Jones

Simon Peyton Jones, MA, MBCS, CEng, graduated from Trinity College Cambridge in 1980. After two years in industry, he spent seven years as a lecturer at University College London, and nine years as a professor at Glasgow University, before moving to Microsoft Research (Cambridge) in 1998.

His main research interest is in functional programming languages, their implementation, and their application. He has led a succession of research projects focused around the design and implementation of production-quality functional-language systems for both uniprocessors and parallel machines. He was a key contributor to the design of the now-standard functional language Haskell, and is the lead designer of the widely-used Glasgow Haskell Compiler (GHC). He has written two textbooks about the implementation of functional languages.

More generally, he is interested in language design, rich type systems, software component architectures, compiler technology, code generation, runtime systems, virtual machines, and garbage collection. He is particularly motivated by direct use of principled theory to practical language design and implementation -- that's one reason he loves functional programming so much. His home page is at

http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/people/simonpj

Haskell is now quite widely used, but its most important contributions are the ideas that it embodies. In this talk Simon focuses on one of these ideas, namely type classes, with a few anecdotes and reflections along the way about the process of developing the language.

Type classes are probably Haskell's most distinctive feature. The original idea is very neat and, better still, it led to a long series of subsequent generalizations and innovations. Indeed, although the language is now nineteen years old, Haskell's type system is still in a state of furious development. For example, Simon is involved in adding type-level functions to Haskell, as he briefly describes. 

Simon explains what type classes are, how they differ from the classes of mainstream object oriented languages, why he thinks they are so cool, and what the hot topics are. 

About Simon Peyton Jones

Simon Peyton Jones, MA, MBCS, CEng, graduated from Trinity College Cambridge in 1980. After two years in industry, he spent seven years as a lecturer at University College London, and nine years as a professor at Glasgow University, before moving to Microsoft Research (Cambridge) in 1998.

His main research interest is in functional programming languages, their implementation, and their application. He has led a succession of research projects focused around the design and implementation of production-quality functional-language systems for both uniprocessors and parallel machines. He was a key contributor to the design of the now-standard functional language Haskell, and is the lead designer of the widely-used Glasgow Haskell Compiler (GHC). He has written two textbooks about the implementation of functional languages.

More generally, he is interested in language design, rich type systems, software component architectures, compiler technology, code generation, runtime systems, virtual machines, and garbage collection. He is particularly motivated by direct use of principled theory to practical language design and implementation -- that's one reason he loves functional programming so much.
His home page is at

http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/people/simonpj

The Drawbridge library OS is an experimental Windows 7 library OS - a research project and proving ground for a larger concept: application virtualization and sandboxing. Drawbridge is capable of running the latest releases of major Windows applications such as Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Internet Explorer with very little overhead compared to the traditional virtualization techniques. The experiment is going well! Now, what's going on here, exactly?

Drawbridge research team members Galen Hunt, Reuben Olinsky and Jon Howell dig into some of the details, including project rationale and OS architecture, of research project Drawbridge.

Paper: http://research.microsoft.com/apps/pubs/default.aspx?id=141071

A driving route made just for you

PEGI rating for Windows Phone games

3D coming to Xbox 360

Headmounted 3D display

[My apologies for the poor lighting. The conversation, on the other hand, is very bright!]

In this video, Wolfram Schulte joins Victor to discuss the challenges of making concurrency easier for developers. One of the really interesting approaches that Victor and team are investigating is concurrency auto-tuning, and the example discussed here involve adding OS kernel-level support for auto-tuning user mode applications for manycore processor architectures. This is very fascinating research with great potential. Concurrency auto-tuner in an OS kernel? Concurrency-enlightened operating systems? Why not? Always great to meet young innovators with no fear of failure. I hope to see this type of thing materialize. Very interesting research and real world problem.  Go Victor. Go!

Thanks to Wolfram and Victor for another great conversation. Tune in.