Microsoft Reveals .Net Source Code; Microsoft will give developers a view into the source code but won't let them touch it.: [1]

Microsoft is willing to show its code but doesn't want anyone touching it.

Scott Guthrie, general manager of the Microsoft .Net Framework in Microsoft's Developer Division, said that based on customer and developer feedback, Microsoft is releasing the reference source code availability for the .Net Framework under the Microsoft Reference License to give developers the chance to understand more about the inner workings of the framework's source code.

Guthrie said the Microsoft Reference License allows viewing of source code, but not modification or redistribution. The source code will be downloadable and viewable by anyone who accepts the license agreement. Meanwhile, Microsoft, of Redmond, Wash., on Oct. 3 will also introduce a capability in Visual Studio 2008 to allow .Net developers who are debugging applications to debug not only into their own source code, but also .Net Framework source code using Visual Studio 2008.

The release of the .Net Framework reference source code falls under Microsoft's Shared Source Initiative, which encompasses a spectrum of source-code offerings, complementing the company's other activities around sharing source code.

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