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NT 4.0 for Developers
Don't be suprised to see NT 4.0 blanket the landscape like a sudden snowstorm.
Bob Chronister
March 31, 1996
2 Min Read
Microsoft will be releasing updated versions of the Win32 SDK and DriverDeveloper's Kit (DDK) to reflect the changes for NT 4.0. Developers whosubscribe to Level 2 of the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) will be gettingbeta copies as part of their normal subscription. Microsoft will update the SDKto reflect new APIs in the core system and additional services such as theInternet Server API (ISAPI).
A survey of all new APIs would read like, well, the SDK documents, and wecertainly don't have room for all that here. However, I'd like to draw yourattention to one new system API, LoadUserProfile. The Service Control Managercalls this API before a service is started under a user account and sets up theprofile to have an HKEY_CURRENT_USER registry key. This API is importantbecause, although previous versions of NT let you run services as a particularuser, they don't give you access to the corresponding user area in the registry.Other API sets of notable interest include the following.
Cryptography API: CAPI gives developers several functions for encoding dataand messages to secure storage and transmission. You can encrypt and digitallysign data, and these functions also let you ensure data integrity. As is thecase with the TAPI architecture, separate components known as a cryptographicservice providers (CSP) perform the operations. Microsoft ships one CSP, RSABase Provider, with NT 4.0 and expects other providers soon.
Internet Client (Sweeper): While the server side of the Internet puzzlereceives of press coverage, you read relatively little about Microsoft'sclient-side tools. Loosely grouped into a collection of tools, code-namedSweeper, these client-side tools will eventually make it into the Win32 SDK.Sweeper lets developers build Internet-enabled applications easily by eitherintegrating them into the Internet Explorer or using the Sweeper servicesdirectly (for instance, to get current business information off the World WideWeb and feed it into an existing business application). Currently, Sweeperincludes the following bits and pieces.
Datapath properties with progress notification
URL Monikers
New OLE controls (OCX) specification, which handles downloadingself-registering OLE controls over the Internet. This is the mechanism thatcontrols will use that will be authored in the next major version of VB, whichis due out this year.
WININET.DLL, which is primarily an abstract layer on top of Windows Sockets(WinSock).
OLE Scripting and VB Script, which is a carefully tailored subset ofMicrosoft's Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) engine that currently ships inVB 4.0 and with several Microsoft Office applications.
Microsoft has been uncharacteristically open about its Internet developmentplans. If you want to know more, be sure to visit the company's Web site(www.microsoft.com). You can either drill down into the Internet area from theMicrosoft home page or use this URL:http://www.microsoft.com/intdev.
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