Office 2003 may offer end-users a host of new
productivity features, but Microsoft has admitted it faces a
struggle to move the developer community to the new platform,
writes Cliff Saran.
Office 2003 could offer an ideal technology platform for
embedding .net technologies. At the moment, most Office
applications are created using Visual Basic for Applications, the
software’s built-in scripting language. Ivo Salme, product manager
for .net develop tools at Microsoft, said, "We want to move VBA
developers forward."
However, the tools needed for this progression to .net are not
expected until the autumn, when Microsoft introduces Visual Studio
Tools for Office.
Salme said Microsoft would maintain backwards compatibility to
support existing VBA code, but it sees .net as the future.
"People’s investment in VBA will be maintained but we want to move
VBA applications on to the .net platform," he said.
By rewriting Office applications using .net, Salme said
developers would see "tangible benefits", including better support
for data access and improvements in the way data entry forms are
handled.