For developers, the software programming model is analogous to a tool box. Just as a carpenter keeps a box of tools for a variety of tasks, developers have a set of application programming interfaces, or APIs, that provide them with the different technologies they need to build various types of software applications.

With the upcoming release of Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows Vista, the company has been working to create a new programming model that can take advantage of Vista’s capabilities while maintaining compatibility with existing systems. Known as WinFX, the new programming model is designed to help developers create the next generation of “modern applications” that can support users in their everyday lives, whether at work, at home or on the go.

WinFX took another step toward general availability today at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in Seattle with the release of its Beta 2 version, along with the first “Go Live” license to incorporate all of WinFX’s major components — Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) and “InfoCard.”

To discuss what WinFX will mean for software developers around the world, Microsoft WinFX Product Manager Ami Vora spoke with PressPass about the programming model and the company’s vision of the modern application.