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Microsoft Codenames List

Daniel — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 17:24:00 +0000

Codenames are used to refer to products before their final release. Since many of these products, particularly new versions of Windows, are of major significance to the IT community, codenames are often widely used in discussions prior to the official release. Microsoft generally does not announce a final name until shortly before the product is finished, although it is usually possible to speculate (“Memphis”, for instance, was expected to be “Windows 97″, but was delayed).

MS-DOS
Newdos [1]	MS-DOS 4.1
Lifeboat [2]	Improved version of DOS 4.0, never finished
Jetski [2]	Improved version of DOS 4.0, became MS-DOS 5.0
Astro [3] [4] [4.1]	A feature upgrade to MS-DOS 5.0a, became MS-DOS 6.0
Elroy [5a]	MS-DOS 6.1
Elroy [5b]	MS-DOS 6.2
Bambi [6]	SmartDrive
Evanston [7], Chico [8], Felix [9]	MS-DOS 7.0
Windows
Windows	Windows 1.0
Windows 286	Windows 2.0
Captian [10a]	Early efforts to combine DOS and Windows
Slick [10a] [10b]	Combined DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.1 install, became Janus
Janus [4.1]	Combined DOS 5.0a and Windows 3.1 install, became Jastro
Jastro [10c] [10d]	Non-Upgrade combined DOS/Windows setup (Setup installs MS-DOS 6.0 first and then Windows 3.1)
Janus	Windows 3.1
Windows 3.1a [10e]	“Stop-ship” type bug fix release of Windows 3.1 (planned about rc1-rc3), became Windows 3.11
Winball [10e]	Networking for Windows, became Sparta
Kato, Sparta	Windows for Workgroups 3.1
Snowball	Windows for Workgroups 3.11
Gryphon, Haiku [10.1]	Modular Windows
AVI [10.1]	Video for Windows
Foghorn [10.1]	Windows Sound System
Jumbo [10.1]	Windows Printing
Jaguar [4] [4.1] [12c]	Chicago kernel (real-mode DOS)
Cougar [4.1] [10e] [12a] [12b] [12c]	32-bit protected-mode kernel which runs on top of Jaguar
Panther [4.1]	Subsystem which provides API support for 16 and 32-bit Windows applications
Rover [4.1]	Windows for Mobile Computing: a direct derivative of the Cougar and Panther projects outlined above with Windows API support, never released
Windows 4.0 [11]	Very early codename for Windows 95 (around 1990)
Windows 93 [10e] [12b]	Very early codename for Windows 95 (around 1992), became Chicago
Chicago	Windows 95
Cleveland [13a] [13b] [13c] [15a]	Planned successor of Chicago, became Nashville
Nashville	Windows 96, Merge Internet and Desktop together Project, Active Desktop
Frosting	Plus! for Windows 95
Detroit	Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2 (OSR2)
ChiCairo [14a] [14b]	Early codename for Windows 98, when Memphis NT was still planned as a successor of Cairo
London [14a] [14b]	OLE-2 Based Shell and environment on top of Chicago (became Memphis later)
Memphis	Windows 98
Dolly	Windows 98 OEM/Corporate image cloning utility
Millennium	Windows Millennium Edition
Tiger	Microsoft NetShow
NTOS	Windows NT Kernel, “David Cutler’s NT”
NT OS/2	Windows NT 3.1
NT 1.0	Preliminary name for Windows NT 3.1
Daytona	Windows NT 3.5
Cleveland	Planned successor of Daytona
Newshell	Shell Update Release for Windows NT 3.51
Cairo	Planned successor of Daytona, Windows NT 4.0
Impala	Windows NT 4.0 Embedded
Hydra	Windows Terminal Server
Wolfpack	Microsoft Cluster Server
Catapult	Microsoft Proxy Server
Sam	Microsoft BackOffice Small Business Server 4.0
Horton	Microsoft BackOffice Small Business Server 4.5
Memphis NT [15a] [15b]	Very early codename for Windows 2000 (around 1995/96)
NT 5.0	Windows 2000
Janus	Windows 2000 64-bit
Asteroid	Windows 2000 Service Pack 1
Comet [15.1]	A collection of networking updates for Windows 2000
W2KSRP	Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 Update Rollup
Neptune	Planned Windows 2000 successor (minor update, NT 5.50), merged into Whistler
Triton [16]	Planned Neptune Service Pack 1
Odyssey [17]	Planned Neptune successor (major update, NT 6.0)
Whistler	Windows XP
Sundown	Windows XP 64-bit
Anvil, x64 Client	Windows XP Professional x64 Edition
Trainyard	Windows XP Service Pack 1
Springboard	Windows XP Service Pack 2
Mantis	Windows XP Embedded
Chinook	Windows Embedded for Point of Service
Mönch, Eiger	Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs
Creekside	Windows XP Starter Edition
Mira/Lone Star	Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
Vex	Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005
eHome	Windows XP Media Center Edition
Freestyle	Windows XP Media Center Edition 2003
Harmony	Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004
Symphony	Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
Emerald	Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 Update Rollup 2
Lime	Plus! Digital Media Edition
Whistler Server	Early codename for Windows Server 2003
.NET Server	Windows Server 2003
Hammer	Windows.NET Server x86-64
Blade Server	Windows Server 2003 Web Edition
R2	Windows Server 2003 R2
Bobcat	Windows Small Business Server 2003
Evergreen	Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 Service Pack 2
Thunderclap	Windows Storage Server 2003
Storm	Windows Storage Server 2003 R2
Plato	Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003
Q, Quattro	Windows Home Server
Update Release 1 (UR1)	Windows Home Server Power Pack 1 (PP1)
Snoqualmie	Windows Home Server Power Pack 2 (PP2)
Whistler+1 [18]	Early codename for Longhorn
Longhorn/Omega 13	Windows Vista
Excalibur	Planned Longhorn Media Center
Diamond	Windows Vista Media Center
Fiji	Windows Vista Media Center 2008
Quebec	Windows Embedded Standard 2009
Longhorn Server	Windows Server 2008
Cougar	Windows Small Business Server 2008
Centro	Windows Essential Business Server 2008
Viridian	Windows Hyper-V Server 2008
Socrates	Windows HPC Server 2008
Lima	Windows Server 2008 Foundation
Magni, Thor	Windows Storage Server 2008
Blackcomb, Vienna	Early codename for Windows 7
7	Windows 7
Quebec	Windows Embedded Standard 7 (formerly Windows Embedded Standard 2011)
Server 7	Windows Server 2008 R2
Hyper-V R2	Windows Hyper-V Server 2008 R2
Solution Server (?)	Windows MultiPoint Server 2010
WMS 2	Windows MultiPoint Server 2011
WHS ‘Vail’	Windows Home Server 2011
SBS ‘Aurora’	Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials
SBS ’7′	Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard
Breckenridge	Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials
Colorado	Vail/Aurora SDK/toolkit
8 [19a]	Windows 8
Server 8 [19b]	Windows Server 8
Jupiter	XAML layer to help facilitate creation/distribution of “immersive apps”
MoSH (modern shell)	New tile-based user interface for low-end-tablet-like devices
Wind	New dynamic 3D user interface for high-end systems (?)
Red Dog, Strata	Windows Azure
Windows CE
Pegasus	Windows CE 1.0
Pegasus Manager	H/PC Explorer
Alder	Windows CE 2.0
Axe	Windows CE 2.0 Embedded Toolkit
Mercury	Windows CE 2.0, Handheld PC 2.0
Gryphon	Windows CE 2.01, Palm PC 1.0
Apollo	Windows CE 2.01, Auto PC 1.0
Alder Enhancement Pack (EP)	Windows CE 2.10
Axe EP	Windows CE 2.10 Embedded Toolkit
Birch	Windows CE 2.11
Buzzsaw	Windows CE 2.11 Platform Builder
Jupiter	Windows CE 2.11, Handheld PC Professional (3.0)
Orion	Windows CE 2.11, Palm-Sized PC 1.1
Wyvern	Windows CE 2.11, Palm-Sized PC 1.2
Hermes	Windows CE 2.11 for Webphones
Birch SP2	Windows CE 2.12
Goldeneye	Windows CE 2.12, Auto PC 2.0
Cedar	Windows CE 3.0
Chainsaw	Windows CE 3.0 Platform Builder
Rapier	Windows Pocket PC 2000
Galileo	Windows Handheld PC 2000
Merlin	Windows Pocket PC 2002
Stinger	Windows Smartphone 2002
Talisker	Windows CE 4.0
Jameson	Windows CE 4.1
McKendric	Windows CE 4.2
Ozone	Windows Mobile 2003
Ozone update	Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition
Macallan	Windows CE 5.0
Tomatin	Windows CE 5.0 Networked Media Device (NMD) Feature Pack
Magneto	Windows Mobile 5.0
Crossbow	Windows Mobile 6.0
Cardhu, Yamazaki	Windows Embedded CE 6.0
Cashmere	Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R3
Photon	Windows Mobile 7 (cancelled)
Chelan	Windows Embedded Compact 7
Windows Phone 7 Series	Windows Phone 7
Metro	Windows Phone 7 UI
NoDo (No Donuts)	“Copy&Paste” update
Mango	Windows Phone 7.5
Tango	Interim release between Mango and Apollo
Apollo	Windows Phone 8, scheduled for 2012
Internet Explorer
O’Hare	Internet Explorer 1
Oxygen	Internet Explorer 3
Trident	MSHTML (layout engine for Internet Explorer 4.0+)
Nashville	Internet Explorer 4
Haley, Mars	Internet Explorer 5.5
Rincon	Internet Explorer 7
Teahapoo, IE.Next	Internet Explorer 8
Media Player
Quartz, ActiveMovie	DirectShow
ActiveMovie Player	Windows Media Player
Helix	Windows Media Player 8
Corona	Windows Media Player 9
Crescent	Windows Media Player 10
Polaris	Windows Media Player 11 for Windows XP
Aurora	Windows Media Player 11 for Windows Vista
Kestral	Windows Media Player for Pocket PC
Pyranha	Windows Media Player for Smartphone 2002
Changeling	Windows Media Player for Mac OS X
Artemis	Windows Media Format SDK
Zeus	Windows Media Format 9 SDK
Pegasus	Windows Media Video 9 Advanced Profile Encoder
Hercules	Windows Media Server .NET
Office
Office 9	Office 2000
Office 10	Office XP
Next Generation Office (NGO), Office .NET, Office 11	Office 2003
Avignon	Office Visio 2003
Vienna	Office Live Communications Server 2005
Live Server	Office Communications Server 2007
Office 12	Office 2007
Office 14	Office 2010
Office 15	Office 2012 (?)
Office 16	after next Office version
Visual Studio
Rainier	Visual Studio .NET (2002)
Everett	Visual Studio 2003
Venus	Visual Web Developer Express Edition
Whidbey	Visual Studio 2005
Orcas	Visual Studio 2008
Burton, Rosario	Visual Studio 2008 Team System
Hawaii, Dev10	Visual Studio 2010
?	Visual Studio 2012

Update 1 (Jan. 7, 2011): Added MoSH, Jupiter, Wind, No Donuts, Office 16
Update 2 (Jan. 21, 2011): Added Janus (DOS+Win3.1), Windows 3.1a, Winball, Panther, Rover, Windows 93; Updated Astro, Captain, Slick, Jastro, Jaguar, Cougar
Update 3 (Jan. 23, 2011): Added Comet
Update 4 (Aug. 13, 2011): Added Tango

A couple of Microsoft terms and acronyms explained.

Daniel — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:34:10 +0000

Here is a list with some common terms and acronyms used for pre-release builds of Windows, Updates or which are used during the development process of software.

BBT	Binary Profile Feedback Optimization framework (Basic Block Tools (BBT)): BBT is a suite of optimization tools designed to help reduce the working-set requirements for a Win32 application by applying advanced static analysis and code layout heuristics, and integrating profile data gathered from monitoring the program execution flow. In addition, BBT rearranges static data and resources sections for additional paging reduction. Another meaning for BBT is “Black Box Testing”.
BVT	Build Verification Test (often called smoke tests): A very small set of tests that check whether the app itself is worth even looking at. BVTs for Notepad would be something like “Launch, type a sentence, save, close”. A quote from a MS developer: If BVTs fail you don’t even want to sync your enlistment because things are so badly hosed just grabbing that version of the source might format your hard drive. The content of these tests is tightly controlled and doesn’t change very often.
CPP	Customer Preview Program
CTP	Community Technology Preview (first used for Vista build 5219 (Jan 05 CTP))
DNSRV	.NET (DotNet) Server (early name for Windows Server 2003)
EBS	Essential Business Server
EDW*	External Developer Workstation*
Escrow*	Builds which become milestones (usually RC or RTM), because they don’t have any serious bugs (“showstoppers”).
Exit Criteria	A set of tests that check whether important aspects of a particular feature work correctly. These are defined by the feature team and should be recorded in the spec. The name reflects their meaning: they must be passing completely in order to exit the milestone. Exit criteria for a program like Microsoft Paint would likely include tests that each of the tools in the toolbox function correctly in a few of the most common scenarios. These tests are completely under the control of the feature team.
FBL	Feature build lab, used during the development of Windows 7
FVT	Feature Verification Tests: Per-feature BVTs. A small set of tests that check whether a specific feature is worth even looking at. A program like Microsoft Visio might have separate FVTs for loading/saving, drawing and editing shapes, printing, and so on. FVTs are generally under the control of the feature team.
GA	General Availability: Describes the point where all necessary commercialization activities have been completed and the software has been made available to the general market either via the web or physical media.
GDR	General Distribution Release, used for Updates and Hotfixes. GDR packages contain only security and critical stability issue fixes.
HSBS	Home and Small Business Server (Team)
IDS*	Internal Developer Server*
IDW*	Internal Developer Workstation*
IDX*	Internal Developer Client/Server*
LCTP	Limited Community Technology Preview (used for a few very limited, nda-only preview programs)
LDR	Limited Distribution Release, used for Updates and Hotfixes. LDR packages contain “other” fixes that have not undergone as extensive testing, and resolve issues that only a fraction of the millions of Windows users might ever encounter.
MMS	Mid-Market Server (early name for Essential Business Server)
QFE	Quick Fix Engineering, other term for LDR.
QHSV	Q Home Server (early name for Windows Home Server)
RC	Release Candidate
RDP	Rapid Deployment Program (Launch Readiness: Accelerate adoption of Microsoft technologies. Develop public references to support marketing efforts.)
RTM	Release To Manufacturing: Used to indicate that the software has met a defined quality level and is ready for mass distribution either by electronic means or by physical media.
RTW	Release To Web: Identical to RTM except that no physical media are produced, uses the Internet for distribution.
SBS	Small Business Server
Self host	Builds that pass all Exit Criteria tests (and thus work well enough to be demoed and dogfooded). Means a build is ready for in-depth testing.
Self test	Builds that pass BVTs and FVTs (and so are usable for testing). Means is testable, the devs have run their set of initial tests.
Self toast	Builds that fail with BVTs (that is, your computer is toast if you install them).
Sign-off	Means QA (Quality Assurance) acknowledges that the feature/product can be shipped.
TAP	Technology Adoption Program (Product Readiness: Obtain deep-dive feedback, early and throughout the development cycle. Ensure new technology meets the needs of the marketplace.)
TP	Technical Preview
VBL	Virtual build lab, used during the development of Windows Vista after the “Longhorn reset”. VBLs replaced the Labs used during the development of Longhorn (and earlier NT-based versions).
WHS	Windows Home Server
WSSG	Windows Server Solutions Group
WSUS	Windows Server Update Services

*These acronyms/terms have been explaned here: What does IDS/IDW mean and what are Escrow builds?

If you have any corrections or anything to add, please let me know.

Parser

Daniel — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 23:26:48 +0000

Maybe you have seen one of these old Microsoft DOS and Windows 3.x setup information files (usually named setup.inf) already. Most of the software back then was distributed on floppy disks and the setup.inf has been used to advise the setup program which file is located on which floppy disk.
Many of the old operating systems available at MSDN or other places do not come on floppy disk images — all the setup files are just put into one archive or folder instead — which makes it very hard to recreate the setup floppys, because you would have to check the setup.inf for every file and sort them by hand which is a lot of work for 500+ files.

This is where Parser comes into play: It reads the setup information file and sorts the files for you.

How does it work?

Microsofts setup information files usually look like this (excerpt):

tutor = “wintutor.exe ”
NetSetup = FALSE
MouseDrv = TRUE
Version = “3.1.040″

; This is data needed by the MS-DOS half of setup so that it can copy the
; proper kernel and start Windows for the GUI portion of setup.
;
; ** MS-DOS documentation says that first byte of command line for 4a call
; ** should be space. ==> in execcmd RHS leave first space as it is now
[winexec]
execstd = “dosx.exe ”
execcmd = ” krnl286.exe /b /q:”
exechimem = “xmsmmgr.exe”
himemcmd = “”
Krnl386 = 2:krnl386.exe
Krnl286 = 2:krnl286.exe
dosx = 2:dosx.exe

; Names of the disks Setup can prompt for.
[disks]
1 =. ,”Microsoft Windows 3.1 disk #1″,disk1
2 =. ,”Microsoft Windows 3.1 disk #2″,disk2
3 =. ,”Microsoft Windows 3.1 disk #3″,disk3
4 =. ,”Microsoft Windows 3.1 disk #4″,disk4
5 =. ,”Microsoft Windows 3.1 disk #5″,disk5
6 =. ,”Microsoft Windows 3.1 disk #6″,disk6
7 =. ,”Microsoft Windows 3.1 disk #7″,disk7
8 =. ,”Microsoft Windows 3.1 disk #8″,disk8

[oemdisks]
Z =. ,”HP DeskJet Series v2.0 disk (z krabice s tiskárnou, nebo od HP)”,diskz

[user]
4:setup.ini, noupdate

[windows]
1:setup.hlp
1:install.com
1:setup.txt
1:win.src, Net
1:system.src, Net
1:winhelp.exe
2:control.hlp
2:GLOSSARY.HLP
3:WINHELP.HLP

[windows.system]
1:gdi.exe
2:user.exe
1:win.cnf
1:lzexpand.dll
2:ver.dll

Using regular expressions, Parser looks for every line in the file with matches with that pattern N:FILENAME.EXT (N is the number of the floppy disk on which the file has to be put to).
After scanning the setup.inf file, Parser creates folders for each floppy disk and moves the respective setup files into them. All you have to do after that process is putting the contents from each folder onto a disk image or floppy disk.

PARSER 1.1

Version history

v1.1 – 26/07/2009 – Minor bug fixes
v1.0 – 27/04/2009 – Initital release of Parser

Known issues

~~Parser does not support chars as floppy disk identifiers~~ fixed in version 1.1
Parser does not support paths containig spaces at this point