WinFX renamed to .NET Framework 3.0

As expected, WinFX has now officially been renamed to .NET Framework 3.0. It contains the same lovely ingredients as its previous incarnation: WPF, WCF, WWF and now also WCS (Windows CardSpaces, previously known as InfoCard).

However, don’t forget that the .NET Framework 2.0 is still lurking beneath all this. This means that .NET 3.0 does not replace .NET 2.0 or the CLR. In fact, .NET 3.0 relies on .NET 2.0 to provide the runtime environment for the application. Thus, a more appropriate name could have been “.NET 2.0 Extensions”, “.NET 2.0 +” or just about anything else than “.NET 3.0″. Confused yet?

Microsoft has a wonderful tradition of confusing developers with their naming choices (ActiveX, anyone?), and this must be one of the worst I’ve seen in a while.

Head over to the official site for extended information, and why not subscribe to the NetFx3 news feed.

Update: Get ready for… .NET 3.5! I wish I could say it was a joke, but it isn’t.