What is WinFS?

[jackslap]

Sorry forgot about that reguirement

[Hardryve]

Do you have a download link for it?

[Malisk]

I just found a slightly interesting piece of information from the microsoft.public.windows.developer.winfx.winfs newsgroup, post dated 2005-04-18. It touches on the current state of WinFS and what'll be in place of it in the RTM Longhorn until WinFS is done:

"Virtual Folders will take the place of WinFS until it is ready:

The latest build of Longhorn is engineered with a visualise and organise tool dubbed Virtual Folder. The tool, an advanced version of indexing in Windows XP and 2000, goes beyond search and allows users to view, store, index and retrieve graphical representations of their related application files that are neatly stacked and readily accessible from large graphical folders.

Virtual Folder is reminiscent of early UI builds of WinFS technology, but is based on original Cairo technology planned for NT and advanced indexing technology currently in Windows XP and 2000. WinFS is now planned for release beyond Longhorn"

The info should be much because of what Microsoft's Jim Allchin said in a recent interview.

[whonotu]

hi, does anybody know how winfs handles big files? does it have to handle them beeing an engine on top of ntfs? i'm a little bit confused...

[mr_demilord]

WINFS ain't a filesystem it's just a extra layer on top of NTFS nothing more nothing less.

[Jason]

WINFS ain't a filesystem it's just a extra layer on top of NTFS nothing more nothing less.

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You have no idea what it is from that remark.

[mr_demilord]

I guess you don't :laugh:

[whonotu]

yeep, you are right: WinFS aint no file system just data storage. got a lil confused cause some of the officals keep calling it a file system. buts it is more like google for the desktop (just another search engine)... dont yell at me i know it can do more than this...

in a few days ill show you what ive founf out (not finished yet)

[Jason]

I guess you don't  :laugh:

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Having been to various Microsoft conferences discussing things such as WinFS and following the progress of OFS which was part of the now defunct Cairo I think I do know what this is.

[Jason]

yeep, you are right: WinFS aint no file system just data storage. got a lil confused cause some of the officals keep calling it a file system. buts it is more like google for the desktop (just another search engine)... dont yell at me i know it can do more than this...

in a few days ill show you what ive founf out (not finished yet)

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Winfs is a unified datastore.

[Renshaw]

just wondering if it will search as you type as in OSX...then sort them by most relivent, and giving you a instent result

[y_notm]

just wondering if it will search as you type as in OSX...then sort them by most relivent, and giving you a instent result

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Longhorn has featured instant search/filtering technology in every build we've seen, even 5048. Just open an explorer window. I'd also expect, based on how MSN's WDS works, that there will be some kind of taskbar based search box that offers find-as-you-type.

[aristotle-dude]

Winfs is a unified datastore.

Jason, stop insulting other people and acting like you know better than they do. You spout the official buzzwords but you seem to have no clue about what it really is or how it is implimented. It is a layer on top of NTFS. All datastores exist as sets of files in the NTFS filesystem.

There is nothing magical about WinFS. On a conceptual level, it is really no different than the metadata (spotlight) database in HFS+ in Tiger. You are confusing implementation details with how it works. It really does now matter what format the data is stored in.

[The Rev]

Umm ya.... WinFS is now officially a lost project

[Evolution]

It's not a "lost" project, they're still developing the technology, it just won't be made available as an independent product i.e. for Vista. I think they're integrating it into the SQL server product line :/

[xUnix]

It's not a "lost" project, they're still developing the technology, it just won't be made available as an independent product i.e. for Vista. I think they're integrating it into the SQL server product line :/

god knows when it will be release!!! :no:

[Ci7]

winFS .,, 8 years later.............

god knows when it will be release!!! :no:

it basically vaporized into other products

after all the years. muhahahaha!!!

[Arkaic]

winFS .,, 8 years later.............

it basically vaporized into other products

after all the years. muhahahaha!!!

why was this thread resurrected? seriously?

[Rudy]

This thread should be locked and unpinned :/

[Sranshaft]

Somebody be using zombie powerz.

[switch6]

Hello everyone, I am using my powers to re-resurrect this thread from the grave. Does anyone think Microsoft will bring back Win-FS in Windows 10? Maybe as an add-on? I kind of wish there was some movement on this over the past 10 or so years since it was first announced...

 

Edit: I'm not sorry for resurrecting this thread.

[Ian W]

Does anyone think Microsoft will bring back Win-FS in Windows 10? Maybe as an add-on?

One would have a better chance wishing upon a star.

I also don't think you will find many ardent supporters of "WinFS" on this site. I have previously tried to discuss its benefits before

[i4mt3hwin]

Most if not all the benefits of WinFS have already been included in the OS in varying ways. 

[Ian W]

Does anyone think Microsoft will bring back Win-FS in Windows 10? Maybe as an add-on? I kind of wish there was some movement on this over the past 10 or so years since it was first announced...

I think you will be happy to know, switch6, that functionality similar to what was intended for "WinFS" has made its way to Cortana.

[redfish]

Most if not all the benefits of WinFS have already been included in the OS in varying ways. 

 

Well, the thing I was most excited about was the self-descriptive metadata system, which really isn't in the OS. Its also a difficult thing to implement, because even if they put it in, it would be hard to transfer a file from a Windows machine to a Linux machine and keep the metadata intact.

 

But it would have been exciting if they could have got it done.