SyncEXPERT

One of the key goals in the Sync Framework team has always been to try to build an open community around synchronization.  As many of you know, the Sync Framework has been built such that anyone can create providers to tie any end points together into a sync ecosystem.  Up until now, most of the providers (database, file system, feedsync) have come included within the Sync Framework and have been written by us here at Microsoft. I was especially pleased to read a post in one of our Sync forums by Hans Hinnekint who has started a new Codeplex site called File Synchronizer that has the purpose of creating a utility that will synchronize file folders using the Microsoft Sync Framework.  For those of you who do not already know, CodePlex is Microsoft’s open source project hosting web site.

In the future, I hope we will see more open source projects like this one that will enable new endpoints to be linked through synchronization and thanks to Hans for kicking of the process!

Liam Cavanagh

P.S. If you know of any other open source projects that have been started based on the Sync Framework, I would love to hear from you.

In this favorites sync sample, we will look at a simple provider that synchronizes favorites (maybe between different folders on a computer).  We will then extend that to producing and consuming FeedSync feeds, so that favorites can be easily synchronized between computers.

At first, creating a new provider and figuring out how to make it sync can be a little intimidating.  In order to help you through the process, we will walk through the creation of a simple provider that can sync between directories that contain Favorites.  We will start first with the metadata store that the provider will use, since considering how metadata will be stored is the first step a provider writer should take when writing a provider.  On top of this, we will build the provider, which will provide our actual sync capability.  Then, we will use this provider to produce and consume feeds so that we can share our favorites between computers.

At the recent MIX 2008 conference in Las Vegas, Neil Padgett presented the Microsoft Sync Framework.

This session is now online and in it you will learn:

• Why it is important to be able to take data offline. 
• How Microsoft Sync Framework can be used to used to take this content offline and how the open FeedSync protocl can be leveraged.
• How Microsoft Sync Framework can integrate sync into SQL Server Data Services to enable data to be synchronized to a highly scalable, on-demand data storage and query processing utility service.
• What is Project Codename “Astoria Offline” and what it promises for taking web services offline

The session is available in multiple formats including:

• Online Webcast
• Windows Media
• IPOD
• Zune

Don’t forget to catch us at TechEd 2008 and PDC 2008. 

Please visit our sync developer center to learn more about Microsoft Sync Framework.

Liam Cavanagh