Microsoft has extended its commitment towards open source development by joining the Linux Foundation as a platinum member.
The move from the closed source proprietary software company comes as a surprise for many, as former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer had called Linux and the open source community ‘a cancer’ 15 years ago.
As a platinum member, Microsoft will donate $500,000 annually to the advancement and open source development of several projects.
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open-source software development and distribution.
Other Platinum members of Linux Foundation include Cisco, Fujitsu, Huawei, IBM, HPE, Intel, NEC, Oracle, Qualcomm and Samsung.
Microsoft is already supporting several Linux Foundation projects, including Node.js Foundation, OpenDaylight, Open Container Initiative, R Consortium and Open API Initiative.
Microsoft Azure team architect John Gossman will now sit on the foundation’s board of directors and help underwrite projects.
Microsoft Cloud and Enterprise Group executive vice president Scott Guthrie said as a cloud platform firm, the company intends to help developers achieve more using the platforms and languages they know.
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Guthrie said: “The Linux Foundation is home not only to Linux, but many of the community’s most innovative open source projects. We are excited to join The Linux Foundation and partner with the community to help developers capitalize on the shift to intelligent cloud and mobile experiences.”
In an another surprise move, Google joined the technical steering group of the .NET Foundation, the independent non-profit that Microsoft established in 2014 to oversee the community around the .NET Programming Framework.
Samsung, already a member of the .NET Foundation, announced that it will release a preview of Visual Studio Tools for Tizen.
The move will allow developers to use the tools to build .NET apps for the Tizen operating system that runs on several Samsung TVs, wearables, mobile devices and many IoT devices globally.
At its annual Connect(); developer event, Microsoft also announced several new tools to help any developer create intelligent cloud and mobile apps.
Scott Guthrie, Executive Vice President – Cloud + Enterprise, speaking at Microsoft’s Connect 2016 Developer Event.
It demonstrated a preview of Visual Studio for Mac, which allows developers to write cloud, mobile and macOS apps on Apple’s Mac operating system using the popular development environment.
The tech giant also launched a preview of the next version of its SQL Server database with support for Linux, Linux-based Docker containers and Windows-based environments; and a preview of Azure App Service on Linux with support for containers.
