Abstract: Embodiments are directed to providing an application model to deploy and manage composite applications and to providing model-driven software coding assistance. In an embodiment, a computer system instantiates an application design interface that is configured to display composite application components and relationships between the components. Each component includes information specifying how communication is to be conducted with the component. The computer system accesses an application manifest that includes the components and component relationships of the application. The computer system displays the composite application's components and component relationships in the instantiated visual application design interface according to the application manifest.

Abstract: The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for assigning type parameters. Embodiments of the invention permit using a visual editor to edit arbitrary object instances in a graphical fashion. Instances of generic types can be manipulated to change the type parameters for that generic (to be able to change a List<Customer> to a List<Product>, for instance). Values are preserved and data can be patched to other dependent nodes in an object hierarchy.

Abstract: Debugging an executing process. A method includes accessing a unique key that is common to two or more different representations of a same function in the process. A runtime for the executing process is annotated with the unique key. The method further includes detecting that the function is executing. The unique key is used to provide an indication in one or more of the two or more different representations that the function is executing.

Abstract: The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for visually processing instance data. A visual placeholder for a data instance is provided as part of the design experience. A runtime configurable metadata store is provided to maintain the mappings between types and designers. Thus, configurations can be altered at the runtime of the control, rather than a fixed set of potential templates being provided at design time. Item presenters render contained data instances of a type using a designer specified in the metadata store. Item presenters can be used when a data instance is exposed as a property on the containing type. As such, property values can be visually moved to and from other properties, potentially within multiple owning objects.

Abstract: Embodiments are directed to providing an application model to deploy and manage composite applications and to providing model-driven software coding assistance. In an embodiment, a computer system instantiates an application design interface that is configured to display composite application components and relationships between the components. Each component includes information specifying how communication is to be conducted with the component. The computer system accesses an application manifest that includes the components and component relationships of the application. The computer system displays the composite application's components and component relationships in the instantiated visual application design interface according to the application manifest.

Abstract: The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for visually manipulating instance collections. Items presenters present data collections along with custom designers for each data element in the data collections. The customer designers also permit data elements in the collection to be edited in situ. Items presenters maintain data elements in a position aware fashion. Thus, data elements can be inserted into (potentially at a specified location) and deleted from an items presenter to corresponding add and delete the data elements from a data collection. Data elements can be visually moved from an items presenter in one root user interface to an items presenter in another root user interface to corresponding move the data elements between corresponding data collections.

Abstract: The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for assigning type parameters. Embodiments of the invention permit using a visual editor to edit arbitrary object instances in a graphical fashion. Instances of generic types can be manipulated to change the type parameters for that generic (to be able to change a List<Customer> to a List<Product>, for instance).

Abstract: Debugging an executing process. A method includes accessing a unique key that is common to two or more different representations of a same function in the process. A runtime for the executing process is annotated with the unique key. The method further includes detecting that the function is executing. The unique key is used to provide an indication in one or more of the two or more different representations that the function is executing.

Abstract: The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for visually processing instance data. A visual placeholder for a data instance is provided as part of the design experience. A runtime configurable metadata store is provided to maintain the mappings between types and designers. Thus, configurations can be altered at the runtime of the control, rather than a fixed set of potential templates being provided at design time. Item presenters render contained data instances of a type using a designer specified in the metadata store. Item presenters can be used when a data instance is exposed as a property on the containing type. As such, property values can be visually moved to and from other properties, potentially within multiple owning objects.

Abstract: The present invention extends to methods, systems, and computer program products for visually manipulating instance collections. Items presenters present data collections along with custom designers for each data element in the data collections. The customer designers also permit data elements in the collection to be edited in situ. Items presenters maintain data elements in a position aware fashion. Thus, data elements can be inserted into (potentially at a specified location) and deleted from an items presenter to corresponding add and delete the data elements from a data collection.