Microsoft began their crusade to attract web developers with the WebMatrix project in 2003. In 2007 they reintroduced WebMatrix, and today they made the first beta of the latest version available for download.
Corporate Vice President of Microsoft’s .Net Developer Platform, Scott Guthrie, showed off a few of the tools that make up the WebMatrix suite last week. Tools include a light version of Microsoft IIS, known as IIS Express, SQL Server Compact Edition, and a new option which enables developers to embed Visual Basic or C# within HTML documents.
Microsoft considers WebMatrix to be a lightweight web development tool, however it integrates with the company’s open source Web Gallery, includes samples, documentation and a reference tool for locating hosting partners.
