Microsoft is releasing source code for two of its Web development technologies as a way to build a community around them. Do you anticipate taking advantage of Microsoft's web development source code? Contribute your comments below.  Microsoft's ASP.Net Web API and ASP.Net Web Pages projects will be released under an Apache 2.0 license. However, in a post titled, "When Pigs Fly," Network World writer Alan Shimmel says it's not the first time the Redmond software maker has released code under an Apache license, despite all the Microsoft-vs.-open-source machinations that have come before. The code will reside on Microsoft's CodePlex open source project site. InfoWorld explains that the ASP.Net Web API enables building HTTP services on the .NET framework for clients, including browsers and mobile devices. With ASP.Net web pages, developers can combine server code with HTML to build dynamic Web content. In a blog post, Scott Guthrie, corporate vice president in the Microsoft server and tools business, said:

[Releasing source code and hosting the projects on CodePlex] will enable a more open development model where everyone in the community will be able to engage and provide feedback on code check-ins, bug fixes, and new feature development, and build and test the products on a daily basis using the most up-to-date version of the source code and tests.

Miguel de Icaza, founder of the Xamarin and Ximian companies, as well as the Mono and Gnome open-source projects, told eWEEK the most significant part of the announcement was that Microsoft will accept contributions from the community when updating the code. Microsoft plans to continue fully supporting the projects and shipping them as standalone products and as part of the Visual Studio IDE.