Microsoft codenames are the
codenames given by
Microsoft to products it has in development, before these products are given the names by which they appear on store shelves. Many of these products (new versions of
Windows in particular) are of major significance to the
IT community, and so the terms are often widely used in discussions prior to the official release. Microsoft usually does not announce a final name until shortly before the product is publicly available. It is not uncommon for Microsoft to reuse codenames a few years after a previous usage has been abandoned.