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Microsoft Debuts Enterprise Library 3.0

Enterprise Library 3.0 available as free download.

Microsoft in April released the shipping version of Enterprise Library 3.0 for .NET Framework. Designed for .NET Framework 2.0 and fully compatible with .NET Framework 3.0, the free download offers pre-built software application blocks to help developers streamline common enterprise dev tasks.

Tom Holland, product manager in the Microsoft Patterns & Practices Group, says this latest version will prove much less troublesome to deploy than earlier editions of Enterprise Library, which had to keep pace with major changes to the underlying .NET Framework.

"It's really just builds on what the two first major releases really provided. A lot of people are still wearing some scars, as we are ourselves, in the upgrade from Enterprise Library version 1 to version 2," says Holland.

New to Enterprise Library 3.0 is the Validation Application Block, which integrates with Windows Forms, ASP.NET or Windows Communication Foundation to provide data validation, and the Policy Injection Application Block, which Holland says "separates cross-cutting concerns from the core business logic."

Enterprise Library 3.0 also adds the ability to easily create custom application blocks. Also of interest is the Application Block Software Factory, which Holland says uses Guidance Packages or Guidance Automation to generate code in Visual Studio that conforms to a particular architectural style.

About the Author

Michael Desmond is an editor and writer for 1105 Media's Enterprise Computing Group.

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