VS2008 SP1 Beta Adds Tools For Data-Driven Development
The release of the public betas of the first Visual Studio 2008 and .NET 3.5 Framework service packs last week is an important milestone for database developers looking to bring Microsoft's newest data access technologies into production.
As reported last week, the beta of the first .NET 3.5 service pack includes updates to the ADO.NET Entity Framework for mapping object and relational data and ADO.NET Data Services (formerly code-named Astoria), a framework for building on-premise REST-based data services, layered on top of Windows Communication Foundation (WCF).
The release of the beta also signifies that SP1 is on pace for summer release. Like many new releases that don't find their way into production until the first service pack is released, Microsoft's newest release of the .NET Framework and development toolset is no exception.
I spoke last week with Clint Wood, application manager for the water district, based in Brooksville, Fla., which has built a services oriented architecture (SOA) based on the .NET Framework 2.0 and Visual Studio 2005. While the goal is to move to VS2008 and the version 3.5 framework, no way will they even consider the move until SP1 is out and validated, according to Wood.
"We'll feel much better once that first service pack is out," Wood told me. "We really can't afford to get knocked out of the water because we are waiting for bug fixes."
Presuming the service pack is released this summer as scheduled, the water district plans to start transitioning its .NET development to the new release in the October-to-November time frame, Wood says.
Posted by Jeffrey Schwartz on 05/21/2008