Enterprise Library News

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The world is turning and evolution of software is going on and on. It is time for another Enterprise Library Update. In the last few weeks an enormous amount of code has been produced by the Patterns & Practices Team. In case you did not download the Microsoft Enterprise Library for .NET 2.0 you should have a look into if you develop with ASP.NET serious web apps or
Enterprise Grade applications .
Here are the most important links regarding the deliverables of the Patterns and Practices Team of Microsoft:

Enterprise Library for .NET 2.0 Download and Patches (passport logon needed)
Smart Client Software Factory which uses Entlib, CAB GAT and GAX (Download).
Visual Studio Extensions to insert code templates via GAT (Guidance Automation Toolkit) and GAX (Download)
In case you have uninstall problems with the GAT/GAX you should consider downloading the MSI Installer Cleanup Utility (Download)

The stuff contained in these packages is a fine piece of well tested application blocks that represent the best industry practices for building Enterprise Grade applications with .NET 2.0.
Up to date information can be found at Tom Hollanders blog who will be glad (tell him that ;-)) to answer your questions. The most interesting posts are

Patch for Enterprise Library to work under partial trust (e.g. ASP.NET web apps will profit from this one).
July Community Drop of Web Service Software Factory where he does explain what this is all about.
What are GAT and GAX anyway?
Enterprise Library for .NET Framework 3.0 - what would you like to see?

Especially the last post of Tom has received a huge number of comments what we (the users of Entlib) would like to see in a future released targeting the .NET Framework 3.0. If you have ideas how you could improve the Enterprise Library or what additional application blocks you would like to see drop him a note. If you have problems installing GAT or GAX you should stop by at the Visual Studio Automation Toolkit forum to get help. My personal install experience with GAT/GAX was not pleasant at my home PC so far. I hope that I can get around this error without reinstalling VS 2005.

If you are a practicioning software architect you should definetely check out these new tools in your arsenal to create robust and extensible applications. The learning curve is high but we live in a complex world where many requirements want to be fullfilled. Java Script, AJAX and a SQL database is not the answer (at least in general) to all needs of Enterprise Grade software.