Enterprise Library 3.0 – April 2007 Released

The Enterprise Library application blocks help address the common problems that developers face from one project to the next. They are designed to encapsulate the Microsoft recommended best practices for .NET applications. In addition, they can be added to .NET applications quickly and easily. For example, the Data Access Application Block provides access to the most frequently used features of ADO.NET 2.0 in simple-to-use classes, thus boosting developer productivity. It also addresses scenarios not directly supported by the underlying class libraries

This release of Enterprise Library includes two new application blocks (the Validation Application Block and the Policy Injection Application Block), two guidance packages, and a configuration editor that is integrated with Visual Studio. There are also additions in functionality to the Data Access Application Block and to the Logging Application Block. The highlights of the new release include:

• Validation Application Block. Allows you to centrally define validation rules using configuration or attributes, and easily validate data from anywhere in your application, including deep integration with Windows Forms, ASP.NET and WCF.       
• Policy Injection Application Block. Provides an approach for separating cross-cutting concerns from business logic using declarative policies that are attached at runtime to methods on your objects. The block includes handlers that can call other Enterprise Library application blocks from policies, implementing functionality such as validation, authorization, exception handling, logging and caching. 
• Application Block Software Factory. Dramatically simplifies the process of building application blocks and providers through the magic of guidance automation. 
• Visual Studio-integrated Configuration Editor. Edit Enterprise Library configuration files directly within Visual Studio.
• Environmental Overrides. Use the configuration tool to specify configuration settings that are common or different across multiple deployment environments, and merge this information into configuration files to be deployed with your applications.
• WCF Integration. Easily integrate the Logging, Exception Handling and Validation Application Blocks into service interfaces built using Windows Communication Foundation.
• Pre-compiled, strong-named binaries. No need to compile and strong name the code unless you want to manage and evolve the code yourself.

Enterprise Library 3.0 – April 2007 deliverable is available on MSDN at: http://msdn.microsoft.com/entlib