.NET Framework 3.5 - Part 3: Extensions
In my previous post I spoke about some of the new features in 3.5. For ASP.NET, though, there is more goodness coming in the form of the ASP.NET 3.5 Extensions package. This package contains some interesting bits I want to highlight:
ASP.NET MVC: This model-view-controller (MVC) framework for ASP.NET provides a structured model that enables a clear separation of concerns within web applications. It also makes it easier to unit test your code and support a TDD workflow. It helps provide more control over the URLs you publish in your applications and over the HTML emitted from them.
ASP.NET Silverlight Support: With the ASP.NET 3.5 Extensions release, we’ll deliver support for easily integrating Silverlight within your ASP.NET applications. Included will be new controls that make it easy to integrate Silverlight video/media and interactive content within your sites.
ADO.NET Data Service (codename "Astoria"): In parallel with the ASP.NET Extensions release, we will also release the ADO.NET Entity Framework. This provides a modeling framework that enables developers to define a conceptual model of a database schema that closely aligns with a real-world view of the information. We will also be shipping a new set of data services (codename "Astoria") that make it easy to expose REST-based API endpoints from within your ASP.NET applications.
There are a few more, and Scott Guthrie’s post will be good to cover if you’re interested (all the info above is from him). Now, starting with Silverlight support—this is a no-brainer really. If your market is developers who want great tools, then making them edit HTML to get your new platform is a little tougher than it needs to be. The MVC is a nice thing if you believe the information on it (I haven’t used it yet myself), but it basically brings a lot of the CCF/CAB ideas to the web in an elegant way. Lastly, Astoria is a great technology (I almost built my own for a project, but beta 1 came out and saved me from that), which gets your data from within the black box of servers onto the web in a way it can be consumed by client applications easily. Obviously, performance doesn’t compare to ADO.NET directly, but if you don’t have access to the server, this is the way to share information.