Free Web Tools Arrive En Masse from Microsoft
ASP.NET developers received an unexpected bundle of joy yesterday when Microsoft unleashed a slew of free Web development tooling. The common thread among the new products is support for .NET 4, Visual Studio 2010 and open source software.
Microsoft released the third generation of its model-view-control framework ASP.NET MVC 3. The latest framework adds the Razor view engine--a syntax template for embedding C# or VB within HTML. MVC3 also offers improvements in dependency injection, validation, JavaScript, output caching and other areas. The download is English-only; localized versions are expected in a few days, according to Microsoft.
SQL Server Compact Edition 4 is finally here. Unlike earlier releases, which are client-only, SQL CE 4 can be used in a Web server. The Visual Studio 2010 tooling support for SQL CE 4 is in SP1, which is currently in beta.
The timing of SQL CE 4 may bode well for Windows Phone 7 developers who are concerned about their lack of access to built-in data storage. Microsoft is expected to make announcements related to the Windows Phone 7 platform at the Mobile World Congress next month.
Several new tools are designed to streamline Web site development. Microsoft released the first version of WebMatrix, the Web site development suite that enables developers to use app templating or open source Web apps in conjunction with ASP.NET extensions, IIS Express 7.5, and SQL CE 4 (not yet supported by many of the open source apps) to quickly build sites and publish them via Windows hosting partners. The gallery of open source ASP.NET and PHP apps includes DotNetNuke, Drupal, SugarCRM, Kentico, Umbraco and WordPress, among others. IIS Express 7.5, the eventual replacement for ASP.NET Development Server within Visual Studio, which I blogged about earlier this week, is now available.
Microsoft also released the open source package manager NuGet, a Visual studio extension that enables developers to access and install open source .NET libraries from within the IDE. The NuGet Gallery, a beta Web site of hundreds of libraries, also went live this week. Developers can submit open source .NET libraries to the Gallery, according to Microsoft.
WebMatrix is described as a tool for "task-based" Web site development, but it still enables developers to write and customize code. Orchard 1.0, built on ASP.NET MVC3, Razor and SQL CE 4, is an open source CMS platform. Coding isn't required, but developers can use the extension model to build out their projects in Visual Studio.
Microsoft also updated its deployment tooling with the release of the second generation of Web Deploy (single server) and Web Farm Framework.
What's your take on Microsoft's efforts to improve its Web stack and support .NET developers' use of open source frameworks and libraries? Express your thoughts below or drop me a line at krichards@1105media.com.
Posted by Kathleen Richards on 01/14/2011 at 12:55 PM