U zadnjih dva-tri tjedna dogodilo se nekoliko važnih objava koje nikako da blognem. Pa evo sad ću ih sumirati u jednom postu:

1.) Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V RTM

Ovo je najfriškija vijest (petak 27.6), a vezana je uz virtualizaciju u Windows Server 2008. Kao što vjerojatno znate virtualizacijski dio WS2008 je malo kasnio u odnosu na službeno izdanje, a od petka je i Hyper-V u tzv. RTM (Realease To Manufacturing) fazi. Inače, Hyper-V je jedan od najočekivanijih novosti u WS2008 i proizveo je popriličnu količinu hypea unutar ITPro zajednice.

Više detalja:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2008/jun08/06-26hyperv.mspx?rss_fdn=Top%20Stories
Download (ide i kroz Windows Update): http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=F3AB3D4B-63C8-4424-A738-BADED34D24ED&displaylang=en

2.) .NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 Beta 1

.NET Framework 3.5 dobija svoj prvi service pack, a ovo je prva beta verzija. Service pack uključuje sljedeće novosti:

ASP.NET Dynamic Data, which provides a rich scaffolding framework that allows rapid data driven development without writing code, and a new addition to ASP.NET AJAX that provides support for managing browser history (back button support).

Core improvements to the common language runtime that include better layout of .NET Framework native images, opting out of strong-name verification for fully trusted assemblies, improved application startup performance, better generated code that improves end-to-end application execution time, and opting managed code to run in ASLR (Address Space Layout Randomization) mode if supported by the operating system.

Performance improvements to Windows Presentation Foundation, including a faster startup time and improved performance for Bitmap effects.

ClickOnce application publishers can decide to opt out of signing and hashing as appropriate for their scenarios, developers can programmatically install ClickOnce applications that display a customized branding, and ClickOnce error dialog boxes support links to application-specific support sites on the Web.

The Entity Framework is an evolution of the existing suite of ADO.NET data access technologies. The Entity Framework allows developers to program against relational databases in terms of application-specific domain models instead of the underlying database models.

LINQ to SQL includes new support for the new date and file stream capabilities in SQL Server 2008.

The ADO.NET Data Services Framework consists of a combination of patterns and libraries, which enable data to be exposed as a flexible REST (Representational State Transfer)-based data service that can be consumed by Web clients within a corporate network or across the Internet. The ADO.NET Data Services Framework makes data service creation over any data source. A conceptual view model of the underlying storage schema can easily be exposed through rich integration with the ADO.NET Entity Framework. Services created using the ADO.NET Data Services Framework, as well as compatible Windows Live (dev.live.com) services, can be easily accessed from any platform.

Windows Communication Foundation now makes the DataContract Serializer easier to use by providing improved interoperability support, enhancing the debugging experience in partial trust scenarios, and extending syndication protocol support for wider usage in Web 2.0 applications.

The .NET Framework Data Provider for SQL Server (SqlClient) adds new support for file stream and sparse column capabilities in SQL Server 2008.

Download: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=8C36ACA4-E947-4760-9B05-93CAC04C6F87&displaylang=en


3.) Silverlight 2 Beta 2

Dugočekivana druga verzija Microsoftove RIA platforme Silverlight ulazi u drugu betu. Silverlight 2 diže cijelu platformu na novi nivo uvodeći .NET programiranje za Silverlight. Beta 2 verzija donosi sljedeće novosti:

• UI Framework: Beta 2 includes improvements in animation support, error handling and reporting, automation and accessibility support, keyboard input support, and general performance.  This release also provides more compatibility between Silverlight and WPF.

• Rich Controls: Beta 2 includes a new templating model called Visual State Manager that allows for easier templating for controls. Other features include the introduction of TabControl, text wrapping and scrollbars for TextBox, and for DataGrid additions include Autosize, Reorder, Sort, performance increases and more.  Most controls are now in the runtime instead of packaged with the application.

• Networking Support: Beta 2 includes improved Cross Domain support and security enhancements, upload support for WebClient, and duplex communications (“push” from server to Silverlight client).

• Rich Base Class Library: Beta 2 includes improved threading abilities, LINQ-to-JSON, ADO.NET Data Services support, better support for SOAP, and various other improvements to make networking and data handling easier.

• Deep Zoom: Beta 2 introduces a new XML-based file format for Deep Zoom image tiles, as well as a new MultiScaleTileSource that enables existing tile databases to utilize Deep Zoom. Better, event driven notification for zoom/pan state is another improvement in Silverlight 2 Beta 2. 

Više informacija: http://weblogs.asp.net/scottgu/archive/2008/06/06/silverlight-2-beta2-released.aspx
Instalacija: http://www.microsoft.com/silverlight/resources/install.aspx?v=2.0


4.) SQL Server Release Candidate 0

SQL Server 2008 također se polako približava finalnom izdanju. Objavljena je tzv. "Release Candidate" verzija što znači da bi i SQL uskoro mogao u RTM fazu.

Najvažnije novosti u SQL Serveru 2008: http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/technologies.aspx
Download: http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/trial-software.aspx