Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 and “Dublin”

Microsoft has announced via Steven Martin’s blog significant improvements to Microsoft’s existing Windows Server capabilities in the form of enhancements to both the .NET Framework and extensions to the application server role, codenamed “Dublin”. Microsoft disclosed a set of new enhancements coming in .NET Framework and Windows Server, including key enhancements to Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) and Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) in the .NET Framework 4.0 release and an enhanced set of application server capabilities in Windows Server codenamed “Dublin.” Windows Communication Foundation 4.0:  Microsoft is adding new capabilities to WCF to further simplify the creation of RESTful services, including REST Singleton & Collection Services, ATOM Feed and Publishing Protocol Services, and support for an HTTP Plain XML Service.  Additional messaging and correlation enhancements enable customers to work with the most recent transports and protocols.  By further extending WCF to enable seamless integration between WF and WCF and enabling a unified XAML model, developers can build an entire application in declarative XAML code from presentation to data to services to workflow. Windows Workflow Foundation 4.0: Applications built using WF will realize significant improvements in performance (on the order of ten-fold performance enhancements) and scalability.  There are also new workflow models and pre-built activities (PowerShell, messaging, etc.). An updated visual designer will be easier to use by developers to use and be easier to rehost by ISVs. “Dublin”: This consists of a set of enhancements to Windows Server application server capabilities that – when combined with WCF/WF 4.0 –represent a major step forward for our application server. “Dublin” will offer greater scalability and easier manageability, and will extend Internet Information Services (IIS) to provide a standard host for applications that use workflow or communications.  Taken together, these enhancements will extend the power of Microsoft’s application server and simplify the development, deployment, configuration, management, and scalability of composite applications.  Microsoft will be providing a first CTP of these technologies at PDC, and encourage customers and partners to take the opportunity to evaluate and provide feedback on these new capabilities.  Microsoft will also be releasing some of the REST enhancements separately via Codeplex to allow for early trial and adoption via our WCF REST Starter Kit. For more information go to:  Steven Martin Blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/stevemar/default.aspx Overview of WF 4.0, WCF 4.0, and Windows Server “Dublin”