.Net Framework 3.0

.Net Framework 3.0

With the introduction of .net framework 2.0, application development has seen a huge upside in terms of look and feel and security.

The .NET Framework 3.0 (formerly known as WinFX) released in late 2006. Applications built on this new version of the Framework can be created with Visual Studio 2005, making it feel familiar to most Windows developers.

But the .NET Framework 3.0 is also an evolution, adding more to what version 2.0 of the Framework already provides. Framework 3.0 will be available for Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP.

Most of the classes in the .NET Framework version 2.0 are unchanged in 3.0/3.5. The key differences for .NET 3.0 are new libraries that offer completely new sets of functionality.

 There are 4 major libraries in the .NET Framework 3.0, which are added to the existing 2.0 Framework libraries.

These 4 libraries are

1.       Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)

2.       Windows Communication Foundation (WCF)

3.       Windows Workflow Foundation (WF - had to drop one of the W's for legal reasons)

4.       Windows CardSpace

Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)

WPF gives you a way to differentiate your user experiences. We say UX rather than just UI, as we are talking about more than just a snappy interface. It's about a better user interaction with the application. WPF is also a better experience for developers that want cutting edge UI. Things like having a unified API mean you don't have to learn several APIs to blend media with documents and text, for example. Also, XAML provides a clean, declarative language to describe UI, and to offer designers and developers bridge to share content.

Windows Communication Foundation (WCF)

Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) is a framework for building service-oriented applications. WCF offers a way to do secure, reliable, transacted services using a variety of protocols and bindings.  

Find more details on implementing and using WCF service in my next article on WCF (Sample).

Windows Workflow Foundation (WF)

It is an engine for building applications with workflow. WF serves as the kernel of workflow, handling threading, persistence and other plumbing tasks. WF brings a consistent, component-oriented philosophy to workflow and is already at the core of Microsoft's business in products like SharePoint.

There are two types of workflows provided by WWF.

·         Sequential Workflow

·         State-machine workflow

WWF is made up of the following components:

·         Base Activity Library

·         Runtime Engine

·         Runtime Services

·         Hosts

Windows CardSpace (WS)

Windows CardSpace, originally code-named "InfoCard" is an approach towards representing each identity as a distinct information card.

CardSpace is a solution that lets you pass authentication information around via encrypted tokens rather than typing UID and PWD all over the place. By using visual cueing for recognition, and explicitly differentiating between the relying party and the identity provider, it offers a quick way to effectively authenticate using the WS-* standards. It has a simple, easy to use UI as well. It virtually eliminates phishing problems, and keeps you from having to memorize more and more passwords.

Recourse:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa479861.aspx