14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has made available for download a new release of .NET Framework 3.5. Windows Vista, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 are the operating systems supported by the Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 June 2007 Community Technology Preview (CTP). The CTP of .NET Framework 3.5 is just a 2.4 MB download that went live on June 2, 2007. Microsoft currently plans to launch the final version of .NET Framework 3.5 towards the end of 2007. The Redmond company informed that while the product will be made an integer part of Visual Studio 2008 it will also be delivered as a stand-alone download.
"Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 contains many new features that are compatible with both .NET Framework 2.0 and .NET Framework 3.0. .NET Framework 3.5 includes servicing for .NET Framework 2.0 and .NET Framework 3.0. .NET Framework 3.5 builds incrementally on the new features added in .NET Framework 3.0, for example, Windows Workflow Foundation (WF), Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and Windows CardSpace. In addition, .NET Framework 3.5 contains a number of new features in several technology areas. These new features have been added as new assemblies to avoid breaking changes," Microsoft revealed in the description of the download.
According to the Redmond company, users of previous testing builds of .NET Framework 3.5 should remove the installed variant before deploying the June CTP. Following the implementation of the new .NET Framework 3.5, users will be able to leverage ASP.NET AJAX in order to build advanced interactivity websites and customizable online experiences.
The update also introduces "new Web protocol support for building WCF services including AJAX, JSON, REST, POX, RSS, ATOM, and several new WS- standards; full tooling support for WF, WCF, and WPF, including the new workflow-enabled services technology and new classes in .NET Framework 3.5 base class library (BCL) address the most common customer requests," Microsoft added.