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Supporting Visual Studio 2005 extensions for .NET Framework 3.0 (WCF)...

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I don't think that 'support' should block anyone from using the extensions to adopt WCF, as any projects created using the extensions will continue to work with Orcas. The only difference is that Service references created using the extensions will be treated as normal folders that can no longer be updated. The project should compile and continue to work. The proxy class will be treated as any other code file. This should work because the .NET Framework 3.0 has been released and is fully supported in Orcas.

Only if the service is being modifed, would I recommend re-creating a Service reference in Orcas. This will help in managing the proxy class, as well as the configuration, as the service is updated.

To do this you should:
1. Delete the proxy code file for the Fidalgo Service Reference - OPTIONAL
2. Update the App.config file by removing the relevant ServiceModel sections - OPTIONAL
3. Add a Service reference to the service. If you didn't delete the proxy class/config, the conflicts should be resolved automatically.

Note:
- We cannot support the Visual Studio 2005 Extensions as they were only meant to be an early technology preview. They were our means to get tools out to the community quickly to help early adoption of the product. Therefore, longer term concerns were shelved in favor of getting the tools up to quality and out the door as fast as possible. They, consequently, do not meet the bar required for products that we plan to support longer term. The code, nevertheless, that the extensions generate for WCF on the 3.0 framework will definitely work on Orcas and is fully supported, as Orcas fully supports targeting the .NET Framework 3.0.

- We evaluated the costs of automatically migrating Fidalgo Service references (as a part of the upgrade wizard) in the Orcas timeframe against other features and decided that the costs/benefit vis-à-vis other features did not make the bar.

- Feb CTP will have the first drop of the new Orcas Service Reference features. The planned feature set in Feb CTP is far superior (quality-wise) to the features released in Fidalgo. I plan on releasing a list of the CTP features once we ship the Feb CTP. Unfortunately, I can’t recommend relying on the Feb CTP for production as we plan on changing .svcmap file (contains the information about the Service reference) in the future to accommodate new features planned in the following months. Therefore, it is not guaranteed that the Service reference (or even the project) can be upgraded between CTP, Betas, and RTM.

Ali