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Microsoft Enterprise Library 6 and Unity 3 Released

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What is Enterprise Library?

Microsoft Enterprise Library is a popular collection of reusable software components (called application blocks) designed to address common cross-cutting concerns of enterprise application developers (such as logging, validation, data access, exception handling, and more). Enterprise Library is provided as source code, test cases, and documentation that can be used "as is" or extended, and encapsulates the Microsoft recommended and proven practices for .NET application development.

Unity is one of the Enterprise Library application blocks which provides a lightweight, extensible dependency injection container with support for constructor, property, and method call injection, as well as support for instance and type interception. It facilitates building loosely coupled applications (including Windows Store apps).

Enterprise Library can be useful in a variety of situations:

  • Enterprise Library provides sufficient functionality to support many common cross-cutting scenarios that enterprise-level applications must address.
  • Enterprise Library can serve as the basis for a custom library. You can take advantage of the extensibility points incorporated in each application block and extend the application block by adding new providers. You can also modify the source code for the existing application blocks to incorporate new functionality, and even add new application blocks to Enterprise Library. You can either develop extensions for existing application blocks and new application blocks yourself, or you can use extensions and application blocks developed by others.
  • Enterprise Library is designed so that its application blocks can function independently of each other. You need to add only the application blocks that your application will use.
  • Enterprise Library includes the source code and the unit tests for all application blocks. This means you can explore the implementations, modify the application blocks to merge into your existing library, or you can use parts of the Enterprise Library source code in other application blocks or applications that you build.

Enterprise Library includes documentation, a reference implementation, and source code. Enterprise Library embodies many design patterns, and demonstrates good architectural and coding techniques. You can use the library as a tool for learning architectural, design, and proven coding practices.

What’s in the Box?

  • New Blocks
    • Semantic Logging Application Block [video]
    • Transient Fault Handling Application Block (this application block was previously a part of the Enterprise Library Integration Pack for Windows Azure; in this release it has been generalized and updated to the latest technologies).
    • Updated Application Blocks – 6 blocks from previous versions have been updated:
      • Data Access Application Block
      • Exception Handling Application Block
      • Logging Application Block
      • Policy Injection Application Block
      • Validation Application Block
      • Unity Application Block/DI Container (v3.0)
  • New Programmatic Configuration – Streamlining programmatic configuration of all blocks and improving ease of learning and ease of experimentation.
  • Configuration Console – largely unchanged from the previous release.
  • Reference Implementation – To versions of the same application: one using Enterprise Library 5 and one using Enterprise Library 6 to illustrate the changes and to help users migrate.
  • Guides – The “Developer’s Guide to Enterprise Library” is designed to introduce users to the library and explain how to use it through short, practical code examples. The new “Dependency Injection with Unity” guide introduces users to the Dependency Injection pattern, describes the problems it can solve, and shows how to use the Unity container in their own applications.

How to Get It?

The primary shipping channel for code is NuGet. Search for Unity or EntLib inside NuGet Package Manager. Additionally, all deliverables are available as self-extractable zip packages via Microsoft Download Center. The guidance deliverables are available on Codeplex today. After post-production work is completed, they will be published on MSDN. You will also be able to order the hardcopies of the Developer’s Guides or get them in PDF, Epub, or Mobi formats.