Enterprise Library

One of the most exciting Microsoft initiatives and sections of their web site is the patterns and practices section at http://msdn.microsoft.com/practices/. As part of this section, there is Enterprise Library for .NET Framework (EntLib).

EntLib is not really a framework. Microsoft calls it a collection of reusable and extensible application blocks for enterprise development. I would define it a set of helper classes which greatly simplify development in the following areas:

1. Datatabase access;
2. Caching;
3. Logging;
4. Exception Handling;
5. Security and Cryptography;

Generally these blocks are extremely easy to use and I definitely recommend any .NET architect of serious business application to consider building on top of EntLib with two main benefits:

• Rock-solid foundations (helper classes);
• Instrumentation.

Database access
The Data Access Application Block (DAAB) is in my opinion the weakest block and the fans of O/R mapping frameworks like DataObjects, Genome or NHybernate generally laugh at it. Microsoft has made an attempt to complement the DAAB with the Data Mapping Application Block but it does not seem to be continued. I am not a big fan of O/R mapping tools. They make custom development very productive, but you have to tweak the code to get what you really need and optimize performances which makes maintenance more complex on the long term, especially when upgrading to new releases of the frameworks. So I write my own data access layer and I get the productivity gains and best practices from a template-based code generator like CodeSmith. In this scenario, DAAB is very neat and my only objection is that it is only database access. In my applications, I also have data in files. I would love an instrumented FAAB for file IO including XML/CSV/Text files and binary files. And with the new packaging APIs in WinFX for Office Open XML Formats, we could even imagine OAAB. Then we would have a complete data access application block.

Caching:
Considering the HttpContext.Cache in ASP.NET 2.0 the Caching Application Block is only an incremental improvement in this context but it delivers its full value in the context of WinForms applications.

Logging:
The logging application block is an alternative to Log4Net. You will need to find or build replacements for the default formatters and trace listeners. The default format of log entries does not make it easy to read large files when you can now associate XML with XSL stylesheets that let you drilldown into data effectively. And you will want to replace the default flat file trace listener with a rolling file trace listener that generates a new file every day or when the size reaches a threshold.

Exception Handling:
Exception handling is the block I personally prefer. I find writing good error handling code and reporting extremely difficult and the exception handling block provides much more than a few helper classes. You get best practices in an extensive framework with the full benefits of configurable policies. This is definitely the block that justifies adopting EntLib.

Security and Cryptography:
The security application block handles caching of security-related credentials and authorizations. Caching security-related credentials works well with Windows Forms applications but it does not fit the Membership provider model implemented in ASP.NET 2.0. For the same reason the authorization part of the block which makes a neat use of rules, does not integrate well in ASP.NET and especially with the navigation server controls. In my opinion, the block lacks proper server controls including menus and command buttons to constitute an application block and not simply a collection of helper classes.

What’s next?
The great new feature of .NET framework 3.0 (formerly WinFX) is workflow and we will need best practices and frameworks to get the full potential of this exciting technology. Microsoft makes an extensive use of RSS in the next releases of Vista, Internet Explorer and Office and the same requirement applies here. Finally we will also want to rip the benefits of the full-text indexing and search functionalities of Vista which are worth a new block.