There must be a thousand people or more sitting here in the room with us watching Scott Guthrie’s keynote here on the first day of DevConnections/OpenForce 2008.

Scott is currently showing some of the cool features that shipped with .NET 3.5 SP1 and VS 2k8 SP1 regarding object relational mappers (demo done in vb.net).

ASP.NET charting controls shipped two weeks ago, system.web.ui namespace, asp:chart runat=”server”

http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/mschart

His demo for the charting controls has the newly released Microsoft .NET logo that was released at PDC a few weeks ago. The chart demo got a brief round of applause.

Next topic MVC, I won’t get into MVC discussion as it has been covered a million times already. Not replacing ASP.NET webforms, there are advances to webforms in ASP.NET 4.

Ajax enhancements and jQuery. ASP.NET Ajax improvements

• Back/forward button history support
• script combining functionality
• ADO.NET data services support (“astoria”)
• Client Template and Live Databinding support

jQuery support

• Microsoft Product Support
• VS2k8 Intellisense Support w/ download of files for jQuery core library
• DEMO got some laughs based on the pictures it returned from a Flickr query

</end shipping/available today>

<start next year>

ASP.NET 4.0, ships next year with .NET 4.0 framework

• Webforms improvements
  • Controllable clientids for controls
  • Better viewstate control
  • Support for URL writing using same framework as MVC for url writing
  • Much richer customization of styles for controls
  • Better control of HTML
• MVC Features
• Dynamic Data Features
  • Dynamic data scaffolding against any class or object
• AJAX
  •  
• Distributed Caching
  • Better support across multiple web servers
  • Velocity, free caching server for .NET will be available pre .NET 4

VS2k10 Improvements

• Code focused improvements
  • Source Editor Snippets Analysis
  • TDD Workflow
• Web development improvements
  • Javascript/AJAX Tooling
  • Design view CSS2 Support
  • Better Publishing and Deployment Support
    • Applause for web.config differences for release, debug, staging
  • Sharepoint App Support
    • Not much applause, most sharepoint guys are at the sharepoint keynote.
• VS2k10 Demo from Jeff
  • Automatic runat server inclusion
  • Will save time in 4 main areas
    • Select all, surround with option to wrap content in the design view with a snippet, like a multiview controller
    • 59 second demo with keystrokes the old way, 232 keystokes, didn’t get it completed, cold play background music
    • 59 second demo the new way, rocky music playing 24.2 seconds left, 132 keystrokes, app completed
  • MVC Enhancements
    • I zoned out here :)
• Silverlight
  • Silverlight Interactive Designer
  • Richer TFS integration
  • Much richer code analysis
  • Multimonitor support
  • Components and extensibility improvements
  • RIA rich internet application, silverlight (.net in the browser)
    • Talk about all the apps/sites using Silverlight
    • Cool Hardrock website to use silverlight and zoom in on memorabilia
    • Healthcare App www.MSCUI.net

</end session> headed off to the “break” probably spend some time in the speakers room after I talk to a few people.