EntitySpaces release 1.5 currently has a soft target date of July 30th, 2006. We will keep you posted as we get closer to release. The list below is what we are planning for 1.5. Of course, any bug fixes will be included. The ASPX template will be released as soon as it is available, possibly as early as mid-June.
- Hierarchical support. This is the number 1 priority for this release. It is no small thing and will support many-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many relationships, DataBinding Sub-Collections, and lazy loading.
- Caching. There has been a great deal of interest expressed in caching. This will eliminate unnecessary trips to the database while avoiding duplicate objects in memory. It will be well integrated with our hierarchical plans.
- ASPX template. The template generates pages using the GridView control. This will be an amazing template with very sophisticated features:
- Versions for both C# and VB output.
- Sorting, filtering, searching, and editing.
- Detail pages with hyperlinks to related objects.
- DropDown ComboBoxes for lookups. You can choose the display column or even define your own concatenation of columns.
- Paging with user definable number of line items per page.
We have a growing wish list of items for inclusion in future releases. We have not prioritized them, yet, and some may never see the light of day, but feel free to comment on them and add your own:
- Ability to load a table-based EntitySpaces object from a View. Similar to dOOdads.
- Improved DataBinding.
- Add a Clone method to the single entity.
- Additional Providers.
- Implement an .IsLoaded() method for entities and collections.
- .NET Remoting.
- WinForm templates.
- Dynamic Query enhancements:
- Support for common functions like UPPER() in WHERE clauses.
- Support for JOINs.
- Some tough ones. These are particularly thorny, especially in a multi-db environment, but we are still considering them as worth-while suggestions:
- Updateable Views.
- Add the ability for the EntitySpaces Dynamic Query API to do more than SELECT statements, such as INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE statements.
- Add the ability to generate EntitySpaces objects from Stored Procedures (as opposed to just Views and Tables).
If your pet feature has not made the list, do not be discouraged. Just let us know what you want in the forums or by commenting on this post. And, don't let that stop you from using EntitySpaces 1.4 right now. It can replace tens (even hundreds) of man-hours of repetitive drudgery with well-tested, high-quality code. You are free to concentrate on the aspects of a project that make it unique. Ask yourself, "What price would I pay if I could spend more time with my family and friends?" Then, let your conscience be the guide.
The EntitySpaces Team