On March 11th Microsoft released the RTM Version of ASP.NET MVC 2.  It has been almost a year since the released of version 1 last year of the now very popular alternative to writing web applications on the .NET Framework using the Model-View-Controller pattern (MVC). Please remember you can install ASP.NET MVC 2 side by side with ASP.NET MVC 1. Please follow the links below in order to download the bits and to read the latest information regarding the changes since the first version. ASP.NET MVC official websiteand Download Page(Source code included). Scott Guthrie's blog post regarding this release. Instruction on upgrading ASP.NET MVC 1 applications to version 2 with Visual Studio 2008. What's new in ASP.NET MVC 2 Happy programming!

4 days ago Microsoft released ASP.NET MVC 2 Preview 2.  The last update to the upcoming update to the now popular MVC Framework for ASP.NET.  Please head over to this link to download it. Remember that this preview can be installed side by side with ASP.NET MVC 1. Happy programming

About 3 weeks ago I decided I should get my hands dirty on the new ASP.NET MVC Framework.  I started with the now famous NerdDinner application by following Scott Guthrie's 1st chapter where he built NerdDinner from scratch.  The NerdDinner application is hosted and available at CodePlex. I'm about 2/3 into the chapter (I need more time!) and so far it has been a complete paradigm change from WebForms.  WebForms was born at the right time when ASP.NET came out in order to help Windows Developers coming from other Development platform embrace more easily web development.  It totally succeeded. WebForms hid most of the http plumbing and provided a fast and easy framework for web development that became a hit almost instantly.  ASP.NET MVC isn't here to replace WebForms but rather to provide a different approach to web development based on the MVC model.  If you don't like it or don't feel comfortable, then it's ok.  You can continue working with WebForms.  But I suggest you make the choice after first trying it out. ASP.NET MVC MVC stands for Model-View-Controller and is a Software Design Pattern that promotes Separation of Concerns.  These are: Model.  This is your data.  The Data Access Layer and calculations of data exist here. View.  This is the user interface.  It's how the information is presented. Controller.  The Controller is the one responsible to process and respond to user interaction.  It decides what View should be rendered to the user. The main advantages I have experienced so far are: Total control of HTML output. Easier maintenance as you can work on any element without affecting the other. Cleaner code. Friendly URLs that help on SEO. No ViewState (YES!). Unit Testing. Some drawbacks: Goodbye old Web Controls. Regular ASP.NET AJAX functionality is lost. It might remind you of Classic ASP. In conclusion, to keep it short.  ASP.NET MVC is a huge refreshing change for web development, and most welcome.  It's going to take longer for WebForms developers to get the job done; much longer at first as we all learn since the Thinking needs shifting.  At the end, the final product will be more easily maintained and changed.  The Learning Curve is somewhat long but it pays off as you go along. Happy programming ;)

Telerik, a company that has been developing rich UI controls for the Microsoft .NET Framework released today its Telerik Extensions for ASP.NET MVC.  The extensions are Open Source, a first for Telerik as it embraces this approach hosting this solution on the Microsoft Open Source site Codeplex. This released is marked as a CTP (Community Technology Preview) and provides a nice UI extension for MVC.  It is based on the famous JQuery Javascript library which is supported by Microsoft. Related Links Telerik Extensions for ASP.NET MVC on Codeplex Telerik Product Page Demos Intro to Telerik Extensions for ASP.NET (Video) Personally ASP.NET MVC is the next big thing since Webforms and I'm enjoying every minute of this learning experience.  And totally applaud the support it's getting.  I suggest you go ahead and see if ASP.NET MVC is for you. Happy programming

Microsoft recently released the RC version of its now famous Web Platform Installer.  The Web Platform Installer is a compilation of powerful frameworks, servers, tools, database and popular open source web applications that can be installed from a single package and prepare your Windows machine to become a powerhouse in web development. You can download the Web Platform Installer directly here or visit its download page for more information. Now you don't have to visit different web pages to download those samples and starter kits you want.  This download manager will take care of this for you. It first greets you as you run it with a What's New section where you'll be introduced to the latest updates and additions to the platform so you don't have to worry about keeping up to date with all the releases and updates that are coming out.  In the Web Platform section you can install or customize you Web Server, Frameworks and Runtimes, Database and Development Tools installations. For example, if you click Customize on the Web Server option you will see the Features available for download and those already installed.  In the screenshot below we can see the URL Rewrite Module for IIS has not been installed yet. Even PHP is available in the Frameworks and Runtimes section.  They're now friends as you can see from this video. In the Web Applications section you will be treated to some of the most popular web apps today.  Even the Blog Engine which I run is there .  They have been also categorized for easy access in another menu inside this section. Let's now take a look at the What's New section screen from another machine running Windows XP with .NET 3.5 SP1, SQL Server 2005 Express and Visual Web Developer Express below.  Notice how the ASP.NET MVC 1.0 framework is offered along with Silverlight 3, SQL Server 2008 Express with SP1 and PHP in the Web Platform Extensions.    Give the Web Platform Installer a try and pat yourself on the back.  Good Job! Happy programming

I'm just starting to get my hands dirty con ASP.NET MVC and the Version 2 preview 1 is already out.  This new version comes with a lot of new features and while this preview does not contain all of the features expected it provides a first glance at some of them. The best news is that you can install the preview side by side with your ASP.NET MVC 1 installation and work independently one from the other. Download the preview here. Please visit ScottGu's blog for an extensive blog post regarding this release. Related Links Scott Hanselman's Blog Post Phill Haack's Blog Post ASP.NET MVC 2 Preview 1 Download Official ASP.NET MVC Site ASP.NET MCV 2 Preview 1 Source Code at Codeplex