Enterprise Library consists of reusable software components that are designed to assist developers with common enterprise development challenges. It includes a collection of application blocks and a set of core features, such as object generation, configuration, and instrumentation mechanisms. This release of the Enterprise Library includes one new application block, the Unity Application Block, which implements a framework that provides object generation and dependency injection capabilities, plus other new features and enhancements.
Different applications have different requirements, and you will not find that every application block is useful in every application that you build. Before using an application block, you should have a good understanding of your application requirements and of the scenarios that the application block is designed to address.
Enterprise Library 4.1 – October 2008 contains the following application blocks:
- Caching Application Block. Developers can use this application block to incorporate a cache in their applications. Pluggable cache providers are supported.
- Cryptography Application Block. Developers can use this application block to incorporate hashing and symmetric encryption in their applications.
- Data Access Application Block. Developers can use this application block to incorporate standard database functionality in their applications.
- Exception Handling Application Block. Developers and policy makers can use this application block to create a consistent strategy for processing exceptions that occur throughout the architectural layers of enterprise applications.
- Logging Application Block. Developers can use this application block to include standard logging functionality in their applications.
- Policy Injection Application Block. Developers can use this application block to implement interception policies that can be used to streamline the implementation of common features, such as logging, caching, exception handling, and validation, across a system.
- Security Application Block. Developers can use this application block to incorporate authorization and security caching functionality in their applications.
- Unity Application Block. Developers can use this application block as a lightweight and extensible dependency injection container with support for constructor, property, and method call injection, as well as instance and type interception (via an extension).
- Validation Application Block. Developers can use this application block to create validation rules for business objects that can be used across different layers of their applications.
Enterprise Library also includes a set of core functions, including configuration, instrumentation, and object creation. These functions are used by all other application blocks.
