We are pleased to announce the April CTP update of the Live Framework SDK and Tools. Below you will find details about what’s new with this release.

The Live Framework Team thanks its developer community for trying out Live Framework CTP and taking time to submit the feedback.  Please keep it coming through the Live Framework Developer Connection and the Live Framework Forum.

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New to the Live Framework? Go to the Live Framework home page to see how to get started.

Version numbers

The latest version numbers for this release are as follows:

Installing the Updated Live Framework Client

Installing the Live Framework client will allow you to access resources locally (for example, in an offline scenario). If you want to run the Live Framework client side-by-side with the Live Mesh client, see instructions in this forum post.

  1. Sign-in to Live Mesh Developer Sandbox
  2. Navigate to Devices Tab.
  3. Click on "Add Device". (Note: To update the Live Framework client, you need to re-add any pre-existing devices in our Mesh.).
  4. Choose the correct operating system from drop down and Click "Install"
  5. Download the LiveFrameworkClient.msi file to your desktop
  6. Run LiveFrameworkClient.msi to install the latest client bits

What’s New in this Release

This update includes:

  • Support for side-by-side installation of the www.mesh.com local client and the developer.mesh-ctp.com local client. This means that you can use the production Mesh.com to sync data across all your devices, and develop applications for the Mesh Developer Sandbox that uses the local client—all on the same machine. For instructions on setting up side-by-side, please see this forum post.
  • Support for Windows 7 and Internet Explorer 8
  • Single installer for the Live Framework SDK and the Live Framework Tools for Microsoft Visual Studio.
  • Resource Scripts are now supported in Silverlight applications and with the local Live Operating Environment
  • Public availability of the SDK and Tools on the Microsoft.com Download Center.
  • Improved stability in the client and the cloud Live Operating Environment.
  • Design and performance improvements to the API toolkits
  • Simplified workflow for setting up an account and a Live Framework project on the Azure Developer Portal.

NOTE: There are some changes in the CTP toolkits that may require you to update your application code should you recompile with the new bits. See this document for more information.

See a list of known issues.

What’s New in the Tools

The Live Framework Tools April CTP release includes several updates:

  • Installation of the Silverlight Tools, Live Framework SDK, and Live Framework Tools is accessed through a single installer.
  • Error messages and diagnostics have been improved. In most error situations when the server returns a failure code more information can be located in the application event log.
  • A set of C# Code Snippets for accessing common Live Framework tasks are now accessible through the standard snippet mechanism. To see the available snippets right-click in a .cs file and select “insert snippet.”

This release also contains the cumulative updates from the January CTP:

  • Debugging or running a Mesh-enabled Web Application which contains no changes from previous versions immediately launches the application instead of re-uploading the files.
  • Mesh-enabled Web Applications created by the Live Framework Tools now have identical offers to those created through the Azure Services Developer Portal, which are generally less restrictive.  This change removes the need for the workaround mentioned in this thread.
  • Projects created by the Live Framework Tools may now contain periods fixing the issue reported in this bug.
  • Changes to the application's logo.png file will now be reflected in the icon that appears on the Live Desktop fixing the issue reported in this thread.

What's Included in the April 2009 CTP

The Live Framework CTP April 2009 CTP includes everything you need in order to quickly build rich, connected, data-sharing applications using Live Services.  This CTP includes both the Live Framework SDK and the Live Framework Tools for Microsoft Visual Studio.

Live Framework SDK

The Live Framework SDK package provides you with Live Framework API Kits, sample code demonstrating usage of the API Kits and the Live Framework Resource Browser.

Live Framework API Kits

  • Live Framework .NET Kit – a programming library for use with .NET Framework. This includes object model, resource model and AtomPub client library.
  • Live Framework Silverlight Kit – a managed code programming library to use with Silverlight. This includes object model, resource model and AtomPub client library for Silverlight.
  • Live Framework JavaScript Kit – a programming library for use with JavaScript

Samples

Samples included in the Live Framework SDK demonstrate the usage of various aspects of API.

Resource Browser

The Live Framework Resource Browser is a handy tool to help you browse through Live Framework Resources.

Live Framework Tools for Microsoft Visual Studio

The Live Framework Tools significantly decrease the time it takes to develop Mesh-enabled Web Applications in Visual Studio 2008.

The Live Framework Tools include:

  • Project templates for creating DHTML Mesh-enabled Web Applications and C# or VB Silverlight Mesh-enabled Web Applications
  • Building and packaging of Mesh-enabled Web Applications for deployment
  • Launching and debugging Mesh-enabled Web Applications hosted in the Live Desktop
  • IntelliSense completion for Live Framework assemblies and JavaScript files

Getting started with the Live Framework Tools

This textual step-by-step walkthrough will guide you through using the Live Framework Tools to create, build, deploy and debug a simple DHTML and Silverlight Mesh-enabled Web Application.

Developer Resources

Please give us your feedback! Let us know what you like and what you don't like. Stop by and give us your feedback here on the Connect site.