Project Description

CODE Framework is a business application development framework from the makers of CODE Magazine, Markus Egger, and EPS Software Corp.

CODE Framework consists of various components and tools that help developers with common aspects of business application development, such as simplified SOA development with various clients, or WPF development, data access, and much more. The main focus of this framework is to enable productive, flexible, and highly maintainable business application development.

Make sure you also install the Visual Studio Extensions and Templates from the Extension Manager right within Visual Studio!

Note: Most of the CODE Framework originates in our much larger (and not free or open source) Milos Solution Platform product. This means that while the latest build is currently flagged as "beta", it actually contains mostly very mature and time-tested code that has been migrated from the Milos product. We are still in this migration process. Expect new builds with more and more components on an ongoing basis.

Documentation and articles will also be forthcoming over the next months and weeks and will be published in CODE Magazine (in print and online) and be linked to from here. We are also working on some videos and some tools and project/item templates which will make it much easier to use this framework. Please check back in a few days. We are hoping to release some of these very shortly.

Getting Started

Check out the Documentation page right here on CodePlex. A great way to get started is by following one of our Articles. In addition, a wealth of information can be found in the collection of Quick Tips.

Training - NEW!

CODE Training (CODE Magazine's training division) has scheduled a training class for CODE Framework called "Being Productive with the CODE Framework". It's a two-day training class which can be taken on-site or online. It is a paid class (only $445 with the early bird discount applies), but the goal of the classes is clearly to expose people to the proper way of using the framework rather than making money. Mention you saw this on Codeplex and ask for a discount or whether there still are promotional seats available.

For more information, visit http://www.codemag.com/Training/Detail/934f308c-0401-4d3c-af90-9ca6cc77b29d

You can also contact us by sending email to info@codemag.com or by calling us at 832-717-4445 (ext 13). Ask for Chris.

Quick Introduction to using the Framework

The easiest way to get started with the CODE Framework, is to install the CODE Framework Tools Visual Studio Extension through the Visual Studio Extension Manager:



Once these extensions are installed, new project templates become available in Visual Studio, such as these:



Note that this does not install the actual framework, but only the tools. However, if you use a template that requires framework components (such as the CODE Framework WPF MVVM/MVC template), the tools detect the dependency and show a dialog like this:



Using this dialog, CODE Framework assemblies can be added to the current project, either by adding files stored locally in a folder or ZIP file (after having downloaded the desired version manually from CodePlex), or you can let the tool retrieve the latest version from CodePlex for you and add the assemblies directly.

Note that CODE Framework assemblies are generally not installed in the GAC (although you could do so yourself if you prefer this option) but they are put into a dummy location in the local solution. This has the advantage that different solutions built with the CODE Framework can use different versions without colliding with each other, and allowing the developer full control over when and to what version a certain solution is to be upgraded to. It also has the advantage that all external assemblies can be checked into source control, allowing other developers to simply join the project through source control without relying on additional installs. This also allows them to always retrieve the correct version of these dependencies automatically. This generally works very well for typical business applications.

Support

CODE Framework is free and open source. However, that does not mean "unsupported"! We do offer premium support, training, consulting, and custom software development for CODE Framework. If you are interested, contact us at info@codemag.com or call us at 832-717-4445 (ext 13 - ask for Chris)!

Contributing

CODE Framework is part of a bigger effort, and as such, the source code provided here is for download purposes only. However, we do see this as a community effort and we will consider contributions. If you are interested in contributing, send an email to info@codemag.com.