I was so happy to see that Microsoft has finally release Visual Studio 2008 SP1 and the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1. It contains so many improvements and bug fixes; you can view the full list of the enhancements at Scott Guthrie's blog.
"Unlike other Service Packs from Microsoft, the SP1 of.Net Framework 3.5 and Visual Studio 2008 not only contains bug fixes and improvements, it also contains new technologies such as ADO.Net Entity Framework v1, ADO.Net Data Services v1, ASP.Net Dynamic Data and the framework and tools support for working with SQL Server 2008 that was RTM'ed last week.
Here are some useful download links:
- VS 2008 Service Pack Preparation Tool
- .NET Framework 3.5 Service pack 1
- Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1 (exe)
- Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1 (iso)
- Visual Studio 2008 Express Editions with SP1 (Web Install)
- Visual Studio 2008 Shell (isolated mode) with Service Pack 1 Redistributable
- Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1 Remote Debugger
- Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1 Stand-Alone Profiler
- Visual Studio 2008 Team Foundation Server SP1
- Visual C++ 2008 SP1 Redistributable Package (x86, x64, ia64)
- Visual C++ 2008 SP1 Sample Library
- Microsoft Report Viewer Redistributable 2008 SP1 Language Pack
- .NET Framework 3.5 Client Profile Language Pack
While downloading and installing the SP1 of.Net Framework 3.5 and Visual Studio 2008 you can take your time to read the posts I've written during the beta time frame:
Overview of the Service Pack 1
- Download and Install Visual Studio 2008 and .Net Framework 3.5 SP1 Beta
- New Assemblies in Visual Studio 2008 and .Net Framework 3.5 SP1
ADO.Net Entity Framework
- EntityDataSource - Overview
- EntityDataSource - Where Clause
- An Overview Screencast about EntityDataSource
ADO.Net Data Services
- A Simple ADO.Net Data Service Walkthrough (updated for SP1)
- Querying an ADO.Net Data Service via .Net Client (updated for SP1)
ADO.Net Sync Services
SQL Server 2008 and Data Access Technologies
- SqlFileStream - Managed API for SQL Server 2008 FILESTREAM
- LINQ to SQL with SQL Server 2008 Date Time Types
- LINQ to SQL and FILESTREAM
- ADO.Net Entity Framework support for FILESTREAM"
Source: .Net Framework 3.5 SP1 and Visual Studio 2008 SP1 are Available!