Saturday, July 17, 2010

Sterling OODB v0.1 Alpha Released!

I'm please to share that I released the alpha version of the Sterling Object-Oriented Database for Silverlight 4.0 and Windows Phone 7.0 applications today.

I dug into more details about the project in this introductory post. There have not been many significant changes to the source code since then, but I did create a set up project that installs the DLLs and configures the registry keys so they appear in the "add reference" dialog on the .NET tab for both Silverlight and Windows Phone 7 applications.

Please take a moment to read and participate in the release discussion that you can find by clicking here. You can grab the installer and the source code at this link.

Our team is really some part time help and me and we all have full time careers so it's tough to give the project the attention and detail it deserves. I learned in the past that sometimes it's more important to "get it going" than to "get it perfect." Instead of holding back months before formalizing the release, I wanted to get it out there so people can use it, comment on it, and provide feedback.

You can help our team in two very important ways. First, if you use the tool, please provide feedback, both positive and constructive, so we know where/when/how the project is being used and how to prioritize future improvements.

Second, if you are a developer and feel you can contribute your skills, please contact me and we can discuss you joining the team. Probably the two biggest needs on the team right now are someone who has the time to build out a more thorough reference application for the Windows Phone 7 version, and someone who is an installation wizard to help improve the install process. The documentation is also rudimentary so technical writers are welcome as well.

Thanks, and I look forward to your feedback!

Jeremy Likness