The problem with beta software libraries

I'll admit it - I'm a serial early-adopter. I was man/mad enough to actually try using Windows Vista Beta 1 for over a whole month as my main workstation OS both at home and at work, and wasn't put off enough not to be considering doing again with Beta 2.

But the problem is compounded when you want to get ahead with new technologies like Windows Communications Foundation (formerly Indigo) - as the library is refined, there are inevitably times when "things change".

For WinFX this seems to have been the norm rather than the exception case - the Windows Workflow Foundation book I bought to help me get going is already out of date in a number of key areas (tho' it does a great job of introducing the concepts). Worknig with WCF, my problem was that the config schema changed between the Jan CTP and the Feb CTP, making the majority the WCF samples on the net incorrect.

To make matters worse, Feb CTP installation does not update the configuration schema, therefore the intellisence will not match the changes that were made in that version - so you don't get any help from VS.

Fortunately, in this post, "WCF configuration schema", Guy Burstein provides not only a reminder about the problem with breaking changes, but also a fix for the problem with a revised schema file to load into Visual Studio.

"forums.microsoft.com to the rescue once again!" shouted Little Cook.