K2 support in Visual Studio.NET 2005 & .NET 2

The answer is the following:

SourceCode will release an update for K2.net 2003 which will add .NET 2.0 support for K2.net 2003 Server and Studio. This will allow users to use components developed in VS.NET 2005 in K2.net 2003 processes.
SourceCode will also update K2.net 2003 SmartForms to add support for VS.NET 2005. This will allow users to design and configure K2.net 2003 SmartForms in VS.NET 2005.
Availability: We are currently scheduled to release this update within 30 days of the RTM release of .NET 2.0 and VS.NET 2005.

SourceCode will also provide details concerning the planned VSTO components to be released during the Whidbey RTM timeframe. These components will enable solution developers to rapidly develop Visual Studio Tools for Office based solutions using K2.net 2003 and VS.NET 2005.

Rénier,

What's the progress on getting K2.net Smartforms compatible with VS.NET 2005 and .NET 2.0?

Thanks.

Hi,

K2.net 2003 SP2a and all previous versions (including Smartforms), are currently not supported for use with VS.NET 2005 or .NET Framework 2.0. We will be releasing a service pack during Q1 2006 that will update K2 for support with .NET 2.0, however due to an existing bug in VS.NET 2005 our Smartforms will not be supported. We are working closely with Microsoft on a resolution to this problem.

You can find more information about the bug here: http://lab.msdn.microsoft.com/ProductFeedback/viewFeedback.aspx?feedbackid=cc1538ae-d2a7-418b-82d3-a44f2b51ebd3

Regards,
Ockert

Is there any further news on this update to K2 to support Visual Studio 2005 & .NET Framework v2.0?

We are aware that the smartforms issue is down to the bug highlighted in the previous post but we are only looking at developing assemblies that K2 processes will reference using Visual Studio 2005, for functionality such as calling stored procedures & performing business logic functions, via static method calls.

I would obviously need to install .NET Framework v2.0 on my K2 Server which is where i'm wondering i might run into some problems unless i start forcing which version of the .NET Framework to use in the config files.

We are just trying to avoid having to re-code everything since K2 is now the only thing we are having to stick with Visual Studio 2003 for.

thanks,

Wes

Hi Guys,

The intended release date is still the same - End of Q1 2006 :cry:

ConradK2 you can be as mad as hell, what I see in this post is a lot of frustration my friend. And do you know who they are? They are your paying customers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would like to assure you that we value our customers VERY HIGHLY!! We are doing whatever we can to expedite the release of SP3 but it will largely depend on the feedback we receive from the BETA testers - no use in releasing a sub-standard service pack.

Regards,
Ockert

I understand you NicS because I wait this Service pack for a language compatibility but I prefer a stable and complete service pack instead of a patch which needs to be patched!!

be patient...

NicS:

ConradK2 you can be ..........!!!

Nic,

I can understand the frustration around this, I am sure you are a developer yourself and would assume that you understand the impact that a major release like .NET 2 can have on any existing systems. The important fact that cannot be ignored is that we need to make 100% sure that we release a version of K2.net that can run on the .NET 2 framework as well as support for VS .NET 2005 and SQL 2005 without having to sacrifice on proper QA testing.

As a side note: this is a public forum and would ask you kindly not to be abusive in any manner to other members participating in the forum. Conrad is merely the messenger.

Feel free to contact your local K2.net Representative should you have any concerns/questions.

Customer satisfaction is seen as the highest priority!

Conradk2:

Hi Guys,

The intended release date is still the same - End of Q1 2006 :cry:

thanks for the info Conrad :wink:

i guess what some people (like myself) may be wondering is whether or not K2 could have been a little more 'in sync' with the new things that Microsoft are releasing, which are going to directly affect K2?

Visual Studio 2005 & the .NET Framework v2.0 are obvious examples where compatibility is going to be questioned & with K2 being a Microsoft partner do you not get the opportunity to work with them on this kind of thing, in advance of their release dates?

The issue with the Service Pack of SharePoint which recently required a hotfix from yourselves is another example where i thought it seemed strange you hadn't found this out prior to some of your customers finding that events were suddenly not firing anymore in SharePoint.

I'm not slating you guys or anything here, i'm just curious as to how it works :?:

It is good point you making. The simple answer is "Yes", we do have access to BETA and RC releases of MS products, this enables us to do initial testing to insure compatibility having said that the reality is that between BETA/RC and RTM releases changes can still be made to the software that can cause compatibility issues. This forces us to run complete QA cycles once RTM of the MS product gets released to market. With the introduction of .NET 2 and the availability of SQL 2005 forced us to do a full QA cycle on all our components, take a minute and think about the following:

1. Upgrade from .NET 1.1 to .NET 2, processes needs to be able to continue running even though it has been developed on .NET 1.1 + new processes need to utilize the new framework
2. Upgrading SQL to 2005, this introduce a number of things to consider besides just the upgrade of the DB, also looking at performance and optimization of the K2.net Server

It is important that we maintain and build up on the quality of K2.net 2003 with SP2a and not take a step back.

About the statement on SharePoint service pack: Although we do our best to install updates as soon as they are available you will find that MS don t always have Beta cycles on service packs which mean that we all get it at the same time, automatic updates can also cause compatibility issues.

I hope this clarify some of your questions around this.

Will SP3 also include updated K2 SharePoint web parts that work with WSS 2.0?

Is there any way to work around the microsoft bug issue?

I've been told you can wire-up the ASP.NET form manually. Any sample code for that?

Thanks!
Randy

The K2 Help file Start/All Programs/K2.net 2003/Help contains infomation on the K2ROM Assembley which can be referenced from VS (Including 2005)

The Connection Class topic contains sample code for kicking off a process.

Hi Movement,

I was not aware of any issues with the current web parts and SP2 of SPS.
All you have to do is install the hotfix for SharePoint and it should work.

How would one know when the Service Pack is available?

I had a quick look at the documentation release of SP3 today...it is still based on .NET 1.1 framework...was I mistaken to expect it to be .NET 2 and Visual Studio 2005 compatible...or is it yet to be announced?...I hope soon!

SQL 2005 Support arrived with SP3 along with some fixes. Excerpt from the Bill of Materials pasted below.

There is a .NET 2.0 beta for new software development projects. This has a "Go-Live" type license. There are some challenges with K2.net supporting 1.1 and 2.0 (co-existing) in existing projects that is still being resolved, hence the delay. I can assure you that this is a huge priority for K2 (SourceCode)



SP3 Release Notification
The key improvements made in K2.net 2003 with SP3 are:
1. SQL 2005: K2.net 2003 with SP3 is now compatible with SQL 2005. 2. Improved Code editor in K2.net Studio: K2.net 2003 with SP3 introduces a new code editor with a number of productivity-enhancing features.
3. Destination Rule Optimization: Introduces enhanced Destination Queue user management, optimizing the use of K2.net Server resources, in environments where Destination Queues contain a large number
of users.
4. Improved Regional Support:
Double Byte Support: Enabling support for regions where representation of Alphanumeric Characters requires double byte support.
Date Formatting: Support for multiple date-time formats is provided by allowing the Windows operating system regional settings to determine the time and date configuration for the system.

Hi K2 Team,

is there any date available for K2.NET with .NET 2.0 release ?

mullaimtiyaz:

Hi K2 Team,

is there any date available for K2.NET with .NET 2.0 release ?

SP4 is now out which allows referencing .NET v2.0 assemblies from processes & also running the K2 server/studio etc under v2.0