Design of the Enterprise Library

The Enterprise Library incorporates a set of best practices in its overall design. Among these are the following:

• It uses common application block functionality (the Enterprise Library Core).
• It uses uniform conventions for naming and versioning.
• It incorporates instrumentation into all application blocks.
• It uses unit tests that were written during the design phase.

In addition to these high-level, general practices, the Enterprise Library incorporates context-specific guidelines in the design of the individual application blocks. Developers who want to extend the Enterprise Library might be interested in these guidelines.

There are three ways to extend the Enterprise Library. You can write custom providers, modify an application block's source code, or write a new application block. If you choose to extend the Enterprise Library, keep the following recommendations in mind:

• The application block should expose its functionality so that developers can use the application block without modifying it.
• The application block should be easy to extend and modify.
• The application block should embody Microsoft patterns & practices guidance.
• The application block should include instrumentation.
• The application block should be loosely coupled with other application blocks.