The Definitive Guide to the Microsoft Enterprise Library introduces one of the most exciting and popular .NET–oriented initiatives, the Enterprise Library. The EL offers eight application blocks and other reusable code that are used to solve a variety of common problem spaces. These problems cover a number of topics, including data access, exception handling, caching, logging, security, cryptography, validation, policy injection and configuration. Author Keenan Newton, a senior consultant for Microsoft Consulting Services, begins the book with an introduction to common challenges, explaining the conditions that brought about the creation of the EL. After an EL overview, subsequent chapters offer detailed information about each of the eight blocks. The book concludes by outlining the framework available for creating custom application blocks as well as other development spaces using application blocks. You'll be able to build .NET applications faster and more efficiently by taking advantage of readily available code developed and released by Microsoft's patterns and practices group. You will be introduced to these technologies in conjunction with real–world scenarios.