Syncfusion's release this month of Essential Studio Enterprise Edition is the company's latest iteration of its immodestly named suite of components and controls for .NET developers.
Targeted at applications development centered around business intelligence analysis and reporting solutions, with this release Syncfusion enhances its HTML5 tool bag with the introduction of spreadsheet control, Gantt control, and a PDF viewer for Windows Presentation Foundation and Silverlight (WPF-SL).
"Not only have we added a full-fledged spreadsheet control with support for the direct-editing of Microsoft Excel files (an industry first on the WPF-Silverlight platform), but we have also continued to add HTML5 controls to ensure that our customers have the necessary tools to build cutting-edge applications," said Daniel Jebaraj, vice president, Syncfusion.
Syncfusion confirms Essential Diagram for ASP.NET MVC as a full-fledged, HTML5-ready diagramming control and supports the creation of more powerful platforms with existing .NET skills.
"Developers leveraging Syncfusion's components and controls will receive the same service-oriented approach with regard to HTML5 as they have had with our other .NET components and controls," added Jebaraj.
Key new features include the option to add HTML5 to a website with new Upload, Rating, and ProgressBar controls. Native .NET control via a PDF reader provides visualizations without Adobe, meaning developers don't have to involve another control.
Also new is spreadsheet control — Excel-like functionality that includes a built-in ribbon toolbar, formula support, and custom configuration. The spreadsheet editor allows visualization of Excel files in an application without relying on Excel.
Other new elements in this release are as follows:
- RDL reporting — Enables the visualization of standards-based Microsoft Report Definition Language (RDL) files from WPF-Silverlight applications. It moves from preview status to general availability in this release. As such, developers will be able to eliminate their dependence on proprietary formats created by multiple component vendors.
- Essential Gantt — New interactive Gantt control with table and chart views enables visualization of project status. Gantt control capabilities support tasks to be dragged and dropped and dependencies set up between tasks.
- Improved charts — Charts support 10 different technical indicators important for financial applications, such as Bollinger Bands, MACD, and stochastic and simple averages that run off a built-in, highly optimized calculation engine.
In addition to the Enterprise Edition, Syncfusion offers three Essential Studio point solutions: Essential Studio User Interface Edition, Reporting Edition, and Business Intelligence Edition, including the fastest, high-performance WPF Grid on the market.
