Difference between 4.0 and 4.5 release

I'm confused but is SPARK a pattern being pushed by DoFactory or is this a industry standard that companies are moving towards? I don't see how this will help in the industry as I don't see any job leads asking for SPARK as a skillset. I do understand moving away from WCF as Web API is the way of the future. This to me is a stripped down version of version 4.0 and a lot of extra money to get the SPARK implementation (which is almost 3x the cost). It would have been nice to have at least implemented Web API in place of WCF. I'm not seeing a huge value in this version yet. So far this is exactly the same as 4.0 minus WCF. It was nice to see Areas and Razor introduced into MVC I guess but I would have understood this version or the need or releasing 4.5 if you would have at least implemented Web API in the service layer instead of WCF. Thanks

Dennis Tucker, Apr 01, 2014

Reply 1

SPARK is a technology written by Data & Object Factory allowing very efficient and effective application development. It is an ORM and a replacement for Entity Framework, but at the same time it is so much more.

You state that the cost is 3x higher. This is incorrect.
The normal $79 ($59 for renewal) fee applies. By the way, in our history we have never raised this price

SPARK is included with the $79 version and it can be used in its entirety.
However if you choose to get the SPARK code generator (which is called the PRO version) then you can purchase this for $229.

Again, the code generator is optional, although it can save you a lot of time and work.
In fact, we use it all the time in our own work and with great success.

Hope this clarifies it.

Jack Poorte, Apr 02, 2014