Declarative programmation will bloom with ASP.NET 2.0 auto-compilation

You may already know that, but ASP.NET 2.0 introduces a new Code directory (or Application_Code, the name is not final yet) that enables you to just deploy the source files of your libraries, and they will get compiled on-the-fly. What you may not know is that you can extend this by creating your own build providers.

When I first learned about the extensibility of the auto-compilation, I immediately thought about how an Object/Relational  mapping tool could take advantage of it and generate the DAL transparently on-the-fly from the XML mapping file. It would make it marvelously transparent and easy to use, update and manage. An additional bonus is that any change to the xml file would immediately result in Visual Studio Intellisense picking up the change and displaying the new types. Just perfect.

It seems like I'm not the only one who thought about that: here's an article from Fritz Onion that explains exactly how to do this now, with the public beta of ASP.NET 2.0. Check it out, it works now.

The possibilities are endless. For example, a business rule engine could use it, or a form generator.

Play with it, invent great new applications, and if you find anything limiting you in doing so, just tell us about it. Now is the right time.