Facebook have announced Microsoft’s support of Facebook Connect with the release of version 3.0 of the Facebook Development Toolkit.
The goal of version 3.0 is to provide support for Silverlight, ASP.NET MVC, WPF, and FBML Server Controls. Microsoft have also provided login controls that replace the BasePage and MasterPage for Canvas Development.
The Microsoft Facebook Development Toolkit can be downloaded from Codeplex and has been developed by Clarity Consulting.
As with all third party APIs, incorporating another corporations DLLs into your project leaves you one step removed from the functionality of the system you are integrating. You may perceive faster project delivery but you will always be at the mercy of the third party for upgrades and bug fixes when issues arise.
With this in mind I believe downloading and developing with the API will fast track your understanding of how Facebook Connect works. However, don’t use the download option as an excuse not to flip the hood and get your hands dirty with the Facebook Connect API.
Still get involved with Facebook developer conversations at the Facebook Development Wiki and keep making your API calls to Facebook Connect directly. After all it’s our use of these systems that pushes corporations like Facebook and Twitter to evolve the systems to meet our needs.
In essence, give the Microsoft Facebook APIs a go, but don’t be totally reliant on Uncle Bill to provide you access to an open system that’s been provided with you in mind.
About James McLeod, Managing Director at Narvi Digital Media, Brighton
