PostSharp 3 Licenses Now Available

New focus on design patterns

In the past years, we've successfully positioned PostSharp as the leading framework for Aspect-Oriented Programming in .NET. With time and customer feedback, we've realized that AOP was only an instrument serving automation and enforcement of design patterns. Unlike AOP, design patterns are readily understood and accepted by the majority. We published our view of Design Pattern Automation in a recent article on InfoQ.

PostSharp is now composed of the following members:

• Pattern Libraries are ready-made solutions to the most common design patterns. We currently offer the Diagnostics Pattern Library, Threading Pattern Library, and Model Pattern Library.
• The Aspect Framework allows you to automate implementation of custom design patterns.
• The Architecture Framework allows you to automate enforcement of custom design patterns that need to be implemented manually.

Note that Pattern Libraries were previously incubated as a satellite project of PostSharp 2.1, where they were named toolkits. They are now an integral and supported member of our product line.

We're very proud of our new website, reflects our new vision of PostSharp. There are plenty of tutorials for beginners and intermediate users, and more are coming.

What's New in PostSharp 3?

PostSharp 3 is not just about repackaging old ideas differently. We also added a lot of new features and support for the latest platforms:

• First-class support for Silverlight, Windows Phone, and Windows Store. Not only did we add new platforms, but we also brought all features to most cousins of the .NET Framework. Best of all: these platforms are supported through a single Portable Class Library, so it's now possible to write truly portable aspects. A central component of this feature is the Portable Serializer, similar in function to the BinaryFormatter (just replace [Serializable] by [PSerializable]).
• Pattern Libraries, providing ready-made implementation of some the most common patterns. Improvements over PostSharp 2.1 Toolkits include better management through logging profiles, logging to Enterprise Library, code contracts, and performance enhancements.
• Smart tags in the code editor help you adding ready-made aspects to your application without coding – without even reading our Getting Started. Smart tags are completed with a comprehensive wizard interface coupled with NuGet and a code generator.
• Support for Visual Studio 2012, including the dark theme.
• Transparency to all obfuscators: PostSharp does not rely on any string references that may be broken during serialization.
• Better differentiation of "reference assemblies" and "runtime assemblies".
• New approach to licensing that will allow to install the license key to source control.
• Streamlined deployment through NuGet and Visual Studio Gallery

New Maintenance Model

PostSharp 2 was ruled by a "major-version" maintenance model: all updates (minor versions and bug fixes) within a major version were available for free. We released important improvements as "bug fixes": for instance, support for .NET 4.5 was included into PostSharp 2.1 because PostSharp 3 was not ready. This maintenance model created a conflict of interest between us (we need to be paid for our work) and our customers (you can't wait for a new major version to get new necessary features). It was time to change.

PostSharp now comes with 1-year of maintenance subscription included that gives you access to free updates, bug fixes and premium support. Every license key includes the subscription end date, which is tested against the build date of PostSharp. Importantly, licenses are still perpetual: if you can use a given PostSharp build one day, you can use it forever (except with the trial license).

Please read our Licensing & Maintenance FAQ for details. Note that we have an updated License Agreement that reflects these changes. If you need to continue with the previous license agreement, please contact our sales team.

New Product Line

There are now three distinct editions available.

1. PostSharp Express (formerly Starter Edition) – for getting started with simple custom design pattern automation. Free as in beer.
2. PostSharp Professional – for automating custom design patterns (aspect framework) and logging (diagnostics pattern library). Price: 449$ or 329€ including maintenance subscription.
3. PostSharp Ultimate – for automating custom design patterns (aspect framework) and enforcing design rules (architecture framework), includes all ready-made design pattern libraries. Price: 799$ or 589€ including maintenance subscription.

For more information, see the feature matrix of all editions. As you can see, we dropped the Personal License. On the other side, we're now offering free licenses to all freelancers and consultants, additionally to students, educational facilities, and influencers of all sorts. We're also offering a one-time 1000$ discount to all businesses enrolled in BizSpark.

Upgrade Conditions

We're giving 6 months of maintenance subscription for free to all customers:

• Customers without support subscription fully-featured PostSharp Ultimate for free and get 6-months of maintenance starting from the original date of purchase. Practically, it means that this offer only applies to customers who have purchased PostSharp later than six month ago.
• Customers with a current support subscription get PostSharp Ultimate for free and will receive an additional 6 months of maintenance, at no cost.
• Other customers can benefit from our upgrade price (224$/164€ for PostSharp Professional or 399$/299€ for PostSharp Ultimate).

Technically, we consider PostSharp 3 mature enough for most situations. However, if you cannot afford taking risks right now (tight deadline, large team), we recommend to wait until RTM before doing the upgrade. The principle obstacle on the path to RTM is now the lack of documentation for new features and new deployment options.

Downgrade Conditions

We understand that some teams don't want to upgrade to PostSharp 3 now, and may need to acquire new PostSharp 2.1 licenses. When you acquire a PostSharp 3 commercial license, you become eligible for a free PostSharp 2.1 license. To request your license key, please contact our sales team. The offer does not apply to PostSharp Express.

Time-Limited Discount

For a limited time, we’re offering a special discount on PostSharp 3 purchases. From now until the RTM announcement, purchase any new PostSharp Professional or PostSharp Ultimate license and save 30% off your order by entering the discount code POSTSHARP3 during checkout. This offer also includes license upgrades and maintenance subscription renewals.

PostSharp 3 is going to change the way software engineers think about design patterns. Happy PostSharping!

-gael