Yes, the sort by price feature is going to be in SP3. When we don't response to posts like these on the forums it is generally because we have our heads down working on these issues. :-)

I also hope that people realize that a lot of the bugs that people report are actually feature requests. We are adding a few very small features into SP3, but for the most part we are just releasing bug fixes.

And again, we are going to try and get a detailed change log for SP3, but it may be out shortly after SP3 is released.

And no, asp.net ajax will not be included in SP3 since some hosts still do not install it by default on web servers. If we introduce it now in SP3 and break people who are already using our product this will not be good.

And I would agree with Cliff's statement above. True asp.net themes are not really a plus... they are fine (sorta) if you are a developer, but they are hard to work with if you are not. This is why we introduced the template system in BVSignature. Most likely we will introduce this template system in future versions of BV Commerce.

Brendon cited some advantages in another thread. I think it boils down to this:

Anthem.NET

Pro: Easy to install (xcopy), easy to use (e.g. change <asp:Panel> to <anthem:Panel>)
Con: Few fancy controls like pop-up dialog box, little 3rd party support (e.g. ComponentArt has not created an Anthem.NET-compatible version of their controls)

Microsoft ASP.NET AJAX

Pro: Several fancy controls like pop-up dialog boxes, 3rd party support (e.g. ComponentArt has created a Microsoft ASP.NET AJAX-compatible version of their controls)
Con: Hard(er) to install, hard(er) to use


Anthem.NET is good enough for most web sites. And you can use both Anthem.NET and Microsoft ASP.NET AJAX on one web site. If you have control of the web server (like Brendon does) you can add Microsoft ASP.NET AJAX and use it when you customize the site.



I have been using Anthem.NET and Yahoo! User Interface library together to build my shipping provider editors. YUI gives me modal dialogs, drag and drop, pop-up calendars, etc. without any installation (the entire library is javascript that can be hosted by Yahoo!). Anthem.NET gives me all the nice Ajax callback goodness. It seems like a pretty good combination.

Yes, SP3 will be able to be installed right "on top" of existing installations.

A couple of replies

First to Justin about Microsoft Ajax. You said 'And no, asp.net ajax will not be included in SP3 since some hosts still do not install it by default on web servers. If we introduce it now in SP3 and break people who are already using our product this will not be good.'

Previously when I brought up the issues of Globalization Errors when using Microsoft Ajax on the site (http://forums.bvcommerce.com/default.aspx?f=81&m=46406&g=49332#m49332) you (or Marcus) replied that this code would be fixed in SP3. I don't need you all to switch your product to Microsoft Ajax, but I do need to use MS Ajax in other parts of my site which I can't do until you fixed the code. Are you going to fix the globalization references?

To Chris Smith,
I tried AspDotNetStorefront and gave up on them a long time ago. My experience was that they were pushing point releases out constantly trying to add new features, but without any real testing. A new feature would break an old one, etc. sloppy coding from my perspective.

Can't speak about Able Commerce.

What I can say about BV5 is that I have been able to do a fair amount of customization (quite easily) to get it to integrate into my existing site. So overall I've been very pleased. I think the fact that there have been two service packs and various hotfixes in between and SP3 in the wings shows that that BV5 is a "young" product. Remember, BVC 2004 done in ASP.NET 1.1 had been out for years. BV5 is basically a complete redo in ASP.NET 2.0 so to a large extent its a brand new application.

RIck

Rick,

Justin has fixed the Globalization namespace in SP3. See the response to your post,

http://forums.bvcommerce.com/default.aspx?f=81&m=46406&g=49332#m49332

Hello Rick,

Thanks for the information. I'm in a holding pattern right now to see how SP3 is received. I didn't really like the 'look' of aspdotnetsf.

Cheers,
Chris

Just so all of us can continue our planning are we expecting this release next week or the week after?

Bump for an answer on release...

Not trying to be pushy but are we still on target for a release of SP3 for next week? I don't see why a rough answer can't be given. We're coming into the holiday season, I'm sure every shop owner would like to know if the gremlins are going to be out of the program.
Thanks!

Okay...please see my comments re: the grid we're all looking forward too... on the thread with Nick.