MySQL Connector/Net 6.6.1 Alpha 2 has been released

[Reggie Burnett]

MySQL Connector/Net 6.6.1, a new version of the all-managed .NET driver 
for MySQL has been released.  This is the second of two alpha releases 
intended to introduce users to the new features in the release. This 
release is not feature complete and there are limitations but it should 
be stable enough for users to understand the new features and how we 
expect them to work.  As is the case with all non-GA releases, it should 
not be used in any production environment.  It is appropriate for use 
with MySQL server versions 5.0-5.6

It is now available in source and binary form from 
http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/connector/net/#downloads and mirror sites 
(note that not all mirror sites may be up to date at this point-if you 
can't find this version on some mirror, please try again later or choose 
another download site.)

The 6.6 version of MySQL Connector/Net brings the following new features:

  * Stored procedure debugging
  * Entity Framework 4.3 Code First support
  * Pluggable authentication (not available in this alpha)

Stored Procedure Debugging
-------------------------------------------
We are very excited to introduce stored procedure debugging into our 
Visual Studio integration.  It works in a very intuitive manner by 
simply clicking 'Debug Routine' from Server Explorer. As mentioned 
above, there are still some limitations in the implementation.  These 
limitations are being resolved for future releases.  The limitations 
include:

Changes from the 6.6.0 release

  * Functions and triggers can now be debugged.  Stepping into and out
    of them is fully supported.
  * Improved naming of session variables for in and out parameters. 
    This reduces the possibility of name collisions
  * The debugger now fully supports the 5.1, 5.5, and 5.6 grammars
  * You no longer have to save the password of your connection to start
    a debug session
  * You can now evaluate and change session variables during execution

There are still some limitations such as the following:

  * Intellisense is currently not enabled in the debugger window.
  * Some MySQL functions cannot be debugged currently (get_lock,
    release_lock, begin, commit, rollback, set transaction level)
  * Only one debug session may be active on a given server
  * The debugger instruments your procedures automatically. We have seen
    some instances when the original procedure is not restored correctly.
  * Breakpoints are supported however if you put a breakpoint on a line
    where there is no code it will appear as not bound.  This is harmless
  * Conditional breakpoints are not supported

We are excited by the progress we have made since Alpha 1 and look 
forward to an even better Beta 1.  We look forward to your feedback.

Documentation
-------------------------------------
The documentation is still being developed and will be readily available 
in time for Beta 1.  You can view current Connector/Net documentation at 
http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.5/en/connector-net.html

You can find our team blog at http://blogs.oracle.com/MySQLOnWindows. 
You can also post questions on our forums at http://forums.mysql.com/.

Enjoy and thanks for the support!