MySQL Connector/Net 6.6.3, a new version of the all-managed .NET driver for MySQL has been released.  This is the second of two beta releases intended to introduce users to the new features in the release.

This release is feature complete 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 routine debugging
  * Entity Framework 4.3 Code First support
  * Pluggable authentication (now third parties can plug new authentications mechanisms into the driver).
  * Full Visual Studio 2012 support: everything from Server Explorer to Intellisense&   the Stored Routine debugger.

Stored Procedure Debugging
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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. You can debug
stored routines, functions&   triggers. These release contains fixes specific of the debugger as well as other fixes specific of other areas of Connector/NET:

  * Added feature to define initial values for InOut stored procedure arguments.
  * Debugger: Fixed Visual Studio locked connection after debugging a routine.
  * Fix for bug Cannot Create an Entity with a Key of Type String (MySQL bug #65289, Oracle bug #14540202).
  * Fix for bug "CacheServerProperties can cause 'Packet too large' error". MySQL Bug #66578 Orabug #14593547.
  * Fix for handling unnamed parameter in MySQLCommand. This fix allows the mysqlcommand to handle parameters without requiring naming (e.g. INSERT INTO Test (id,name) VALUES (?, ?) ) (MySQL Bug #66060, Oracle bug #14499549).
  * Fixed end of line issue when debugging a routine.
  * Added validation to avoid overwriting a routine backup file when it hasn't changed.
  * Fixed inheritance on Entity Framework Code First scenarios. (MySql bug #63920 and Oracle bug #13582335).
  * Fixed "Trying to customize column precision in Code First does not work" (MySql bug #65001, Oracle bug #14469048).
  * Fixed bug ASP.NET Membership database fails on MySql database UTF32 (MySQL bug #65144, Oracle bug #14495292).
  * Fix for MySqlCommand.LastInsertedId holding only 32 bit values (MySql bug #65452, Oracle bug #14171960).
  * Fixed "Decimal type should have digits at right of decimal point", now default is 2, and user's changes in
    EDM designer are recognized (MySql bug #65127, Oracle bug #14474342).
  * Fix for NullReferenceException when saving an uninitialized row in Entity Framework (MySql bug #66066, Oracle bug #14479715).
  * Fix for error when calling RoleProvider.RemoveUserFromRole(): causes an exception due to a wrong table being used (MySql bug #65805, Oracle bug #14405338).
  * Fix for "Memory Leak on MySql.Data.MySqlClient.MySqlCommand", too many MemoryStream's instances created (MySql bug #65696, Oracle bug #14468204).
  * Added ANTLR attribution notice (Oracle bug #14379162).
  * Fix for debugger failing when having a routine with an if-elseif-else.
  * Also the programming interface for authentication plugins has been redefined.


Some limitations remains, due to the current debugger architecture:

  * 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 is feature complete at this point. We look forward to your
feedback.

Documentation
-------------------------------------
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!