Today saw the release of the Spring framework, version 3.1, the next step in enterprise Java development.

  	There is a <EM>lot</EM> of other stuff to talk about this week, but we'll
  	forego them for next week, because there's quite simply too much to look at with Spring 3.1.  

  	Take a look at the following content, and don't forget to download (<A href="http://www.springsource.com/download/community?project=Spring%20Framework&version=3.1.0.RELEASE">direct</a> or <a href="http://www.springsource.org/spring-core#download">maven</a>) and try out the latest and greatest bits today! 
 

And, of course, for all the gritty details of what's new, check out the Spring Framework 3.1 release notes.

Among my favorite new features in this release:

<ul> <LI>
Comprehensive Java-based application configuration</LI>
</LI> <lI>New caching abstraction
</LI><lI>Environment support, including bean definition profiles and hierarchical property source management
</LI><lI>Support for Hibernate 4
</LI><lI>Java 7 fork/join and JDBC 4.1 support	</LI>

With that appetizer out of the way, let's get to the entrée!

<LI>  First off, you need to see the <a href= "http://blog.springsource.org/2011/12/13/spring-framework-3-1-goes-ga">Spring framework 3.1 release announcement</a> from Juergen Hoeller, lead of the Spring framework.  Think of this as an orienting landmark, the release equivalent of <EM>you are here</em> on a map. Read this, first.	  
</LI> 
<LI> 
	 During the milestone and release candidate phases, the Spring developers were hard at work creating numerous new blogs detailing every <a href= "http://blog.springsource.org/category/spring/31/">exciting new feature  under the 3.1 tag</a>.
</LI>
 <LI> Want to use Spring? Already using Spring and want to upgrade? Need help convincing somebody? Point them to this video that details <a href= "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQp8lEp8uro&hd=1">how Spring has helped real developers accelerate their productivity.</a>
<LI> 
	<a href = "http://www.infoq.com">InfoQ</a> has a news piece on the release that features an <a href="http://www.infoq.com/news/2011/12/spring31">interview with Spring framework engineer Chris Beams</a>.
</LI> 
<LI>Cloud Foundry already supports the Spring 3.1 release as well as the upcoming Grails 2.0. Check out the <a href="http://blog.cloudfoundry.com/post/14179883461/cloud-foundry-ready-for-spring-3-1-and-grails-2-0">Cloud Foundry blog</a>. </li>
	
	<LI> If you want to get the inside scoop on the Spring 3.1 details, be sure to sign up for the January 19th webinar (<a href="https://vmwareevents.webex.com/vmwareevents/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=663415641">Europe</a>, <a href="https://vmwareevents.webex.com/vmwareevents/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=668718779">North America</a>). If you can't wait until then, you can watch the <a href= "http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD1178B9CCBB2A0AC&feature=plcp"> video introduction to Spring 3.1</a> from earlier this year that discusses the Spring framework during the M1 release.   
		</LI>
			<LI>Want your news in smaller, more rapid bursts than this weekly roundup? Check out the <a href="http://twitter.com/springsource">@SpringSource Twitter</a> handle! Or if you are on Google+ add <a href ="https://plus.google.com/u/1/108009201724900107792/posts">SpringSource to your circle</a>, too! We're happy to answer questions, discuss Spring and the other SpringSource projects, and we'd love to hear from you. 
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