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Work Item and Test Client OM Deprecation

3 posts · Oct 2010 – May 2018

What this trail covers

The Work Item Tracking (WIT) system has evolved to better handle identity fields, distinguishing them from plain text fields. This change modernizes the underlying system and supports future features. Identity fields now uniquely identify users and groups, with new UI controls and updated REST API and ClientOM behaviors. The system supports non-identity values but recommends against them. Identity fields are scoped to the entire team project collection. The new picker searches all valid identities. This thread tracks the evolution of the Team Foundation SDK, specifically its coverage of the server object model and the client object model for work item tracking. Updates include adding more reference material, removing less valuable content, and providing code snippets for connecting to a work item store.

All Microsoft trails
  1. Announcing the deprecation of the WIT and Test Client OMThis post announces the deprecation of the Work Item and Test Client OM SOAP APIs, marking methods in the Microsoft.TeamFoundationServer.ExtendedClient NuGet package as obsolete starting with Visual Studio 2019 and Azure DevOps Server 2019. It provides a deprecation matrix for SOAP and REST APIs across different Azure DevOps Server and Service versions, and links to migration guides, REST API documentation, and .NET client library samples. The post clarifies that current WIT Client functionality is supported but will not receive new features, and that the Version Control SDK SOAP APIs will eventually be end-of-lifed, with REST APIs being the recommended alternative for new integrations.
  2. Identities and Work Item Tracking in TFS 2015This post details the changes introduced in Team Foundation Server 2015 regarding identity fields in the Work Item Tracking (WIT) system. It explains the historical limitations of treating identities as plain strings, leading to ambiguous assignments. The post outlines the new behaviors and restrictions of identity fields, including their determination by rules and their scope. It describes the new identity picker in the web portal and its search behavior. Crucially, it details the changes in REST API responses and accepted values for identity fields, providing examples for queries and updates. It also explains the differences in how identity strings are handled in the WIT ClientOM compared to the REST API, and introduces the GetValidDisplayName helper function for correct assignment.
  3. Visual Studio 2012 – Update 2 RTM!This post announces the release of Visual Studio Update 2 RTM, highlighting improvements in modern application lifecycle management, including work item enhancements (tags, filtering, sharing), Kanban board customization, and browser-based test management. It also integrates the ASP.NET and Web Tools 2012.2 update, and introduces Team Foundation Server version control enhancements like explore/compare and zip download. Backward compatibility for Team Foundation Build 2010 Controllers with TFS 2012 Update 2 is also noted.
  4. Integrating existing testing systems with Microsoft Test Manager, Team Foundation Server and Visual StudioThis post details how to integrate existing testing systems with Microsoft's ALM platform (TFS, MTM, VS). It outlines a four-step pattern: 1. File bugs from IDE into TFS (referencing a previous post on programmatic work item creation). 2. Create Test Cases in TFS using the ITestManagementService API. 3. Create a custom Test Type in Visual Studio to wrap existing test execution engines, providing code examples for shelling out to external executables and asserting results. 4. Associate these automated tests with Test Cases in TFS using various methods, including programmatic association via the `tcm` command-line tool and direct links to MSDN documentation.
  5. Team Foundation SDK Update includes the Server Object ModelThis post announces an update to the Team Foundation SDK that now covers the server object model. It also includes updates to reference material, specifically adding information for the Microsoft.TeamFoundation.WorkItemTracking.Client Namespace with a code snippet for connecting to a work item store. Content that was primarily for convention rather than usability has been removed from 'Extending Team Foundation' and 'Extending Work Item Tracking'. Relevant reference links and conceptual topics have been reorganized.