This toolkit is provided as a Facebook Client Library similar to Facebook’s PHP Client Library or Facebook’s javascript library.  The goal is to enable .NET developers to quickly and easily leverage the various features of the Facebook Platform.  This toolkit has evolved over time with input from the community and from Microsoft.  The latest release (v3.0) cleans up some architecture inconsistencies and provides an asynchronous interface to improve using the toolkit from Silverlight and from WPF.

The main entry point is the Api (Facebook.Rest.Api) class in the Facebook.dll assembly. This class wraps the Facebook REST API and provides an easy to use interface for calling the different methods currently available in the Facebook API.  We’ve also provided samples and tools for helping develop facebook applications in the various .NET platforms including: Asp.NET, Silverlight, WPF and Winforms.  Additionally, we’ve provided all the source code for the API, components, controls and samples for you to explore.

The toolkit is comprised of the following core assemblies.

• Facebook.dll - This is the main assembly that will be used by all applications.  This has all the logic to handle communication with the Facebook application.  This assembly also has specific support of XAML applications (WPF) to enhance the Facebook platform to make databinding and data cacheing easier.  The Rest api is both synchronous and asynchronous.
  
• Facebook.Silverlight.dll - This is the silverlight version of the main assembly that will be used by all silverlight applications.  This has all the logic to handle communication with the Facebook application.  This assembly also has specific support of XAML applications to enhance the Facebook platform to make databinding and data cacheing easier.  The Rest api in this assembly is Asynchronous only.
  
• Facebook.Web.dll- This assembly should be used by Canvas applications.  The main functionality supported in this assembly is to encapsulate the handshake between the facebook application and a canvas application (both FBML and IFrame).  Also, this assembly supplies a full set of server controls providing a server-based programming model for FBML tags.
  
• Facebook.Web.Mvc.dll- Provide a support building canvas applications using Asp.net MVC.  Separated from Facebook.Web.dll to avoid all developers from needing to install the MVC bits.
  
• Facebook.Winforms.dll - This assembly provides support for writing facebook applications using Winform technology.  This provides a Component that wraps the Api to make it easier to use from Winforms.  This also contains some user controls to help display facebook data easily.
  

This toolkit is meant to help leverage the facebook platform from .net. However, the main place to start is not here with the toolkit, but with facebook’s platform documentation.  There is a wiki with most of what you need to know before writing your first application.  Here are some important links to use as a starting point.

http://wiki.developers.facebook.com/index.php/Anatomy_of_a_Facebook_App

http://wiki.developers.facebook.com/index.php/Platform_Core_Components

http://wiki.developers.facebook.com/index.php/How-to_Guides

http://wiki.developers.facebook.com/index.php/Creating_a_Platform_Application