Designing Systems for Internet Commerce (2nd Edition) [Paperback]

G. Winfield Treese (Author), Lawrence C. Stewart (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0201760355 | ISBN-13: 978-0201760354 | Publication Date: October 12, 2002 | Edition: 2

This new edition reflects experience gained with Internet commerce systems over the last four years. It explains the new technologies that have emerged, including the wide-spread use of XML, the growing use of web services, evolution in content management systems, the importance of integration with other enterprise information systems, and the growth of mobile and wireless systems. The core focus is on how to use the technology to deliver value to customers, and the essential role of system architecture in achieving that goal.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Read the entire review of this book.

Designing Systems for Internet Commerce is the first book I've seen that goes in the opposite direction, relying almost exclusively on bulleted lists to walk the reader through the elements of designing and implementing an electronic commerce system. I have mixed feelings about this approach. On the one hand, if the reader is using the book as a reference and doesn't care about its cover-to-cover readability, Designing Systems for Internet Commerce is packed with useful information in a compact, easily digested format. For the reader in search of a book with something akin to a traditional narrative structure, however, the constant flow of high-density information can be a real turn-off. I brought the latter viewpoint to my examination and came away flat, which is reflected in the below average "readability" score at the end of this review. -- Curtis D. Frye, Dr. Dobb's Journal -- Dr. Dobb's Journal --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Inside Flap

In 1994, The Economist ranked the Internet between the telephone and the printing press in its long-term impact on the world. Just as those inventions transformed society, so the Internet has already begun a transformation--one that is happening much faster than the earlier revolutions. Commerce, of course, is one arena already feeling the effects of the Internet. In the past few years, we have seen dramatic changes in some businesses, the creation of new businesses, and significant effects on others. In the nineteenth century, fast transportation--the railroad--fundamentally changed commerce. At the end of the twentieth century, the Internet is making fundamental changes to commerce for the next century. We are just at the beginning of the revolution. It is a revolution made possible by technology, offering a tremendous variety of new business opportunities. The technology will continue to change, and change at a rapid pace. New markets will appear; old ones will be transformed or disappear entirely. The short-term changes in technology and markets are important, but the reaction to them must be balanced with a long-term business vision. The challenge is using the technology effectively to achieve business goals. The audience for this book is what we call the "Internet commerce team." This team includes people responsible for business and those responsible for technology. It includes those who develop the strategic vision for a company, and those who put the strategy into action. In other words, the Internet commerce team is the group of people who make Internet commerce happen, from vision to implementation. Our focus is on making Internet commerce happen, and making it successful over the long term. In some ways, Internet commerce seems deceptively simple: companies think "let's put up a web site, and watch the money roll in." A year later, they're wondering what happened, and why it wasn't successful. As anyone involved in running a business knows, nothing is ever that easy. The most basic rules of business haven't changed, but the Internet does change the playing field. It offers new markets, new ways to get close to customers, new ways to work with partners. For some, the excitement over Internet commerce has created a "credibility gap" between grand visions of change and the day-to-day problems of running computer systems for a business. It is easy to paint an exciting vision of the future, yet often difficult to figure out to get there. This book aims to help bridge this gap, grounding the vision of change with what is possible for businesses to achieve with the changing technology. Throughout the book, we emphasize both practice and principles--the what and the why. Practices are the actions; the specific ideas for specific circumstances. Principles are the general rules; the elements on which practices are built. As technology changes (or, for that matter, as business models change), the practices will need to change. The principles, in contrast, change more slowly, and can be applied in a wide variety of circumstances. When a team understands the principles underlying what they do, they can adapt to changing circumstances and develop new practices for it. Without that understanding, they can become incapacitated when the situation changes and different practices are needed to be successful. What the technology brings is a combination of new opportunities, changing cost structures, new customers, and faster response times. The technology opportunities must be combined with and tempered by the business goals. This book is about that combination--designing computer systems for doing business on open networks. When we say this book is about design, we mean that it is intended to help with the design process. It doesn't give all the answers--the actual design for your business requirements is likely to be very different from someone else's. Nonetheless, we can explore some of the common issues and critical questions to ask when planning any system for Internet commerce. In the process, we look at some of the key technologies of today, and apply those technologies in several examples. A word of warning: at times it may seem that we are overly concerned with potential problems--the things that can go wrong. These are not reasons to avoid Internet commerce. Rather, we think it is important to approach Internet commerce as you would any other business proposition, understanding the downside as well as the upside, the risks as well as the benefits. On balance, using the Internet for commerce can be a tremendous asset for businesses. Doing everything possible to maximize the chances for success is merely good business.

Acknowledgments This book is an attempt to write down what we have learned about Internet Commerce so far. Much of our experience in this area is drawn from our association with Open Market, which began operations in April 1994, but we have applied many of the lessons learned about the Internet and about systems design during our earlier careers at Xerox, Digital Equipment, and MIT, as well as from our academic associations with MIT, Harvard, and Stanford University. We would like first to acknowlege the great contributions and support we have received in this endeavor from Shikhar Ghosh, Gary Eichhorn, Andy Payne, Peter Woon, and the rest of our colleagues at Open Market. In one way or another, everyone at Open Market has contributed to this work. The editorial team at Addison-Wesley has been outstanding, with our editor Karen Gettman, editorial assistant Mary Harrington, and the editor who inspired this work, Carol Long. We have been fortunate to have many insightful reviewers for early drafts of our manuscript. Our thanks to Russell Nelson, Nathaniel Borenstein, Marcus Ranum, Richard Smith, Brian Reistad, Dave Crocker, Ray Kaplan, Bruce Schneier, John Adams, John Romkey, Fred Avolio, Kurt Friedrich, Alex Mehlman, Paul Baier, Ian Reid, Jeff Bussgang, and the anonymous reviewers. Writing a book is a challenge not only for the authors, but for our families as well. To our wives, Marie and Catherine, and our daughters, Erica and Samantha, go our thanks and our love. We are truly blessed. Win Treese
Cambridge, MA Larry Stewart
Burlington, MA  

0201571676P04062001 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 496 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional; 2 edition (October 12, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201760355
• ISBN-13: 978-0201760354
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #745,873 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Architecture is the central theme, May 21, 1999

By 

Michael Darmody ([e-mail]) (San Diego, California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Designing Systems for Internet Commerce (Paperback)

The book is geared for IT professionals. This still is the only book that views Internet solutions in a decomposable architectural perspective. It contains a good chapter on the value chain, payment systems and transaction processing. The graphics are clear and reusable. It had a little too much overview material on related topics and not enough alternatives to the authors' company solutions. Great book for budding technical architects. More books are needed that address lessons learned from real architects. This fills that gap.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too much philosophy, not enough content, January 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Designing Systems for Internet Commerce (Paperback)

The authors are clearly qualified and knowledgeable, but the book suffers from being a dry and largely superficial overview of almost every concept related to computers, IP networking, telecommunication and e-commerce. Little space is devoted to real-world examples, illustrations of products and promise of specific technologies in e-commerce.

The book is probably written to those who need a some "corridor competence" to talk about these matters, but there's little technical "meat" to be found here.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars 10% useful content, 90% filler, March 31, 2002

By 

C. Mitzel (Schaumburg, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Designing Systems for Internet Commerce (Paperback)

This book feels to me like the authors came from a teaching background, had a few original ideas about how to cover certain broad topics in their own personal way, and then went overboard saying the same things over and over again as if paid by the word.

I had to buy this book because it was required for a class at Regis University Online. I would have preferred to choose my own book. I started reading diligently and eventually came to the conclusion that the book was a waste of time. Even if the blithering was taken out and the useful information condensed, the book still wouldn't be saying very much.

Here's an example from chapter 5, "Conflicting Goals and Requirements." The reader expects to learn how to balance the two. Instead, we get this (this is the chapter summary):

"Whenever different participants in a system have different goals and requirements, there is a potential for conflict. This is particularly true in a new industry like Internet commerce, where there are few established standards. Our advice is to build a list of the participants in your system, and to be very clear about their goals, interests, and agendas. Understanding the participants, their goals, and their interests is very important in framing both the business problem and the technical challenges to be overcome."

...huh? No answers, just laborious advice telling you to be aware of the problem. I would expect this sort of thing from a nerdy friend that thinks he knows what he's talking about and just likes to hear himself talk. Or from a business meeting where people like to make lists but don't have a clue about what to do about the issues at hand.

If you really, truly don't have a clue about Internet commerce, and want to read 350 pages of monotony and still not have a clue, this book may be of interest to you. But if you're intelligent enough to be reading reviews first, you know enough to look elsewhere.