Designing Component-Based Applications (Mps) (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This book provides a worthwhile tour of Microsoft technologies based on DCOM and Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS) with plenty of advice for today's enterprise developer.

The book begins with Microsoft's Distributed Internet Architecture (DNA) and DNA's notion of a three-tier model for separating business objects for better scalability. Of course, COM is an important part of DNA, and the author's introduction to COM is as good as any. Coverage of database acronyms such as ODBC (Open Database Connectivity), ADO (ActiveX Data Objects), and OLE-DB (Object Linking and Embedding Database) round out the basics. Then the author proceeds to explain the capabilities of MTS, from using it as an object request broker (ORB) for locating remote services, to the fundamentals of transaction processing.

At this point, theory becomes practice, and the author walks the reader through a complete sample MTS-based application, an automated accounting package for the "Classifieds" section of a small newspaper. The author shows how to use Microsoft Visual Database Tools and provides a taste of Microsoft's software methodology called Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF). After you learn how to model objects for the database and business object layers, the book helps you build them using Visual Basic and Visual C++. Finally, you learn the presentation layer, which is built using Active Server Pages (ASPs) for running inside a browser.

Final chapters offer material on additional Microsoft tools, such as the COM-to-mainframe tool (called COMTI) and Microsoft Message Queue Server (MSMQ). There's also a preview of COM+--still under construction and due out with Windows 2000. In all, Designing Component-Based Applications successfully covers the state of the art in component development for the enterprise using the complete range of available Microsoft tools and technologies. --Richard Dragan

Product Description

DESIGNING COMPONENT-BASED DEVELOPMENT is an invaluable primer on writing a distributed application using Microsoft(r) Windows(r) Distributed interNet Architecture (DNA). It begins by providing essential overviews of the technologies that make Windows DNA viable: COM, the standard for component creations; OLE DB and ADO, the ingredients that deliver universal data access; Active Server Pages (ASP), for integration and presentation; Microsoft Transaction Server (MTS), the server side of the equation and the key to scalability; and MSMQ, the messaging services that extend MTS for the enterprise.

From there, the book addresses application planning and implementation in a series of chapters, taking as a sample the complete enterprise application developed by the COM and Visual tools teams: Island Hopper. This sample illustrates a host of design and coding practices that make for successful development and deployment of three-tier applications. Nowhere is it explained in detail except here in this book. Remaining chapters cover testing and debugging the three-tier application. A concluding chapter looks ahead to COM+ and the impact it will have on component-based projects such as Island Hopper. Altogether the book provides a rare mix of conceptual information, first-hand design advice, and practical coding samples to guide enterprise developers and planners into new and demanding territory.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Microsoft Pr (December 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735605238
• ISBN-13: 978-0735605237
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.8 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,186,072 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book about Microsoft COM and MTS, April 18, 1999

By	Marc Linster ([e-mail]) (Concord, MA (US)) - See all my reviews

An excellent book about Microsoft COM and Microsoft Transaction Server. A real 'Must Read' for anybody who wants to develop multi-tiered apps on the COM/MTS platform. The book explains on 400 pages how COM works (the roles of the interfaces are described with just enough detail to understand the functioning of the Transaction Server), how theMicrosoft Transaction Server manages objects, transactions and database resources, how to use COMTI to connect to SNA, CICS, CICS Link, LU 6.2, IBM Message Queue and IMS, how to connect to XA Transaction Providers etc. The book is a sound mix between background information and hands-on examples. The examples use both VC++ and VB ++. The book leads through the systematic design of data objects, business objects and the different ways to connect to the presentation layer (ASP, RDS w. disconnected recordsets from the client, using the 'OBJECT' tag in IE 4, remote invocation of application layer objects from the browser). The differences between 'simple COM' objects and COM objects that are 'MTS aware' is explained in detail (its fairly simple, but essential to take advantage of the resource and transaction management framework). The book also discusses component packaging, deployment, security and performance considerations. The book takes the 3-2-1 view (3 tier application, developed by 2 people in 1 months). For those that have struggled (or tried to) through technical descriptions of COM, this will be very rewarding reading because Mary Kirtland never forgets about the bigger picture when describing technology details. Finally, the book gives a preview on COM+ (integral part of Windows 2000) and highlights what the major differences between COM and COM+ will be. Its the best explanation of how to build for Microsoft DNA that I have read so far.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good reference for 70-100 review, August 25, 1999

By A Customer

This book does a good job of explaining the COM standard from the ground up. The first third is devoted to COM. The rest of the book is an overview of building an enterprise application from the ground up using Microsoft technologies.

I used this book as my primary reference in preparing for the new Analyzing Requirements exam (70-100) in the new MCSD track based on the recommendation of someone I know that passed the beta. It may not be listed as a study guide for the test, but it is far better than the Syngress or Sybex study guide for that test. (They were both fairly useless.)

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is THE book, December 1, 1999

By A Customer

Everyone always draws the same n-tier diagram and says they are going to build a scalable, MAINTANABLE solution.

This book actually provides a blueprint, not the 30,000 ft view.

At my job, we call it "The Good Book"