Microsoft Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Architect

Other products by Microsoft

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005S812
• Date first available at Amazon.com: December 9, 2001
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,849 in Software (See Bestsellers in Software)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #1 in	Software > Programming > Programming Languages > Java
  #2 in	Software > Programming > Development Utilities
  #14 in	Software > Programming > Programming Languages > C & C++

• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review
Microsoft's .NET Framework for creating software applications holds tremendous promise, but it also introduces new challenges. Simply put, because .NET applications are distributed, pieces of them run on many separate computers and usually involve elaborate databases with many interlinked tables. Often, there are several human interfaces, at least one of which is served over a Web connection.

When you're building such elaborate systems, you need specialists. Which means you--the architect--need to make your specialists work as a team. You need to make each specialist aware of how their piece fits into the larger system, and allow each expert maximum room for creativity while ensuring that they comply with quality standards and documentation rules. The best tool available for marshaling specialists toward a comprehensive .NET application of professional quality is Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Architect (VSEA). It gives project leads the tools they need to think big thoughts while remaining sufficiently close to the coding to ensure their proper implementation.

To begin, VSEA incorporates the new Visual Studio .NET development environment completely. All of the tools in Microsoft's latest IDE--code editor, debugger, object browser, database browser--are present in this edition. If you have implementation responsibilities of your own, or if you're one of those project leads who goes hands-on to solve low-level problems, VSEA provides you with the tools you need.

VSEA also ships with the goodies that come with Visual Studio Enterprise Developer: Visual SourceSafe and developer-licensed copies of Windows 2000 Advanced Server, SQL Server, Exchange Server, Commerce Server, and Host Integration Server. VSEA owners will get .NET Server when it's released. In addition, VSEA tops Enterprise Developer's offerings with a developer's edition of BizTalk Server.

There's also an attractive set of utilities for designing applications, roughing out application framework, and publishing standards for use by specialist programmers. This is where VSEA really shines, and where it earns its premium price. If you put the architectural tools to good use, your organization stands to realize a great return on investment in the form of increased team efficiency, higher quality, and satisfied deadlines.

VSEA allows you to use Microsoft Visio to design your applications and the databases that underlie them. It's true that you can generate Unified Modeling Language (UML) and database schematics in the standalone version of Visio Professional; but VSEA provides enormous time savings by allowing you to convert your diagrams into actual code. You can create a UML diagram in Visio, then use it to generate a code skeleton--all required class outlines, with inheritance, properties, and methods in place--in C++, C#, or Visual Basic. You can then publish the generated skeleton to your programming team for fleshing out. This is the role that Rational Visual Modeler plays (or used to play) for many developers.

Database modeling in VSEA is even cooler, because you can either export your schematic diagrams as Data Definition Language (DDL) code, or hook into an actual database server via an ODBC or OLE DB connection and generate the tables you've modeled in Visio. It's extraordinarily efficient. In fact, VSEA blurs the lines that have traditionally separated design, implementation, and documentation.

VSEA supports an XML-based language called Template Description Language (TDL), with which you can dictate characteristics of project files in more junior programmers's Visual Studio .NET environments. You can use TDL policies to turn off elements of the Visual Studio workspace, for example. Similarly, policies allow you to preset properties of code elements (such as database connections) that programmers can include as modules in their projects. You can also use TDL to describe the contents of team members's New Project windows, adding code snippets and reference materials alongside starter projects with policies attached.

Be aware that TDL policies may only be interpreted by users of Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Developer; they're not meaningful to users of standalone Visual Studio .NET. Also, be prepared to edit the TDL files manually, as Microsoft hasn't provided good tools for writing and modifying them. Setting up developer environments is a big job that has a huge effect on the later success of your project. It's sort of like tooling up a factory before a production run, so be prepared to spend some time setting policies, writing reference material, and configuring your TDL policies.

Is VSEA worthwhile? The answer depends in part on how well you set your policies, and on your development team's eagerness to use centrally managed reference materials and design advice. Embraced wholeheartedly by a large team, VSEA is not just the only show in town for team development of .NET applications--it's a powerful tool for realizing the vision of a software designer. --David Wall

Amazon.com Review
Visual Studio .NET is a superb, next-generation development tool. At its heart is the .NET Framework, a runtime engine and class library that enables rapid application building for both Windows and Web applications. The runtime engine handles housekeeping, like memory management, while also providing fine-grained security and version awareness. The class library reduces the code needed to build rich applications. Visual Studio also provides a slick visual environment, with features like tabbed and docking windows, dynamic online help, and automatic code completion and hints.

Visual Studio .NET's common runtime is language-neutral so, for example, Visual Basic programmers can use components written in C# and vice versa. Other languages, such as COBOL and FORTRAN, can plug into Visual Studio, and Microsoft provides a version of the Java language called J#. These two languages, along with J#, have full support for the visual design tools in Visual Studio .NET. Also included is JScript .NET, Microsoft's version of JavaScript, although this comes without a form designer. Visual C++ is more similar to earlier versions, and is the only compiler included that can build old-style Windows executables. With a compiler switch, it can also target .NET, making it particularly flexible.

The Enterprise Architect edition has source-code management with Visual SourceSafe, performance testing, and analysis tools. It also includes developer versions of many of Microsoft's server products, including SQL Server, Commerce Server, Exchange Server, and the Windows 2000 Advanced Server operating system. These are licensed for development only, but even so, it is a rich range of products. Finally, there is the ability to use enterprise templates. New in Visual Studio .NET, these are sophisticated skeleton projects that assist organizations in maintaining consistent best practices, and this edition, Enterprise Architect, can create them from scratch.

Another benefit of Enterprise Architect is the inclusion of Visio, an advanced drawing package that has the ability to model databases or even complete applications. This includes code generation and reasonable support for UML, which is the de facto industry standard. Finally, Enterprise Architect includes BizTalk Server, which is able to manage business processes and integrate applications between trading partners.

Overall, Visual Studio .NET is a radical break from the past for Microsoft. C# is an entirely new language, aimed at C and C++ programmers looking for something safer and more productive. Visual Basic .NET is a new twist on the old Microsoft favorite, losing compatibility with earlier versions, but gaining full object orientation as well as access to all the .NET libraries.

There are a few points against Visual Studio .NET. One is that, like earlier versions, it only creates applications that run on Windows. Web applications are a partial exception, in that they support cross-platform clients, but deployment requires a Windows Web server. Another factor is, with its multiple compilers and mountains of documentation, Visual Studio .NET eats up gigabytes of disk space, and the IDE tends to be slow with less than around 384 MB RAM. Serious developers will take this in stride, but casual users could have difficulty. Fortunately, the applications created have more modest system requirements, although Windows 95 is not supported. Finally, developers coming from earlier editions face a lot of learning, with radical changes in both Visual Basic and ASP.

Despite these minor issues and a steep learning curve, Visual Studio .NET is an extremely versatile, sophisticated, and capable development tool. --Tim Anderson, Amazon.co.uk

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This changes everything..., December 30, 2001

By A Customer

There is so much that can be said for Microsoft's new Visual Studio .NET programming platform that I will only mention some of the key points here...

For existing OO developers (Java, C++, etc.): You'll now enjoy a single programming interface (Integrated Development Evironment - IDE) for multi language solution development. The IDE is very intuitive and has plenty of help built in in the form of auto statement completion, integrated dynamic help and intellisense to guide you.

For existing VB developers: You no longer have to feel like a second class programmer. VB.NET is now FULLY OBJECT ORIENTED and supports inhertance, overloading and polymorphism in just the same way the long-time OO languages have.

No matter what language you develop in, you'll have one IDE and a VAST set of built-in classes to work with.

The other major point to mention about .NET is that with it, you are positioned to rapidly create powerful web applications as never before through ASP.NET and Web Forms.

Data in VS.NET is converted to XML automatically. This means that .NET is a powerful tool for managing the movement of data as well.

Applications built with VS.NET are not COM dependant (although they can interop with COM for backwards compatibilty) which means the end of "DLL Hell" for thousands of developers around the world.

The bottom line:

There is an awful big learning curve here, but the rewards are well worth it (language integration, common IDE, rapid application development, ease of application deployment, new power behind web applications, etc.). There are surely features that need to be improved or introduced, but VS.NET is a great first step into the next era of application development (eventually leading to platform independance).

You and your organization may not make the move to .NET right away, as it does involve a learning investment, but learn .NET now anyway because it WILL be the programming standard.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Think Investment, Not Cost, February 9, 2002

By	Harry R. Jordan "Puff Ball" (Decatur, GA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am a new programmer in the .NET arena and have to share my thoughts on this product. I give it a five, and would give it a thousand if I could for the seemingly unlimited list of features.

Where do I start? The programming environment provides easy access to every tool that most programmers commonly need. I am developing data access applications using C# and SQL Server 2000 and I can accomplish all my tasks from the VS.NET interface - from writing and testing stored procedures to authoring Cascading Style Sheets. I only installed the program this morning and by this afternoon I have a functional test application up and running - and I am a novice programmer! I can't wait to explore the other tools that are available in this program.

Judging from the comments in the user newsgroups, it appears that many are having installation difficulty. This had me concerned, so I made sure that I read every piece of documentation I could find before I attempted the installation. Well, this paid off as the installation was flawless. I would encourage all new installers to pay close attention to the documentation.

The only negative for me is the price. If you are a serious programmer - think investment, not cost.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great product, but look at the requirements!, November 25, 2002

By	"frankratl" (Duluth, GA United States) - See all my reviews

I come from a Visual Basic (3 and newer) and C/C++ background doing a great deal of development under both Windows and Unix. The software looks great and is quite user friendly (for a development environment). My biggest concern is the sheer size of the tool and the runtime environment. Among other things, I am a shareware author and a great number of prospective customers do not yet have the .NET runtime, which is a 24 MB download. Though I would not think twice about downloading such a file, those who are still dialing up to the Internet might think twice.

Overall, nice tool, but I am not yet convinced it is the most prudent tool for me and Visual Studio 6 is going to have a long lifetime despite this successor.