Introduction
Last June, my collegue Howard van Rooijen blogged on the need for continuous education in the .Net development world.
This blog points out one very true fact in the Microsoft development space right now; technologies are diverging and becoming more and more specialized to meet specific needs. As Howard points out, this means as developers we are required to learn an increasing number of technologies to deliver a best of breed end to end solution.
Now this can only be a good thing for business. I am a strong believer that any machine that is focused a single function well is a good thing if you are interesting in delivering the best results. However, this also means that the challenge for individuals in the business community is at least as high as those in the technology community. Whilst developers must understand the terms of the business they are developing in, it is equally important that business users understand the ramifications of technologies that developers are keen in implement.
So this blog tries to explain (in short) how Microsoft's increasingly rich set of technologies relates to common problems that people need to solve in the business world.
It's all in the presentation (AKA the user interface)
So I'll start with the item that is easiest to relate to for most users: the user interface. Why is it easiest to relate to/? Because it’s the part of your PC that you interact with; the part you see.
Technology | What does it do? | Why is it important? | Latest Version | Associated technologies |
ASP.net
| Enables you to present information maintained by a business on a web page viewable by a browser. (See SQL Server to see how information in maintained). | It enables you to expose your business on the internet or intranet. This means that the users only need a browser installed on their computer to view your information, and they are not tied into an operating system to view the business information. | ASP.net 2.0 (part of .Net Framework 2.0) | HTML, CSS Javascript |
Atlas
| An extension of ASP.net, it enables you to present information without having to refresh the entire web page. This reduces page "flicker" and improves the user experience. | Core to the marketing term "Web 2.0", it enables you to provide rich user experiences across browsers (and operating systems) to reach the widest possible audience in the most interactive manner. | Atlas July CTP (production release not yet delivered) | AJAX, ASP.net |
Windows Forms
| Enables you to present information maintained by business in a native Windows application. | It used to be the case that a core reason was user experience, but this is being squeezed between Atlas and WPF. However, using Windows Forms still provides you with a decent user experience that can work offline, and it has lower hardware requirements than WPF. | Windows Forms 2.0 (part of .Net Framework 2.0) |
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Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)
| Provides the richest possible user experience on the Windows platform only, incorporating the use of 3D graphics and other advanced effects | Best of breed user experience for Windows applications. | WPF July CTP (production release not yet delivered) | XAML |
SQL Server Reporting Services
| Provides a mechanism for generating reports from information managed by a business. | Enables you to quick design and generate reports which can be viewed by business decision makers. | SQL Server 2005 | SQL |
My business is my information (AKA the database)
Technology | What does it do? | Why is it important? | Latest Version | Associated technologies |
SQL Server (Core Product)
| Enables you to maintain large business critical stores of information, where new and updated information is managed. | It provides the backbone store to a businesses critical information, providing safeguards on the information in terms of security, recovery, maintenance and reliability, whilst being able to scale to large business volumes. | SQL Server 2005 | SQL, OLTP |
SQL Server Analysis Services
| Enables you to store information in a fashion most suitable for analysis (where the information does not change). | In large enterprises it manages key information for business decision makers. | SQL Server 2005 | OLAP |
SQL Server Integration Services
| Enables you to import large quantities of information into a database. | It provides a mechanism to move large bulks of information into or out of a database. | SQL Server 2005 | ETL |
SQL Server Express
| Enables you the maintain small lightweight stores of information, where new and updated information is managed. | It provides a free light weight store to maintain information in small amounts, such as information maintained in an offline client (see smart client). | SQL Server 2005 Express | SQL, OLTP |
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It takes two to tango (AKA communication)
Before I list these technologies, there are a few techie terms that have to be explained:
Term
| Meaning
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Message
| Any message that is transmitted from one point to another. |
Transport | How a message is transported from one place to another. |
Endpoint | What the message's destination is. |
Technology | What does it do? | Why is it important? | Latest Version | Associated technologies |
Windows Communication Foundation (WCF)
| Enables two or more systems to communicate with each other in any known standard of message format, over any known transport to any endpoint. | Because it means that the business requirements over issues like security and reliability in communications do not alter the design of the communications system. WCF removes the need to understand any of the technologies below (although the principles remain just as important!) | WCF July CTP (production release not yet delivered) | Web Services, WS-*, MSMQ, Remoting, TCPIP, HTTP |
MSMQ
| Enables messages to be sent exactly once and received in the same order. | Because in business critical applications, guaranteeing that a message is sent in the correct order only once is important. For example, would you want a cash withdrawal to be made twice? | MSMQ 3.0 | DTC |
ASMX Web Services
| Enables to business systems to communicate over the internet | Without web services it is hard for systems to communication over the wide area network, due to issues like firewalls. This technology is being superseded by WCF. | ASP.net 2.0 | Web Services |
.Net Remoting
| Enables two systems to communicate within an enterprise. | Provides a potentially more efficient approach to communication than ASMX web services, and enables push communication instead of pull. This technology is being superseded by WCF. | .Net Framework 2.0 | TCPIP |
We need some glue stuff (AKA Enterprise Application Integration and Workflow)
Technology | What does it do? | Why is it important? | Latest Version | Associated technologies |
BizTalk Server
| Takes the messages of one system and turns them into the messages of another system, managing the process. | Enables legacy systems to talk to each other. Is used for managing long running business processes which involve multiple systems. | BizTalk Server 2006 | EAI |
Windows Workflow Foundation (WWF)
| Enables you to design complex business workflows more easily. | Improves productivity for developments where there is complex decision making. Particularly useful where the workflow is likely to change from time to time. | WWF July CTP |
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There are dozens of other Microsoft Technologies that I could drive into, but these are the most used. If there is sufficient interest, I may continue my list…