Building distributed web applications is a wide-ranging topic, covering a variety of technologies and techniques. Windows DNA is the name given to the combination of traditional n-tier architecture with the intrinsic Windows 2000 services, including COM+, MSMQ, and Active Directory. Using this architecture, you can design and build scalable enterprise-level distributed applications on the Windows 2000 platform.
This book takes an in-depth look at the DNA architecture, focusing on fitting the pieces of the puzzle together. Each of the logical tiers is examined, with particular emphasis placed on the features COM+ contains to make component building simpler and more powerful.
Who Is This Book For?
This book is for anyone involved with building distributed web applications that want to see the bigger picture. As such the book assumes a working knowledge of VB and ASP in places, but the emphasis is not so much on the code as on where each of the pieces fit into the puzzle. It's designed to give you an idea of how each area or technology affects you, enabling you to make informed decisions about whether to pursue a subject further, or confidently assert that you can do without it.
What Does This Book Cover?
DNA architectural overview
COM+ including Transactions, Events, and Queued Components Variable client richness and building rich clients MSMQ Business Objects SOAP Universal Data Access Directory Services Scalability and Availability Security and Debugging Case Studies showing actual implementation
Weighing in at nearly 1,000 pages, Professional Windows DNA is a comprehensive guide to creating state-of-the-art Windows enterprise applications. Written for the more experienced VB or C++ programmer, this guide shows you best practices for creating scalable, multitiered Web applications that make use of the latest and greatest in Microsoft tools and standards, including SOAP and XML.
The tools-based focus of this tutorial is what sets it apart. While the authors provide background on important standards like COM+ for building middle-tier components, the book is anchored by real hands-on examples (and plenty of screen shots, where appropriate) on using tools like Visual Basic and SQL Server 2000.
First, the book leads you through a discussion of the latest developments and tools from Microsoft (like COM+, SQL Server 2000, and SOAP for communicating on distributed systems). There's a thorough tour of COM+, which gives DNA its middle-tier prowess. You'll learn COM+ configuration, security, and deployment, as well as how to use COM+ transactions and asynchronous message processing with built-in MS Message Queue (MSMQ) services. Later, there's a concise introduction to ADO database programming, as well as the new support for XML in SQL Server 2000. Useful debugging advice will help you out with server-side components, which can be notoriously hard to troubleshoot.
Final sections present a fairly substantial case study for an airline reservation system that's built with middle-tier components and ASPs for a Web interface. (There's also an e-commerce application for renting construction equipment.) The book also walks you through implementation of a back-end database, middle-tier COM+ components, and a browser-based front end that's built with ASP.
At least until the new Microsoft .NET Framework arrives, any system architect or developer can rely on this title to get a sense of how to build effective software for the enterprise. Professional Windows DNA is a thorough and up-to-date guidebook on the constantly shifting terrain of Microsoft tools and technologies. It's filled with nearly everything you need to know to develop scalable Web applications by using Visual Basic and Windows 2000. --Richard Dragan
Topics covered:
Introduction to the Windows Distributed interNet Architecture (DNA) for enterprise development
History of monolithic, client/server, and n-tiered architectures
Overview of Microsoft DNA tools and components (including clustering support and server-side tools)
DNA vs. .NET Frameworks
Advantages of DNA for the enterprise
Introduction to COM for component development (including IDL, IUnknown, and GUIDs)
Distributed processing overview (socket basics, RPC, and components)
COM+ and DCOM basics
Designing middle-tier business objects with COM (UI vs. business logic)
COM+ transactions and contexts
COM+ security
COM+ catalogs
VB COM+ component programming
Distributed transactions
DTC and compensating resource managers (CRMs)
Microsoft Message Queue (MSMQ) and asynchronous processing
COM+ queued components
Events and callbacks
COM+ events (publishers, subscribers, and filtering)
Objects vs. Web services
Primer on SOAP and XML
Universal Data Access (UDA) (including ODBC, OLE DB, ADO, and RDS)
SQL Server 2000 (including new XML support)
Active Directory (and ADSI programming)
Thin and rich clients (including terminal-based, HTML, and thick clients)
Introduction to Active Server Pages (ASPs) for Web front ends
ActiveX controls
Scripting Office 2000 applications
Performance and scalability hints
DNA and Windows 2000 security
Introduction to cryptography and certificates
Debugging tips
Case studies for sample enterprise DNA applications
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Great Reference:
This book comes in handy as a great reference for utilizing these technologies in the real world. If you're looking for a book that you can sit down and read cover to cover to understand the basics, this is not it. If you're an experienced developer who wants to dive into the guts of the technologies, then this is for you.
I recommend this book a chapter at a time (after reading the first 2 review chapters), in order to learn how to implement a technology (like MTS, MSMQ, etc) in the real world.
The ends and outs of modern Microsoft development:
Windows DNA is an platform and methodology for Enterprise development. It is taking all of what Microsoft offers for industry : server software (SQL Server, Biztalk), development software (Visual Studio) and productivity software (Office, Viso) and making them tightly inter operatable to produce scaleable solutions that can be development very rapidly.
This book covers Microsoft DNA and does so very well. If you have been following the evolution of Microsoft's Enterprise development methodology and... more info
Good DNA (almost .Net) overview in one book:
I have to admit, this book contains an impressive overview of all the Windows DNA technologies. As a reminder, DNA has been there for years and was working under NT4. It has been revamped with trumpets with a new name, .Net, with all those new services. The authors do have this in mind and they will tell you where .Net will be improving features.
I would recommend this book to anybody that wants to know what is Windows DNA/.Net (beside thinking it's everything that Microsoft is providing for developers!).... more info
Great Overview:
This book covers the general topics extremely well, and offers great insight into DNA. At first glance it gives a good read and is great as a reference. well done. i would recommend anyone who is the slightest familiar with distributed programming, but needs greater insight.
