http://www.microsoft.com/TechNet/analpln/meadd.htm (PC Press Internet CD, 03/1996)
| Updated: March 8, 1996 |  Go To TechNet Home Page |
As with any significant technology shift, the methodologies and tools to support this new model of application development are evolving. Although support and enhancement continues for business applications built over the last 30 years, many corporations are already deploying client/server solutions and PC-based solutions using new methodologies. While many of existing tools and design approaches are still appropriate, some new elements will be required.
Microsoft's stated goal is to evolve its current suite of application development tools to meet the changing needs of the enterprise application environments. To accomplish this, the company envisions application development environments that:
How Microsoft will achieve these goals can be understood easily in terms of Gartner Group's three application architecture tiers: user interface, business logic, and data management. To understand Microsoft's directions, we will examine how its application development environments are positioned at each tier today and how they will evolve in the future.
Microsoft has designed its products to provide tools and infrastructures needed to promote the managed evolution of current computing environments to distributed computing, while still leveraging the legacy assets. Although generally perceived to be a desktop company, Microsoft has actively focused its database, development tool, and systems software efforts to provide development environments that promote the integration of desktop and mainframe environments. At Microsoft, mainframes are viewed as a server. MicrosoftÕs focus, then, becomes one of providing the tools and infrastructure necessary to integrate the PC desktop with any type of network and any type of server-based resource including LAN servers, mini computers, and large host-based servers.
Figure 1 shows the Microsoft. database and development tools environment as it stands today, including
To remain competitive, Microsoft is evolving its current tools and is providing new tools that allow its customers to adapt quickly in a rapidly changing world. To do this, Microsoft will improve communications and coordination among components of its information processing environment, promote applications that make informed business decisions, and foster interoperability among hardware platforms and software components, regardless of their origin.
Figure 1: Database and Development Tools Microsoft's Strategy
In Figure 2, components of Microsoft's current business application development environments are arranged at their appropriate tiers in GartnerÕs three-tiered application architecture. Because these development environments have evolved largely independently to date, applications may not be cognizant of other application systems unless developers undertake (sometimes significant) efforts to make them so.
User Interface. FoxPro and Microsoft Access appear at this tier because they provide interfaces that permit manipulation of data without conventional programming. Although Visual Basic and Visual C++ provide development user interfaces, neither can perform any user task without some programming effort.
Business Logic. Each environment provides a different language for expressing application logic and business rules. FoxPro provides Xbase. Microsoft Access and Visual Basic each support their own dialect of the Basic language. Visual C++ supports construction for C++ programs. Business logic is not generally shared between development environments and must be reengineered when implemented with multiple tools.
Data Management: FoxPro data exists completely independently of data stored in Microsoft Access. Some measure of sharing is provided for Access Basic, Visual Basic, and Visual C++ because each environment can share the Microsoft Access data base. Business rules and integrity constraints described in one data store are not visible to the other. Remote data and other SQL data sources are available via ODBC.
Figure 2: Database and Development Today
Given this background, Microsoft's longer-term strategy is to evolve to a more tightly integrated architecture that leverages commonalties among various components of the application development environment. By doing so, Microsoft will reduce the complexity of the development process for both its customers and itself.
Figure 3: Database and Development Tools Tomorrow
Microsoft's vision of its future development environments (Figure 3) closely follows the three-tiered architecture. A key feature of this vision is that components created at one tier can be arranged in various combinations in other tiers. The result is a development environment that promotes information sharing and reuse, thereby enhancing information integrity and security and reducing overall development effort.
User Interface: User interface components such as forms, reports, and queries can be shared between applications written in different application languages.
Business Logic: Application specific logic and business rules can be expressed in any of the Microsoft supported development languages. Maintaining multiple development languages is important because it protects the substantial experience and training investment of Microsoft's customers and allows evolution of existing application systems and third-party products to future development environments.
Data Management: A common interface for data access and management permits business applications to access data regardless of the nature of the data engine in which it resides. Also, a common interface allows Microsoft to further reduce the application developer's burden by creating data management components such as query optimizers, transaction managers, and repositories that can be shared across various data engines. In this way, the complexity of distributed, heterogeneous computing environments can, over time, be hidden from applications, and if needed, the functionality of specific (often legacy) data stores can be enhanced.
Adherence to a three-tiered application architecture is key to success in tomorrow's increasingly diverse world of interconnected information processing systems, be they the latest in palmtop hardware, workgroup servers, or classical mainframes. In this future vision, business enterprises must be able to leverage their information processing systems to gain competitive advantage. To achieve this, applications must maximize reuse and be able to function without undue knowledge of the physical or logical nature of the various data stores that they encounter in the computing environment.
This strategy enables Microsoft's database development tools to produce application systems that work as a cohesive whole and provides a framework in which new capabilities can be introduced in a coherent way.
In such a world, information at your finger tips will be a reality, but the computer industry that helped make it real will be quite different from what it is today. Many organizations are today building new application systems on client/server hardware and software platforms. As economic and competitive pressures continue most organizations will move applications off host-based systems and redeploy them using advanced distributed client/server technology. Microsoft is committed to building the necessary technology and tools to make this transition an orderly and cost-effective one allowing customers to maximize competitive advantage for their business.
Microsoft's enterprise application development directions are designed to allow its customers the flexibility and control to exploit:
New opportunities by providing an enterprise the flexibility to adapt its information processing systems to meet the needs of dynamic business environments in a timely fashion. Information processing systems should foster business process reengineering, not inhibit it. Flexibility also allows exploitation of new opportunities for work flow automation and helps build upon Microsoft's proven strength on desktop platforms.
New productivity by creating an application development environment where pre-existing elements of the computing infrastructure can be assembled, along with application specific logic, into a functioning business application system in a timely fashion by employees with minimal computer training.
Openness and choice by providing standard interfaces and masking the unique characteristics of legacy hardware and software components.
These new technologies and tools are the enablers for the reliable and cost effective deployment of a new generation of business solutions distributed where business is conducted.
This article is reprinted from the first edition of Microsoft Enterprise Solutions News. Published four times a year, its purpose is to give you more information about Microsoft's role in enterprise application development.
Microsoft's role in enterprise applications development is growing rapidly. Microsoft is on the desktops of every enterprise in big business today. But increasingly, its role in enterprise application development has expanded beyond the desktop. It encompasses everything from development architectures; to data access and storage: to desktop to mainframe connectivity and integration; to 24/7 service and support; to migration strategies and tactics. As Microsoft's role expands in those arenas, the need for better information about its supporting architectures, products, programs and services becomes necessary for MIS people to make better purchase decisions for its enterprise application development.
Microsoft Enterprise Solutions News is published quarterly by Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052-6399. Additional editorial material supplied by Gartner Group, Inc. . 1994. Editorial supplied by Microsoft is independent of Gartner Group analysis and in no way should this information be construed as a Gartner Group endorsement.
.1994 Gartner Group and Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Visual Basic, and Access are registered trademarks and SQL Server, Visual C++, Windows, and NT are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Compaq is a registered trademark and Proliant is a trademark of Compaq Computer Corporation. HP is a registered trademark of Hewlett-Packard Company. NetWare is a registered trademark of Novell, Inc. ORACLE is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation. Pentium is a trademark of Intel Corporation. UNIX is a registered trademark of UNIX Systems Laboratories.
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