Framework for Business Objects

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dries
  • Start date Start date
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Dries

Hey,

I have been looking around for a few weeks now to find a kind of
framework to work with Business Objects. Especially to connect Business
Objects with a database system.

What I want is something like ADO.NET but instead of using DataTables
and DataSets I want to use Business Objects and Collections of them. I
just hate the idea that all data from a database should be represented
as in a database (that is what ADO.NET does!).

Anyone who knows about such a framework or who wants to devellop is with me?

Greetz,
Dries
 
Dries said:
Hey,

I have been looking around for a few weeks now to find a kind of
framework to work with Business Objects. Especially to connect Business
Objects with a database system.

What I want is something like ADO.NET but instead of using DataTables
and DataSets I want to use Business Objects and Collections of them. I
just hate the idea that all data from a database should be represented
as in a database (that is what ADO.NET does!).

Anyone who knows about such a framework or who wants to devellop is with
me?

Greetz,
Dries
Click to expand...
We have evaluated these:
http://www.netdataobjects.com
http://www.versant.com/products/fastobjects/landing/

Both of them were very good!

also very interesting:
http://www.codeproject.com/dotnet/introtomatisse_part1.asp

HTH,
Andy
 
If you're interested in this topic more along the lines of developer tools
rather than buying a "black box" product, you should check out Rocky
Lhotka's work. He's very well-known as a leading advocate of this kind of
design. You can download the source to his "framework". While it can be
used as is, one of the added benefits is being able to extend it as you see
fit.

http://www.lhotka.net/ArticleIndex.aspx?area=CSLA .NET

Note that there is a version 2.0 of the CSLA framework due out in a couple
months. It makes significant improvements and functionality additions that
are worthwhile to keep in mine for long-term planning.
 
Hey,

I have been looking around for a few weeks now to find a kind of
framework to work with Business Objects. Especially to connect Business
Objects with a database system.

What I want is something like ADO.NET but instead of using DataTables
and DataSets I want to use Business Objects and Collections of them. I
just hate the idea that all data from a database should be represented
as in a database (that is what ADO.NET does!).

Anyone who knows about such a framework or who wants to devellop is with me?

Greetz,
Dries
Click to expand...

Get a copy of Rockford Lhotka's "Expert C# Business Objects",
published by Apress. ISBN 1-59059-344-8.


Otis Mukinfus
http://www.otismukinfus.com
http://www.tomchilders.com
 
Sounds like you may be treading near the topic of "object/relational
(O/R) modeling (or mapping)"? There was going to be something called
objectspaces in 2.0, but this will now be part of the longhorn O/S I
think. (Someone will correct me if that is wrong.) Anyway, there are
many theories on how best to achieve this. I gues my frist question
back to you is, what scale of an implementation were you thinking of
doing? Universal (for all types of apps), or app-specific? One thing I
can tell you that I do today is implement a constructor for some of my
"business objects" that takes a datarow in its constructor, which is
used to populate its fields from the database. Other people use XML to
do achieve the same net effect. As I mentioned, there are many ways to
play.
 
As Otis mentioned, you'd do well to pick up Rocky's book. Or at least read
the first couple of chapters at Borders or something. :)

He takes the position that a true object-centric business layer is much much
more than an OR map.

Bottom line is you really need to consider the many factors involved and
make a phisolosphical decision on how you want to build enterprise
applications. There are strong pros and cons for each of the various
approaches. In the early chapters of his book, Rocky explores many of them
and explains why he makes the decisions he does.

One thing I'll point out - if you've been around a decade or so you've seen
several major changes to Microsoft data access technology and classes. I
find it wise to avoid dependence on their ever-changing models whenever
possible.
 
On Mon, 9 Jan 2006 10:55:25 -0500, "Daniel Billingsley"

[snip]
One thing I'll point out - if you've been around a decade or so you've seen
several major changes to Microsoft data access technology and classes. I
find it wise to avoid dependence on their ever-changing models whenever
possible.
Click to expand...

I agree 100%. As a matter of fact this year does mark my decade of
using MS data access technology.


Otis Mukinfus
http://www.otismukinfus.com
http://www.tomchilders.com
 
I'd also highly recommend checking out Rocky's book, however, if you
can wait for the next book to come out, then you might want to wait (or
buy both). I've had the honor to not only be a contributor to this
next framework, but also translated it from the VB version he wrote to
C#, and am also the technical reviewer for the book for Apress. I'd
love to share with you more of what's to come in the next few months,
but unfortunately, my NDA (with both Apress and Magenic) prevents me
from doing so. I can tell you this, however.

The first version of the book came out a few years ago, and is very
good, though it works with version 1.0 of the .NET framework. Since
publishing, there have been many revisions to the framework, bringing
it currently to version 1.51, which obviously aren't synched with the
first version of the book.

Apress will be releasing the C# version of his next book (and
framework) in March 2006, and the VB version should hit shelves only a
few weeks after that. (yes, he's releasing C# first)

The next book and framework is almost a complete rewrite, focusing on
new functionality found in .NET 2.0, the use of Generics, and so much
more. He's brought the framework to a whole new level of power and
simplicity, with bi-directional databinding in ASP.NET, authorization
mechanisms, validation, and so much more. Business object creation are
greatly simplified, and very strong support for WinForms, WebForms, and
WebServices are built right in. All data source specific elements are
no more, making it truely 100% database agnostic.

To get a glimpse at what's changed, and what's to come, he's got a
change log on his website (http://www.lhotka.net/). I will tell you,
that everyone who's had a sneek peak at the new framework is very
excited by it, and we all eagerly await its final release.

Brant Estes
Senior Consultant
Magenic Technologies
 
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