This chapter examines design issues related to data requirements, including how to implement data access services within an application. We explore characteristics of different data access technologies, and discuss how to best use each access technology. Furthermore, we discuss normalizing data and data integrity, as well as identify how business rules can affect application data and where these rules are implemented. We'll examine technologies that provide data access to legacy data system stores and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) applications such as SAP AG's product SAP R/3. Finally, we'll review COM+ In-Memory Database (IMDB) features that can improve data access performance.
The principles and guidelines we provide in this chapter are based on our own experience with the creation of application architectures and the implementation of enterprise applications, together with the following sources:
Upon completion, you will be able to: