Chapter 7 -- User Service Layer Technologies

Chapter 7

About This Chapter

This chapter examines how to create effective and efficient user interface (UI) and user service designs. We explore legacy, current, and future technologies that affect the design of the user service layer of the MSF Application Model. We also determine the impact of Web technologies on current application design techniques.

We start our discussion of user service design issues by examining different types of user interface applications. We also study the effects of application requirements and design on development implementation choices. We briefly discuss creating and accessing native user interface applications while taking an in-depth look at creating and accessing Web-based user interface applications.

Finally, we look at some techniques and configurations developers can use in their implementations to connect the user service layer to the business service layer.

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:

• Mary Kirtland's Designing Component-Based Applications
• Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 Programmer's Guide

Upon completion, you will be able to:

• Use basic user interface guidelines to create effective user interface designs.
• Analyze user interface requirements to derive the appropriate user interface technology model.
• Understand different technologies that can be used to implement a user service layer.
• Understand the effects of user service technologies on the deployment of applications.