Programming Requirements and Recommendations

This section presents an overview of how to design applications that cleanly integrate with the Microsoft® BackOffice® components and perform efficiently in a Microsoft® Windows® client/server environment. The requirements and recommendations presented in this section enable you to ensure that your application takes advantage of the features provided by the BackOffice components.

Note You are not required to implement all of these recommendations in your application to obtain the Designed for Microsoft BackOffice logo (located at http://www.microsoft.com/backoffice/designed on the Internet); however, it is suggested that you seriously consider using the guidelines, which may become requirements in the future.

Server Application Requirements and Recommendations

The requirements for your server application are:

To run as a Microsoft® Windows NT® Server service.
To be network-independent.
To support the Windows NT Unified Logon.
To be installable using Microsoft® Systems Management Server (SMS).

The recommendations for your application are:

To support Automation (formerly known as OLE Automation).
To support remote administration.
To support long file names and the universal naming convention (UNC).
To integrate with Microsoft® Internet Information Server.
To support other recommendations such as messaging server applications, Mailbox-Agent objects, Mailbox-Gateway objects, and Open Data Services (ODS).

Client Requirements and Recommendations

The requirements for your client application are:

To execute as a 16-bit Windows operating system interface-based client.
To provide client/server connectivity (such as correct messaging, SQL Server, or SNA APIs and functions).
To be installable through SMS.

The recommendations for a client application are:

To be developed as a 32-bit Windows operating system interface-based client.
To address MAPI design issues.
To address database connection issues, such as using ODBC/DRDA drivers to access host data; using stored triggers, procedures, and cursors; using Open Data Services (ODS); using SQL Distributed Management Objects (SQL-DMOs); and using integrated security concepts with SQL Server.