This section describes the key features and concepts of the Microsoft® Windows® DNA platform and the prominent role that Microsoft BackOffice® Server plays in its ongoing evolution. For the latest information on this story, see the site http://www.microsoft.com/dna.
Windows DNA is Microsoft's platform for end-to-end application development. It incorporates into a unified programming methodology the variety of technologies, services, object models, and programming languages available in the enterprise computing environment. It provides a flexible model for the myriad configurations of hardware, network infrastructure, and software found in the enterprise. It offers you the ability to quickly write, deploy, and manage custom applications that suit your particular business problem.
Windows DNA utilizes Microsoft's Component Object Model (COM) to create a language-independent set of interfaces allowing you to access applications, systems, and data in a unified way. The sample applications that appear in the BackOffice Developer's Guide (BDG) demonstrate, among other things, how you use COM to knit together the pieces that make up a Windows DNA-based application. Each sample takes advantage of the COM objects that are built into Microsoft systems and applications. In addition, you will see how to extend systems and applications using COM development methods. For further information on COM and news of the latest developments, see the site http://www.microsoft.com/com.
The topics in Overview of Windows DNA describe the technologies and applications that make up Windows DNA, how BackOffice Server fits into Windows DNA, and how COM unifies applications built on the Windows DNA platform.
Rapid application development (RAD) tools, such as Microsoft Visual Basic® and Visual InterDev®, make it easier to develop distributed applications. To give you a practical introduction to the basic structure of an n-tier application, the BDG provides a Hello World demonstration for the Windows DNA environment. Our "Hello World" is certainly more complex than the five lines or less of code it requires in C/C++, but once you understand it, you will be well on your way to developing Windows DNA-based applications.