Introducing the Application Instantiation Model

The Team Productivity Update (TPU) for BackOffice® Server 4.5 hosts applications in Team Workspaces by following the Application Instantiation Model (AIM). AIM complements but does not replace other programming models in the Windows® environment. You can use AIM with applications built on other programming models such as those exposed by Microsoft® Access, Microsoft FrontPage®, or any other Microsoft Office application. AIM provides a way for you to wrap applications for deployment in specific Team Workspaces.

AIM functions in distributed environments. Using development environments such as Microsoft Visual InterDev™ and Active Server Pages (.asp) and scripting languages such as Visual Basic®, Scripting Edition (VBScript), you can develop Web applications for the Team Productivity Update. This includes any broadly defined multi-tier application that uses an HTML user interface to access a data store, such as Microsoft SQL Server™ databases, Microsoft Exchange Server public folders, or a third-party database. For more information about multi-tier applications, see the "BackOffice Developer's Guide" in the Microsoft Platform SDK.

An application that adheres to AIM registers with the Team Productivity Update by calling methods on the TeamAppManager object during its setup on the BackOffice Server computer. A Team Workspace owner can then request an instance of the application. Upon the approval of the request, the Team Productivity Update launches an Instantiation URL. The Instantiation URL copies the application template to the Team Workspace, and performs any configuration the application needs, such as creating database tables or setting permissions for Team Workspace owners and members. If the application requires information from the Team Workspace owner, the Instantiation URL can present a user interface prior to deploying the application.

After the application has been deployed in the Team Workspace, the Instantiation URL then returns a set of URL pointers as an XML stream. These URL pointers support the team capabilities the application might provide: Launch, Summary, Search, Offline, and Delete. The application itself provides these capabilities; AIM is responsible for uninstalling applications from the server computer itself.

For information on the process of instantiation, see Instantiating an Application in a Team Workspace.

For an example of how to adapt an application for hosting in a Team Workspace, see Sample AIM Application: Document Review Application and Sample AIM Application: Expense Report. Each step in the process is illustrated with detailed code examples.

For information about the TeamAppManager object, see Programmer's Reference.