Business logic and database structure in XML metadata?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Simon Thomas
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Simon Thomas

Hi

I saw a presentation that was given at PDC 2003 which outlined a sales force
mobile solution created in house by Microsoft. The presentation said that
business logic was described in XML metadata so that the solution could be
updated by just changing the XML files. Even further the database structure
was also described in metadata so that the structure could be updated in a
similar way. Subsequently I have been unable to find any further references
with any more detail. Could anyone point me in the right direction as to how
to learn how to do this or where I can find more information?

TIA

Simon Thomas

Data Mobility Limited
 
Hi Ginny

the frustrating thing is I can't remember / find the presentation. I
know I downloaded the ppt file from only4gurus but I've spent the whole
morning going through presentations from PDC and MDC 2003 trying to find
it again without success. Anyway as far as the content specific to my
original question goes it didn't reveal much more other than the
solution also employed metadata to connect to multiple datasources. The
solution was created by an internal Microsoft Business Solutions team
but I'm even unsure of their official title

Sorry to be so vague

Simon
 
Simon,

Thanks. Do you remember if the rest of the presentation was about Windows
Mobile in some way? This might help me narrow it down.
 
Simon is most likely refering to the following PDC presentation:

MBL311: Exploring New Features in Whidbey and the Compact Framework
http://microsoft.sitestream.com/PDC2003/Default.htm
http://microsoft.sitestream.com/PDC2003/MBL/MBL311_files/Default.htm

If you are developer and you have not watched the PDC Mobility series you
are really do yourself and your company a disservice.

In the presentation you can skip right to the "CRM Mobile Application"
chapter and see what he is speaking of.

I was also quite taken by this technique and began a thourough search for
more information.

I eventually found out it was done by a third party with Microsoft's help.
Basically Microsoft isn't free to share the techniques with the community.
How disappointing...

I belive this is the product showcased in the PDC demo.
http://www.mtconsulting-us.com/mobileportal_crm_factsheet.pdf
http://www.dynamicmethods.net/mobileportal/

This XAML like technology would be a great boon to the community, maybe
someday it is its cousin will come along.

Good luck and please share any insights you may come across,
Chris Craft
http://www.cjcraft.com/
 
Thanks, Chris. That does sound like the the right presentation. I'll be sure
to review it, although I was in the audience at the time. The whole approach
interests me very much too.
 
Thanks from me too Chris - I'll review the presentation but if as you say it
was done by a third party then I guess we'll just have to glean what we can
and work out how to do it ourselves

cheers

Simon
 
Simon,

I reviewed the presentation, and apparently the work was done by Microsoft.
The presenter who showed the demo was responsible for the metadata layer,
and there were 4 other developers on the team. (The CRM team came from Great
Plains, which Microsoft now owns as I understand it.) I guess I didn't
really remember the metadata part because the architecture of the mobile CRM
system was just one quick slide with no discussion, but you can study it if
you download the PPT slides. I'd love to see a case study of the metadata
aspect as a white paper on MSDN, but since the CRM Mobile app is a product
that Microsoft sells, I don't know if that will happen. I also don't know if
they'd do it differently with the Whidbey version of Visual Studio, since
there will be so much more attention to the whole data aspect of mobile apps
in Whidbey.
 
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