Microsoft Business Framework

Incidentally to Ward's moving to Microsoft, there is an interesting PDC session on the MicrosoftBusinessFramework.

http://microsoft.sitestream.com/PDC2003/DAT/DAT340_files/Default.htm

Some real experience from GeatPlainsBusinessSoftware? and other Microsoft acquisitions seem to be moving this framework in a useful direction. MBF is a dotnet class library and framework of business functionality. It has a number of extension points derived from the business features from GreatPlainsBusinessSoftware?, etc.

MBF also has some ObjectRelationalMapping and TransactionManagement? features.

MBF is not a ServiceOrientedArchitecture but could be used to implement one for business domains.

News and Developments

May2005 article claim delivery of MicrosoftBusinessFramework put off until WindowsLonghorn is ready. See http://www.crn.com/sections/BreakingNews/dailyarchives.asp?ArticleID=49958

Hmm. From a software design perspective I think this may be bad news. There are so many interdependencies from seemingly independent components of Longhorn. On the other hand from a business perspective this may be good news. There are so many interdependencies from seemingly independent components of Longhorn. If they can deliver an intertwined system that enough people want to buy that it compells us all to buy it.

I'd like to see MBF be less intertwined. But then I'd also like to see it in Smalltalk, so not many of my wishes will come true.

From:

http://patricklogan.blogspot.com/2004_01_04_patricklogan_archive.html#107332457434237136

Follow-on questions:

What happened to IBM's San Francisco framework for Java?
Was S.F. too ambitious?

Maybe. But see the next question for what I think is more significant.

Will MBF be more practical?

MBF may be more practical given MSFT's investment in the EnterpriseResourcePlanning market, i.e. they own GreatPlains? and NaviSoft? and other companies. I don't think IBM ever really had enough incentive to make IbmSanFrancisco successful.

Is there anything else comparable, in any language?

Someone offers http://jakarta.apache.org as an alternative, but to my knowledge Jakarta does not have business domain features. Jakarta has facilities on which to host a business domain.

2004-09-10: Latest news: http://www.infoworld.com/article/04/09/01/HMlonghornmbf_1.html

For more info see: http://www.businessframework.com/