Layered Architecture Sample for .NET

Updated Wiki: Home

firedancer — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 11:11:16 GMT

Project Description
With various .NET technologies such as Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) and Language Integrated Query (LINQ) made available today, it can be quite a confusing task to put all of them into an Enterprise Architecture. Most available samples are focused on demonstrating a technology's capabilities and very few focused on the whole picture.

Layered Architecture Sample is created to demonstrate how we can apply some of these .NET technologies with the Layered Architecture design pattern. It is a simple example that illustrates the factoring of responsibilities and separation of concerns into multiple layers in an enterprise application. As the name implies, the main focus of the sample is "How to code the layers?" and not the actual functionality of the chosen Expense application. The Expense Business Process Flow was chosen simply because it is widely used and easiest to understand.

Expense Sample November 2008 Release for .NET 3.5 is now available!!!
http://www.codeplex.com/LayerSample/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=19929

Previous stable release for .NET 3.0 can be found at the following
http://www.codeplex.com/LayerSample/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=11916

References
Patterns & Practices Application Architecture Guide V2
http://www.codeplex.com/AppArchGuide

Patterns & Practices Application Architecture Guide V2 KB
http://www.codeplex.com/AppArch

Please help promote Layered Architecture Sample.

Coming up in next release - Support for .NET 3.5 SP1 features.

Updated Wiki: Home

firedancer — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 11:10:12 GMT

Project Description
With various .NET technologies such as Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) and Language Integrated Query (LINQ) made available today, it can be quite a confusing task to put all of them into an Enterprise Architecture. Most available samples are focused on demonstrating a technology's capabilities and very few focused on the whole picture.

Layered Architecture Sample is created to demonstrate how we can apply some of these .NET technologies with the Layered Architecture design pattern. It is a simple example that illustrates the factoring of responsibilities and separation of concerns into multiple layers in an enterprise application. As the name implies, the main focus of the sample is "How to code the layers?" and not the actual functionality of the chosen Expense application. The Expense Business Process Flow was chosen simply because it is widely used and easiest to understand.

Expense Sample November 2008 Release for .NET 3.5 is now available!!!
http://www.codeplex.com/LayerSample/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=19929

Previous stable release for .NET 3.0 can be found at the following
http://www.codeplex.com/LayerSample/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=11916

References
Application Architecture Guide V2
http://www.codeplex.com/AppArchGuide

Application Architecture Guide V2 KB
http://www.codeplex.com/AppArch

Please help promote Layered Architecture Sample.

Coming up in next release - Support for .NET 3.5 SP1 features.

Updated Release: Expense Sample - March 2008 (for .NET 3.0) (Mar 23, 2008)

firedancer — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 11:04:47 GMT

This is the final public release of the Expense sample application for .NET 3.0. I hope to focus on .NET 3.5 features in the upcoming releases.

Revisions:
- Rebuilt the ExpenseSequential workflow on .xoml.
- Simplified the ExpenseSequential and ExpenseStateMachine workflows.
- Simplified the custom workflow activities. Activities are now more straight-forward and reusable.
- Refactored LocalService implementation.
- Refactored IPendingWork implementation.
- Business processes no longer added to work batch to improve performance and control.
- Implemented code to demonstrate how to return values or exceptions back to the client from the service.
- Added/Removed some data access logic to support the new business logic.
- Implemented code to retrieve which connection to use from config file.
- Added the ability to disable MSMQ in the hosts. (Check Readme.txt for instructions.)

This sample contains 16 Visual Studio 2005 projects that illustrates the following:

Presentation Layer
a) Expense Application - A Windows Smart-client for expense submission.
b) Manager Application - A Windows client for approving expense.
c) UI Process - Contains simple user process component classes.
d) Web Application - Contains the ASP.NET version of the expense submission and approver application.

Business Services Layer
a) Business Entities - Contains entity classes that are used in the application.
b) Business Components - Contains Business logic classes.
c) Business Services - Contains the Service Interface classes.
d) Service Contracts - Contains WCF Service Contracts.
e) Service Extensions - Custom extension classes for WCF/WF integration.
f) Business Workflows - Contains the Sequential and StateMachine Expense Workflow classes.
g) Workflow Activities - Contains custom workflow activities.
h) Workflow Services - Contains the Local Service (ExternalDataExchangeService) implementation.

Data Layer
a) Data - Contains components that performs CRUD functions.

Hosts
a) Console Host - Console host for the WCF Expense Service.
b) Windows Service Host - Windows Service host for the WCF Expense Service.
c) WebHost - IIS host for the WCF Expense Service

For more information on Application Architecture for .NET, please refer to the following Microsoft patterns & practices guide http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms954595.aspx

NOTE:
For installation and configuration instructions, please read the accompanying Readme.txt file.

KNOWN ISSUES
You may receive an error connecting to the host application when you first run the code in Visual Studio. This is due to the initialization of the ConsoleHost that may have taken a little longer while the Window clients try to connect to it.

OPENING IN VISUAL STUDIO 2008
You should be able to migrate the solution to VS 2008 without any problems. VS 2008 has multi-targetting capabilities that can build and execute the sample.

Released: Expense Sample - March 2008 (for .NET 3.0) (Mar 23, 2008)

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 11:04:47 GMT

Updated Release: Expense Sample - November 2008 (for .NET 3.5) (Nov 28, 2008)

firedancer — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 11:04:31 GMT

Please read the accompanying README.txt file for setup and installation instructions.

This is the public release of the Expense sample application V3 for .NET 3.5. If there are no issues with this release, I hope to focus on .NET 3.5 SP1 features next.

Revisions:

Namespaces renamed to map more closely to Application Architecture Guide V2.
Data Layer and Business Entities now use LINQ-to-SQL.
WCF/WF integration now use .NET 3.5 WorkflowServices.
Architecture diagram is included.
WPF experimental client has been removed.
MSMQ support has been removed.
State-machine workflow has been removed.
Experimental Smart Client Software Factory (SCSF) client (available as separate download).

Fixes:

Fixed Web Clients
Fixed SCSF Client
Fixed Windows Service Host and Web Host

This version is only supported on Visual Studio 2008

Previous stable version for Visual Studio 2005 and .NET 3.0 can be found here
http://www.codeplex.com/LayerSample/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=11916

This sample contains 15 Visual Studio 2008 projects that illustrates the following:

Presentation Layer

Expense Application - A Windows Forms client for expense submission.
Manager Application - A Windows Forms client for approving expense.
UI Process - Contains user process components.
Web Application - Contains the ASP.NET version of the expense submission and approver application.

Business Layer

Business Components - Contains Business logic classes.
Business Entities - Contains entity classes that are used in the application.
Business Workflows - Contains the Sequential Expense Workflow class.
Workflow Activities - Contains custom workflow activities.
Workflow Services - Contains the Local Service (ExternalDataExchangeService) implementation.

Services Layer

Service Contracts - Contains WCF Service Contracts.
Services - Contains WCF service implementation (non WorkflowService).

Data Layer

Data - Contains components that performs CRUD functions.

Hosts

Console Host - Console host for the WCF Services.
Windows Service Host - Windows Service host for the WCF Services.
WebHost - IIS host for the WCF Expense Services.

About the SCSF Client
You need to install the Smart Client Software Factory April 2008 edition. Extract the SCSF Client directly into the ExpenseSample folder so that an UI.SCSFClient folder is created under the ExpenseSample folder. The SCSF Client has its own Solution and README.TXT files.

For more information on Application Architecture for .NET, please refer to the following Microsoft patterns & practices guide http://www.codeplex.com/AppArchGuide

Please report any issues for this release in Issue Tracker http://www.codeplex.com/LayerSample/WorkItem/List.aspx

Please feel free to feedback on this release in Discussions http://www.codeplex.com/LayerSample/Thread/List.aspx

Thank You for downloading Layered Architecture Sample. :)

Released: Expense Sample - November 2008 (for .NET 3.5) (Nov 28, 2008)

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 11:04:29 GMT

Namespaces renamed to map more closely to Application Architecture Guide V2.
Data Layer and Business Entities now use LINQ-to-SQL.
WCF/WF integration now use .NET 3.5 WorkflowServices.
Architecture diagram is included.
WPF experimental client has been removed.
MSMQ support has been removed.
State-machine workflow has been removed.
Experimental Smart Client Software Factory (SCSF) client (available as separate download).

Fixes:

Fixed Web Clients
Fixed SCSF Client
Fixed Windows Service Host and Web Host

Expense Application - A Windows Forms client for expense submission.
Manager Application - A Windows Forms client for approving expense.
UI Process - Contains user process components.
Web Application - Contains the ASP.NET version of the expense submission and approver application.

Business Layer

Business Components - Contains Business logic classes.
Business Entities - Contains entity classes that are used in the application.
Business Workflows - Contains the Sequential Expense Workflow class.
Workflow Activities - Contains custom workflow activities.
Workflow Services - Contains the Local Service (ExternalDataExchangeService) implementation.

Services Layer

Service Contracts - Contains WCF Service Contracts.
Services - Contains WCF service implementation (non WorkflowService).

Data Layer

Data - Contains components that performs CRUD functions.

Hosts

Console Host - Console host for the WCF Services.
Windows Service Host - Windows Service host for the WCF Services.
WebHost - IIS host for the WCF Expense Services.

Closed Issue: Error Opening Queue When MSMQ is Disabled in the App.config

firedancer — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 09:16:22 GMT

Serena,

First of all let me say thanks for taking the time to take on such a large-scale example. However, after reading the readme.txt very carefully, I am still unable to get the application to work using the console host.

MSMQ has been disabled by setting the value to an empty string as you stated.

I'm getting this message in my console window (please note that the console host and both WinUI applications are being launched on start-up).

****************************************************************
Starting Expense Service Host ...
Verifying Message Queue ...

QueueName not specified.
Sample will continue to run without MSMQ support.
To enable MSMQ support, please specify a QueueName in config file.

Loading WCF Expense Service ...
Error Initializing Host.
Exception : There was an error opening the queue. Ensure that MSMQ is installed
and running, the queue exists and has proper authorization to be read from. The
inner exception may contain additional information.

Please refer to the README.TXT for setup and installation instructions.

****************************************************************

What I have noticed is that the URI value within the following is blank. It's throwing an error.

/// <summary>
/// Loads the WCF Expense Service.
/// </summary>
/// <returns>A ServiceHost instance.</returns>
private static ServiceHost LoadWCFService()
{
Console.Write("Loading WCF Expense Service ... ");

// Create Service Host.
WorkflowServiceHostFactory factory = new WorkflowServiceHostFactory();
ServiceHost svcHost = factory.CreateServiceHost(typeof(ExpenseService)); // THIS IS WHERE THE EXCEPTION IS BEING THROWN
svcHost.Open();

Console.WriteLine("Done!");
return svcHost;
}

Please help.
Comments: Resolved

Closed Issue: Can't find file

firedancer — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 09:14:07 GMT

Can't find this file:

1) Copy the ExpenseSample.Hosts.WindowsServiceHost.exe.config file from the Debug
folder from the bin to your WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 folder.

thanks
Comments: Fixed

Closed Issue: Approving process does not work for WebClient

firedancer — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 09:12:25 GMT

It seems the approving process was not fully tested when connecting to the host services. It would sometimes throw "out of date" exception for the submitted Expense object.
After investigation, it looks the code of forming the expense object for approval service has problem. My workaround is, replace these code block,
"
Expense expense = new Expense();
expense.EmployeeID = row.Cells[1].Text;
expense.Category = (ExpenseCategory)
Enum.Parse(typeof(ExpenseCategory), row.Cells[2].Text);
expense.Amount = Convert.ToDouble(row.Cells[3].Text);
expense.Status = (ExpenseStatus)
Enum.Parse(typeof(ExpenseStatus), row.Cells[4].Text);
expense.Comments = row.Cells[5].Text;
expense.DateSubmitted = Convert.ToDateTime(row.Cells[6].Text);
expense.LastModified = Convert.ToDateTime(row.Cells[7].Text);
expense.ExpenseID = new Guid(row.Cells[8].Text);
expense.AssignedTo = roleBox.SelectedValue;
"

with one single line,
"
Expense expense = FetchCachedObject(new Guid(row.Cells[8].Text));
", wheras the FetchCachedObject is to get the original expense object cached in session variable. (I think it is the right way because there is timestamp of Expense object).

One other minor issue was,
"
ExpenseReview review = new ExpenseReview(expense.ExpenseID,
roleBox.SelectedValue, approved, remarksBox.Text);
"
there is such construct signature actually, need to assign the individual property one by one, like this,
"
ExpenseReview review = new ExpenseReview();
review.ExpenseID = expense.ExpenseID;
review.ReviewerID = roleBox.SelectedValue;

review.Approved = approved;
review.Remarks = remarksBox.Text;
"
Comments: Fixed in November 2008 Release.

Updated Release: Expense Sample - November 2008 (for .NET 3.5) (Nov 28, 2008)

firedancer — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 09:04:47 GMT

This is the public release of the Expense sample application V3 for .NET 3.5. If there are no issues with this release, I hope to focus on .NET 3.5 SP1 features next.

Revisions:

Namespaces renamed to map more closely to Application Architecture Guide V2.
Data Layer and Business Entities now use LINQ-to-SQL.
WCF/WF integration now use .NET 3.5 WorkflowServices.
Architecture diagram is included.
WPF experimental client has been removed.
MSMQ support has been removed.
State-machine workflow has been removed.
Experimental Smart Client Software Factory (SCSF) client (available as separate download).

Fixes:

Fixed Web Clients
Fixed SCSF Client
Fixed Windows Service Host and Web Host

Expense Application - A Windows Forms client for expense submission.
Manager Application - A Windows Forms client for approving expense.
UI Process - Contains user process components.
Web Application - Contains the ASP.NET version of the expense submission and approver application.

Business Layer

Business Components - Contains Business logic classes.
Business Entities - Contains entity classes that are used in the application.
Business Workflows - Contains the Sequential Expense Workflow class.
Workflow Activities - Contains custom workflow activities.
Workflow Services - Contains the Local Service (ExternalDataExchangeService) implementation.

Services Layer

Service Contracts - Contains WCF Service Contracts.
Services - Contains WCF service implementation (non WorkflowService).

Data Layer

Data - Contains components that performs CRUD functions.

Hosts

Console Host - Console host for the WCF Services.
Windows Service Host - Windows Service host for the WCF Services.
WebHost - IIS host for the WCF Expense Services.

Released: Expense Sample - November 2008 (for .NET 3.5) (Nov 28, 2008)

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 09:04:45 GMT

This is the public release of the Expense sample application V3 for .NET 3.5. If there are no issues with this release, I hope to focus on .NET 3.5 SP1 features next.

Revisions:

Namespaces renamed to map more closely to Application Architecture Guide V2.
Data Layer and Business Entities now use LINQ-to-SQL.
WCF/WF integration now use .NET 3.5 WorkflowServices.
Architecture diagram is included.
WPF experimental client has been removed.
MSMQ support has been removed.
State-machine workflow has been removed.
Experimental Smart Client Software Factory (SCSF) client (available as separate download).

Fixes:

Fixed Web Clients
Fixed SCSF Client
Fixed Windows Service Host and Web Host

Expense Application - A Windows Forms client for expense submission.
Manager Application - A Windows Forms client for approving expense.
UI Process - Contains user process components.
Web Application - Contains the ASP.NET version of the expense submission and approver application.

Business Layer

Business Components - Contains Business logic classes.
Business Entities - Contains entity classes that are used in the application.
Business Workflows - Contains the Sequential Expense Workflow class.
Workflow Activities - Contains custom workflow activities.
Workflow Services - Contains the Local Service (ExternalDataExchangeService) implementation.

Services Layer

Service Contracts - Contains WCF Service Contracts.
Services - Contains WCF service implementation (non WorkflowService).

Data Layer

Data - Contains components that performs CRUD functions.

Hosts

Console Host - Console host for the WCF Services.
Windows Service Host - Windows Service host for the WCF Services.
WebHost - IIS host for the WCF Expense Services.

Updated Wiki: Home

firedancer — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 09:02:06 GMT

Project Description
With various .NET technologies such as Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) and Language Integrated Query (LINQ) made available today, it can be quite a confusing task to put all of them into an Enterprise Architecture. Most available samples are focused on demonstrating a technology's capabilities and very few focused on the whole picture.

Layered Architecture Sample is created to demonstrate how we can apply some of these .NET technologies with the Layered Architecture design pattern. It is a simple example that illustrates the factoring of responsibilities and separation of concerns into multiple layers in an enterprise application. As the name implies, the main focus of the sample is "How to code the layers?" and not the actual functionality of the chosen Expense application. The Expense Business Process Flow was chosen simply because it is widely used and easiest to understand.

Stable Release of Expense Sample for .NET 3.5 is now available!!!
http://www.codeplex.com/LayerSample/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=19929

Previous stable release for .NET 3.0 can be found at the following
http://www.codeplex.com/LayerSample/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=11916

References
Application Architecture Guide V2
http://www.codeplex.com/AppArchGuide

Application Architecture Guide V2 KB
http://www.codeplex.com/AppArch

Please help promote Layered Architecture Sample.

Coming up in next release - Support for .NET 3.5 SP1 features.

Created Release: Expense Sample - November 2008 (for .NET 3.5) (Nov 28, 2008)

firedancer — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 08:54:32 GMT

This is the public release of the Expense sample application V3 for .NET 3.5. If there are no issues with this release, I hope to focus on .NET 3.5 SP1 features next.

Revisions:

Namespaces renamed to map more closely to Application Architecture Guide V2.
Data Layer and Business Entities now use LINQ-to-SQL.
WCF/WF integration now use .NET 3.5 WorkflowServices.
WPF experimental client has been removed.
MSMQ support has been removed.
State-machine workflow has been removed.
Experimental Smart Client Software Factory (SCSF) client (available as separate download).

Fixes:

Fixed Web Clients
Fixed SCSF Client
Fixed Windows Service Host and Web Host

Expense Application - A Windows Forms client for expense submission.
Manager Application - A Windows Forms client for approving expense.
UI Process - Contains user process components.
Web Application - Contains the ASP.NET version of the expense submission and approver application.

Business Layer

Business Components - Contains Business logic classes.
Business Entities - Contains entity classes that are used in the application.
Business Workflows - Contains the Sequential Expense Workflow class.
Workflow Activities - Contains custom workflow activities.
Workflow Services - Contains the Local Service (ExternalDataExchangeService) implementation.

Services Layer

Service Contracts - Contains WCF Service Contracts.
Services - Contains WCF service implementation (non WorkflowService).

Data Layer

Data - Contains components that performs CRUD functions.

Hosts

Console Host - Console host for the WCF Services.
Windows Service Host - Windows Service host for the WCF Services.
WebHost - IIS host for the WCF Expense Services.

Created Issue: Approving process does not work for WebClient

davidjgu — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 13:19:03 GMT

New Post: Question on the implementation of the layered design

hendry78 — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 07:04:16 GMT

Hi firedancer,

It is good to know that you will be implementing ADO.NET EF into the project. I would also suggest using IoC container like Spring, Windsor or Unity to improve the extensibility of the layer.Another suggestion will be to apply Repository Pattern for the Data Access layer :)

On Fri, Oct 10, 2008 at 9:29 AM, JXS <notifications@codeplex.com> wrote:

From: JXS

That would be a great idea.

----- Original Message ----
From: firedancer
To: [email removed]
Sent: Thursday, October 9, 2008 5:25:36 PM
Subject: Re: Question on the implementation of the layered design [LayerSample:33258]

From: firedancer

Hi Henry,

LINQ-to-SQL was the only thing available in RTM when I was upgrading the sample. I guessed now that ADO.NET EF is released in SP1, I may look at it and eventually use it as part of my sample. :)

Read the full discussion online.

To add a post to this discussion, reply to this email (LayerSample@discussions.codeplex.com)

To start a new discussion for this project, email LayerSample@discussions.codeplex.com

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this discussion on CodePlex. You can unsubscribe on codePlex.com.

Please note: Images and attachments will be removed from emails. Any posts to this discussion will also be available online at codeplex.com

--
Hendry Wijaya

New Post: Question on the implementation of the layered design

JXS — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 01:28:56 GMT

That would be a great idea.

----- Original Message ----
From: firedancer
To: shaikhj@yahoo.com
Sent: Thursday, October 9, 2008 5:25:36 PM
Subject: Re: Question on the implementation of the layered design [LayerSample:33258]

From: firedancer

Hi Henry,

LINQ-to-SQL was the only thing available in RTM when I was upgrading the sample. I guessed now that ADO.NET EF is released in SP1, I may look at it and eventually use it as part of my sample. :)

New Post: Error running expensesample.hosts.windowsservicehost.exe

firedancer — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:40:40 GMT

Hi!

It looks like you are trying to run the Windows Service Host and Web clients with the May release. It is documented in the "KNOWN ISSUES IN THIS PREVIEW" section of the Readme.txt that these don't work in the May release :)

New Post: Browsable source

firedancer — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:33:22 GMT

Hi Travis,

I will think about your suggestion. Do understand that this is a one-woman-show free-time project and I'm just trying to maintain the agility to modify stuffs and get it out to the audience as fast as possible. :)

Thank You.

Best Regards,
Serena

New Post: Question on the implementation of the layered design

firedancer — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:25:27 GMT

Updated Wiki: Home

firedancer — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:21:50 GMT

Project Description
With various .NET technologies such as Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) and Language Integrated Query (LINQ) made available today, it can be quite a confusing task to put all of them into an Enterprise Architecture. Most available samples are focused on demonstrating a technology's capabilities and very few focused on the whole picture.

Layered Architecture Sample is created to demonstrate how we can apply some of these .NET technologies with the Layered Architecture design pattern. It is a simple example that illustrates the factoring of responsibilities and separation of concerns into multiple layers in an enterprise application. As the name implies, the main focus of the sample is "How to code the layers?" and not the actual functionality of the chosen Expense application. The Expense Business Process Flow was chosen simply because it is widely used and easiest to understand.

Preview Release of Expense Sample for .NET 3.5 is now available
http://www.codeplex.com/LayerSample/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=13807

Previous stable release for .NET 3.0 can be found at the following
http://www.codeplex.com/LayerSample/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=11916

References
Application Architecture for .NET: Designing Applications and Services
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms954595.aspx

.NET Framework 3.0 Community
http://www.netfx3.com

Please help promote Layered Architecture Sample.

You can now help to shape the Application Architecture Version 2 guide by sharing your thoughts in http://www.codeplex.com/AppArch