Getting Started with the Web Client Software Factory - June 2007

Are you new to the Web Client Software Factory? This document provides a set of links and a suggested flow of activities to get you started quickly. See the Web Client Software Factory for overview information on the factory.

Contents

• Installing the Web Client Software Factory
• Exploring and Evaluating the Web Client Software Factory
• Using the Web Client Software Factory
• Customizing the Web Client Software Factory

Installing the Web Client Software Factory

The Web Client Software Factory contains a variety of software assets, such as reusable code components, documentation, reference implementations, and tools, including wizards, code generators, and visual designers.

Note: You can download the documentation or source code before installing the software factory which allows 
you to evaluate the factory without going through the installation process. 

Click here to download the Web Client Software Factory Documentation. Click here to download the Web Client Software Factory Source Code

Summary of Installation Steps

Use the following steps to install the Web Client Software Factory and its prerequisites:

1. Install Visual Studio 2005 (C#, VB, and Web Developer)
2. Install Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 (SP1)
3. Install Guidance Automation Extensions.
4. Install the Web Client Software Factory.

Click here for detailed instructions on Installing the Web Client Software Factory Release June 2007 Release.

Exploring and Evaluating the Web Client Software Factory

To effectively evaluate whether the Web Client Software Factory is right for your team, it is important to understand the concepts and relationships between the software factory assets. Table 1 contains suggested starting points if you are new to the Web Client Software Factory or one of the related assets.
Table 1: Resources for Evaluating the Software Factory

If you want to...	Explore...
New to Web client development	Composite Web Clients
New to software factories	Software Factories
New to guidance automation	Guidance Automation, Guidance Automation Overview
New to application blocks	Application Blocks
New to the Web Client Software Factory	Composite Web Clients, QuickStarts, Exploring the Reference Implementation, Application Blocks, Using the Web Client Software Development Package, Patterns for Web Client Applications

Using the Web Client Software Factory

You can use the Web Client Software Factory to create and extend Web client applications. It contains both manual instructions and automated guidance for implementing useful patterns of Web client applications. Table 2 lists suggested resources to help you explore the benefits of using the software factory to create Web client applications. Figure 1 provides a suggested process of developing applications using the factory.

Table 2: Resources for Using the Software Factory

If you want to...	Explore...
Use the factory to learn patterns of Web client development	Application Blocks, QuickStarts, Patterns for Web Client Applications, Exploring the Reference Implementation, Developing Web Client Applications
Use the factory to create a Web client application	Developing Web Client Applications, Using the Web Client Software Development Package

Figure 1
Web client development activities

Exploring the Reference Implementation

The Web Client Software Factory includes one Reference Implementation: the GlobalBank, Commercial e-Banking web site. The reference implementation is inspired in a real world example to demonstrate the guidance in action. Notice that the web site is functionally incomplete, meaning that not all use cases are completely implemented.
Included, are the web site source code for the reference implementation, as well as all the unit tests. This means you can copy the source code for the implementation of any particular guidance into your applications. However, the recommended approach for incorporating reusable source code into your application is to use the guidance package. The guidance package provides you with recipes and templates that generate the most commonly used code according to the prescribed practices.
The Web Client Software Factory documentation contains a full description of the reference implementation, including architectural views and application features.
To prepare and run the reference implementations

1. Follow the instructions for Installing the Web Client Software Factory (including creating the supporting database)
2. In Visual Studio, open the patterns & practices e-Banking solution (GlobalBank.Commercial.EBanking.sln).
3. Build and run the solution.

Patterns for Web Client Applications

The factory documentation introduces the following patterns that provide solutions to common web client design, implementation, or deployment challenges:

• View-Presenter (VP)
• Dependency Injection
• Service Locator
• Application Controller

For a description of each of these patterns, see "Useful Patterns for Web Client Applications" in the Web Client Software Factory documentation.

Customizing the Web Client Software Factory

The Web Client Software Factory contains assets that represent recommended practices for web client development. The software factory has been developed as a result of analyzing common enterprise development challenges and successful solutions to these challenges. Developers can use an unmodified version of the software factory to create web client applications. However, because each application is unique, you should analyze whether the Web Client Software Factory is suitable for your particular needs. In many cases, you will want to customize the Web Client Software Factory to incorporate your enterprise's best practices and frequently repeated developer tasks.

More Information

For access to other documentation and resources, or to provide feedback, see the Web Client Software Factory Web site. For more general information about the goals of this and other patterns & practices deliverables, see the patterns & practices Web site.