by community-syndication | May 3, 2007 | BizTalk Community Blogs via Syndication
Just a quick note to say that Kevin has a beta release of BizUnit 2.3 on http://www.codeplex.com/bizunit. I had a look at the alpha version earlier and i must say that it looks pretty good. Theres a bunch of additions to the BizUnit() and Context() classes including the ability to pass a Stream to the BizUnit constructor which looks like a nice way to break the dependency on the raw XML. We now have the chance to use the Context in more depth including setting up property values into the Context and passing that into the BizUnit constructor.
I’ve queried about the documentation and whether CHMs will continue to be the only sources there. If so, then i plan to write more articles in the BizUnitExtensions project to cover the new stuff.
I havent had a chance to test extensions against this release, but there is definitely a breaking change in that the Context HasKey() and Change() methods that are used by some extension steps are not available anymore, but the good news is that the ContextManipulator step appears to work, so i guess i can change the code in the appropriate steps to use this step instead of Context Change, or i can move the context change and haskey() into the extension steps. Lets see how it turns out. I should be able to re-release an updated version of extensions as soon as 2.3 is complete.
Anyway, grab your copy of the latest BizUnit and test it out and post your feedback on the codeplex site. Enjoy…
by community-syndication | May 3, 2007 | BizTalk Community Blogs via Syndication
If you have been following this blog during last year you know I have been doing a lot of work with J2EE .NET Web Services interoperability. Specifically, a lot of my work and papers have been focused on Oracle .NET interoperability. Well, a few weeks…(read more)
by community-syndication | May 2, 2007 | BizTalk Community Blogs via Syndication
Developing custom functoids in external assemblies (for your BizTalk Server 2006 maps) can be a pain in Visual Studio 2005. Visual Studio does not really support it and it is very slow.
Here is what you have to do after you just changed something in your custom functoid (e.g. something in the resource file):
Build your custom […]
by community-syndication | May 2, 2007 | BizTalk Community Blogs via Syndication
Based on the excellent article from Stephen Toub, I was inspired to write a Shockwave Flash preview handler. Basically, it’s just a plain UserControl which hosts the ActiveX wrapper for the player. It works from both Outlook 2007 and Windows Vista. The installer is attached.
by community-syndication | May 2, 2007 | BizTalk Community Blogs via Syndication
Another quick update, it seems that stores in the US now have stock and are shipping. Both Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble are reporting stock! The UK should follow very shortly, 7 days seemed to be the difference with the Team System book
by community-syndication | May 2, 2007 | BizTalk Community Blogs via Syndication
Here is a article that walks you through creating a custom web part that calls the Search object model
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms551453.aspx
by community-syndication | May 2, 2007 | BizTalk Community Blogs via Syndication
Here is a nice tool for calling the MOSS Search Web Service:
http://www.mosssearch.com/searchwebservice.html
Unfortunately, I don’t think it come with the source code.
Have a look at :
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms543175.aspx for an overview of calling the web service.
by community-syndication | May 2, 2007 | BizTalk Community Blogs via Syndication
Based on the excellent article from Stephen Toub, I was inspired to write a Shockwave Flash preview handler. Basically, it’s just a plain UserControl which hosts the ActiveX wrapper for the player. It works from both Outlook 2007 and Windows Vista. The installer is attached.
by community-syndication | May 2, 2007 | BizTalk Community Blogs via Syndication
Another quick update, it seems that stores in the US now have stock and are shipping. Both Amazon.com and BarnesAndNoble are reporting stock! The UK should follow very shortly, 7 days seemed to be the difference with the Team System book
by community-syndication | May 2, 2007 | BizTalk Community Blogs via Syndication
Over the last 3 months I have been putting the building blocks in place to ready ourselves to take our RFID platform to market here in Aus. It’s been a fascinating experience so far, and will continue to evolve considerably. The global strategy is being driven by a great colleague of mine in Redmond called Anush – and he’s coming to Australia in August!!
For those that don’t know, we are releasing BizTalk 2006 R2 shortly, and this release has significant new investments around RFID capabilities. We made a public annoncment of this back in June 2006 last year at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/jun06/06-06EtEBusinessProcessPR.mspx Essentially……
New BizTalk RFID Functionality Delivers Advanced RFID Device and Data Management Along With Unprecedented Partner Support
The R2 release of BizTalk Server will integrate BizTalk RFID, a new set of technologies that will reduce the complexity associated with the management of intelligent RFID device hardware by connecting real-time RFID events to relevant supply-chain processes and back-end business applications.
“RFID is getting increasing traction as a critical enabling technology for supply-chain visibility and security and asset management. RFID allows companies and government organizations to respond to key business events in real time and transform or optimize their processes based on enhanced visibility to activities in the physical world,” said Peter Regen, vice president of Global Visible Commerce at Unisys. “With BizTalk Server 2006 R2 and Unisys’ Global Visible Commerce solutions, organizations will be able to make better decisions by knowing exactly what goods and assets are where, and do so with a low-cost, scalable solution for managing data, devices and integration.”
BizTalk RFID is a robust set of technologies with open APIs and tools to cost-effectively build vertical solutions and configure intelligent RFID-driven processes. It includes the following:
Device abstraction and management capabilities to help customers manage and monitor devices in a uniform manner. This “plug and play” architecture allows customers to leverage the investments in standard or nonstandard devices by providing a uniform way of managing their device infrastructure.
An event processes engine that enables customers to create business rules and manage the choreography of event pipelines for RFID events
Tight integration with Microsoft Visual Studio%u00ae and open APIs that allows developers to quickly integrate RFID events with existing business applications, or create their own custom solutions
Support for industry standards and an extensible architecture with advanced deployment and monitoring tools that IT professionals can use to meet service-level commitments and reduce long-term costs
Pricing and licensing details for BizTalk Server 2006 R2 have not been announced, as Microsoft is gathering customer and partner feedback before finalizing them.
There is a new Microsoft.com site dedicated to RFID at: http://www.microsoft.com/biztalk/technologies/rfid/default.mspx
Keep ahead of the game……!
