Biztalk Server 2006 compatibility with Visual Studio 2008 (VS2008)

This is for all you guys who are trying to figure out whether Biztalk 2006 works with VS2008.

I had this requirement in my project that we all migrate to .NET 3.5 environment / VS2008. Everything looked fine untill we realized that Biztalk 2006 is not supported by VS2008. I did a lot of reaseach in blogs and talking to Microsoft Support. The anwer is found was that "Biztalk Server 2006 will not work with VS2008". In fact Biztalk is not compatible with any of the 2008 technologies including SQL Server 2008.

I spoke to MS Tech. Support and they confirmed that there is no compatibility. It is expected that future versions of Biztalk (R3) will possibly support VS2008. They have no idea when it would be release, but the hint is that the CTP version might hit by the end of the year.

I also tried out practically on my machine. I installed VS2008 on existing Biztalk setup, but VS2008 doesn't recognize ".BTPROJ". I even tried to install VS2008 first and then Biztalk, still the same issue.

Its really so bad on Microsoft that Biztalk being such a advanced technology will not be a part of .NET Framework 3.5 environment for so long :(.

Here is the response I got from Microsoft.

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Thank you for contacting Microsoft Sales Information today.

Per our discussion, I've attached links/information that you requested below.

From my research I have found that BizTalk Server 06 and Visual Studios 08 actually are not compatible. The .NET framework used by Visual Studios 08 to create applications is not compatible with the requirements of BizTalk Server 06; Microsoft may be releasing a Service Pack for BizTalk Server or a new BizTalk Server which will address this compatibility issue.
This blog on this Microsoft web site will outline more in-depth what I have just stated here.

http://blogs.msdn.com/stevemar/archive/2008/04/23/biztalk-server-platform-updates.aspx

Writting My Own WebServer

Still Working on it.... will post all the data shortly ........

Interface Vs Abstract Class

Feature	Interface	Abstract class
Multiple inheritance	A class may inherit several interfaces.	A class may inherit only one abstract class.
Default implementation	An interface cannot provide any code, just the signature.	An abstract class can provide complete, default code and/or just the details that have to be overridden.
Access Modfiers	An interface cannot have access modifiers for the subs, functions, properties etc everything is assumed as public	An abstract class can contain access modifiers for the subs, functions, properties
Core VS Peripheral	Interfaces are used to define the peripheral abilities of a class. In other words both Human and Vehicle can inherit from a IMovable interface.	An abstract class defines the core identity of a class and there it is used for objects of the same type.
Homogeneity	If various implementations only share method signatures then it is better to use Interfaces.	If various implementations are of the same kind and use common behaviour or status then abstract class is better to use.
Speed	Requires more time to find the actual method in the corresponding classes.	Fast
Adding functionality (Versioning)	If we add a new method to an Interface then we have to track down all the implementations of the interface and define implementation for the new method.	If we add a new method to an abstract class then we have the option of providing default implementation and therefore all the existing code might work properly.
Fields and Constants	No fields can be defined in interfaces	An abstract class can have fields and constrants defined

BizTalk Architecture

Introduction

I have heard they ask "How would you explain Excel (any product) to your grandmother?" in many companies; a question popularized by Microsoft, I believe. First, I am not so sure my grandma would understand any technology product so easily. Also, I am not sure if this is a good question to ask a software developer; maybe, to someone from sales, yes! On the record, I must say that my grandmother is an incredibly smart lady. So the question really boils down to "How you would make an IT common man understand what a product is all about?" This is what I am trying to endeavor in this article.

Sometime back, I had to explain to a group of non-IT folks about BizTalk Server. You know the people who wouldn't understand all these geeky terms like SOA, XML, SOAP, or Orchestrations (pardon me, she says she knows about SOAP!). I thought I'd share my experience here in this article for the benefit of the CodeProject community. This article is aimed at you if you have heard about this wonderful thing called BizTalk Server, and want to understand what it is clearly before diving into the marketing material which seems to be the same for every product - the "panacea" of all your problems.

Drawing a Parallel

BizTalk Server is Microsoft's enterprise application integration solution, with built-in support for XML and SOAP. It offers integration with Visual Studio .NET, and provides speed, reliability, and flexibility for standards-based enterprise application integration. An analogy they say is "Similarity in some respects between things that are otherwise dissimilar". So for me, to explain BizTalk, I would start off with an analogy. In the section below, I am comparing BizTalk Server to a Customs facility.

The Customs Facility

What we have in the figure above is a Customs facility. We have an Import Terminal through which a large number of packages come in by different modes of transport: planes, ships, buses, trucks, barges. These packages then go through a standard inspection process, with several stages including identifying the package, unpacking the contents, and then identifying the shipper. The packages then go to a central store. From there, customs inspection of the packages takes place. The process could be different for different types of packages, and there is a "Customs Inspection Rules and Regulations Manual" which details the inspection process, and which in practice, gets updated from time to time. After a package passes the inspection process, it is sent back to the central store, from where it is packaged and sent to the correct destination.

The BizTalk Server Architecture

The figure above is the architecture of a BizTalk Server messaging subsystem. As you will notice, this figure is same as the previous figure except for the labeling. Here, instead of packages moving, we have XML messages that are moving. The files come in through Receive Ports and are passed to the "Message Box" through a "Receive Pipeline". They are then picked up by "BizTalk Orchestrations" and are processed. Custom rules maybe loaded and executed at this point. They are then send out using a Receive Pipeline through a "Send Port" to the destination.

Receive Ports

The Receive Ports are how messages come into BizTalk. Messages can come into BizTalk by any means of transport like HTTP, SOAP, SQL, file, EDI; just like the way packages arrive via planes, ships, buses, or trucks. How they are transported does not change how they are processed later. This is a very powerful feature because it gives you the ability to change the transport type and the source of the data even after your application is deployed, without changing your application implementation. For instance, let us say some sales related data is coming in from a shared "FILE" folder in Europe connected via WAN today, tomorrow you can configure it as an FTP pickup from a remote server from India, or probably accept it as an HTTP request over the web posted from a browser.

Adaptors

Adaptors are the BizTalk way of handling additional transport. Just like you can have a private plane fly your package in, you can write your own adaptor for a custom transport, like say POP3. So there is always scope for buying or writing your own custom adaptor to integrate with all the other available transports. For instance, you can have a DB2 adaptor or a SAP adaptor.

Receive Pipeline

The Receive Pipeline contains different mechanisms like "Decoding" (if encoded), "Disassembling" (if there are multiple parts), and "Party Resolution". This is similar to the unpacking and identifying the sender, in our example. Just like we have an express lane for certain packages, there is a "Pass Through" pipeline facility in BizTalk which is essential a smooth transfer to the Message Box. Just like you can have special handling instructions for certain packages, you can write custom pipeline components using the framework.

Message Box and Subscriptions

The BizTalk Message Box lies in the heart of the BizTalk messaging subsystem; this is like our central store. This message box is, in fact, realized as a SQL Store; so this way, BizTalk ensures reliability for your messages in terms of guaranteed delivery. Even if a node in BizTalk fails, the message will be picked up by another node in the farm. BizTalk also ensures that it does not delete the file from a pickup folder location while using file/any transport, unless it is persisted completely in SQL. Well, this also means you need to have a fault tolerant SQL Server architecture. Just like we will be noting down a few important details while we unpack the packages, in the pipeline, certain properties are promoted into the context, like transport information: the most important of these being the incoming XMLSchema#RootNode. The BizTalk Publish-Subscribe mechanism identifies which Orchestrations subscribe to that particular message, based on this promoted information, and routes it accordingly.

Orchestrations

Orchestrations are processes that are defined in the Business Process Execution Language (BPEL). This could be something like, say: if quantity is greater than threshold, apply discount, else standard discount. At this stage, you can also change the format of the message using Transformation Maps, or you can call some other web service to do an operation like credit card verification. This is like our example in which we have the customs inspection process and checking with the bank if the excise payment is cleared.

Business Rules Engine

Business Rules Engine is used by BizTalk to load the current policies which are a collection of Rules from the Orchestration. These rules are kept separately as these could change from time to time. In our example above, this would be something like, during Olympics there could be certain relaxations in guidelines or certain promotions in effect. These change from time to time, and they are kept separate. This is the idea behind the Rule Store in BizTalk.

Send Pipeline

The "Send Pipelines" are just the opposite of the "Receive Pipelines" and they do operations like "Encoding" the message, or "Assembling" or "Signing" the message. This is like packing and sealing a package before we send it. Just like we have different types of packaging like bubble wrapping and cushion mailers, there could be different pipeline components at this stage.

Send Ports

Send Ports also handle transport like receive ports, but their direction is the reverse. Here, the message direction is from the Message Box to the destination. Send Ports can subscribe to a message directly from the Message Box, without passing through the orchestration. This is like having a package coming in from a certain shipper which has a prior clearance attached with it. This is called Content Based Routing (CBR).

Sharepoint Tools

I have tried to summarise the list of development tools that you require on your day to day development. Please post your comment, if I miss anything here.

* App Pool Manager (http://www.harbar.net/apm/apm2.zip)
* U2U CAML Query Builder (http://www.u2u.info/SharePoint/U2U%20Community%20Tools/U2U%20Caml%20Query%20Builder%202007%20v3.1.0.0%20(windows%20version).zip)
* .NET Reflector (http://reflector.red-gate.com/download.aspx)
* SharePoint Explorer for WSS 3.0 ( )
* SharePoint Log Reader (http://www.blogaboutsharepoint.com/wp-content/plugins/download-monitor/download.php?id=1)
* BDC Meta Man Tool (http://www.lightningtools.com/pages/service/customerdownloads.aspx)
* SharePoint Inspector 1.0.0.0 (http://spi.codeplex.com/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=1652#DownloadId=5854)
* SharePoint Explorer for WSS 3.0 (http://download.mondosoft.com/Ontolica/SharePointExplorer_V1_5_1_For_WSS3.zip)
* SharePoint Dispose Checker Tool (http://download.microsoft.com/download/B/4/D/B4D279A0-E159-40BF-A5E8-F49ABDBE95C7/SPDisposeCheck.msi)
* Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SDK (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=05E0DD12-8394-402B-8936-A07FE8AFAFFD&displaylang=en)
* Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 SDK (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=6D94E307-67D9-41AC-B2D6-0074D6286FA9&displaylang=en)
* Microsoft InfoPath 2007
* Microsoft SharePoint Designer 2007
* Microsoft Office 2007
* WSP Builder for SharePoint (http://www.codeplex.com/wspbuilder)
* Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Tools: Visual Studio 2005 Extensions (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=3e1dcccd-1cca-433a-bb4d-97b96bf7ab63&DisplayLang=en)
* Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Tools: Visual Studio 2008 Extensions (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=7BF65B28-06E2-4E87-9BAD-086E32185E68&displaylang=en)
* SharePoint Administration Toolkit v2.0
x64: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=F8EEA8F0-FA30-4C10-ABC9-217EEACEC9CE&displaylang=en
x86: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=263CD480-F6EB-4FA3-9F2E-2D47618505F2&displaylang=en
* SmartPart (http://www.codeplex.com/smartpart)
* SharePoint Installer (http://www.codeplex.com/sharepointinstaller)
* SOAP calls to the SharePoint web services (http://www.soapui.org/)