In-Depth

Books: Develop Enterprise Solutions With UML

Enterprise Development with Visual Studio .NET, UML, and MSF covers the UML models available in Visio, as well as tools and features for developing and testing enterprise systems.

"My kingdom for a good book that covers UML modeling with Visual Studio .NET!" Was this the anguished cry of Shakespeare's Richard III? More likely it is the frustrated diatribe of project managers, team leaders, and even new developers who face the sometimes daunting task of creating design model documents and detailed design plans for their software projects.

Fortunately, John Erik Hansen and Carsten Thomsen have written an excellent book on creating .NET enterprise solutions with Unified Modeling Language (UML).

There comes a time when either by requirement or necessity you must create UML documents, such as use-case diagrams, to properly understand what it is that you're going to develop. Most developers understand that knowing what a use-case diagram is and creating it in Visio are two completely different things. Enterprise Development with Visual Studio .NET, UML, and MSF weaves together practical discussions on UML concepts and when to use the various models with step-by-step guides for creating the model diagrams.

This book covers all the different UML models available in the Visio version that comes in the Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Architect edition. The authors provide interface snapshots to highlight subtle or key points for creating model elements or setting attributes.

But this book is about more than creating UML documents with Visio. The authors cover tools, features, and approaches for developing and testing software systems that will be informative and save countless hours for architects, project managers, and senior designers. They provide significant coverage on Visual SourceSafe, Application Center Test, software deployment, and Microsoft Solutions Framework (MSF).

Additionally, the book covers Visual Studio .NET from the standpoint of developing enterprise systems, including a discussion of Enterprise Template Projects and how to use policy files to restrict and guide development by your programming team.

Both novice and experienced practitioners will appreciate the authors' end-to-end walk-through design for two realistic projects demonstrating the development of the main UML model types. The authors also provide object code creation and the construction of the database through the code generation features in Visio.

Readers will value the authors' added notes throughout with passages that highlight significant points or offer "gotcha" issues in using the tools. The extensive, but readable coverage of tools, UML, MSF, and best practices make this a "must-have" book for software architects, designers, and developers.

Get your design and your design team off to a good start by putting Enterprise Development with Visual Studio .NET, UML, and MSF on your bookshelf before you start that next project.


Enterprise Development with Visual Studio .NET, UML, and MSF
by John Erik Hansen and Carsten Thomsen
Apress
ISBN:
1590590422
Price: $59.99
Quick Facts: Enterprise solution development using UML design with Visual Studio .NET and Visio.
Pros: Broad and in-depth coverage of developing UML documentation with Visio; explains tool usage for supporting and developing enterprise applications.
Cons: Requires strong understanding of object-oriented concepts and .NET technologies.

About the Author

Hal Hayes is the president of ACRITECH Corp., which specializes in enterprise application development. He is also the founder of the Capital Area Visual Basic User Group in Washington, D.C. (now www.caparea.net). Hal is also a member of the staff of the International .NET Association. You can reach him at [email protected].

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