I have recently picked up a copy of Richard Seroter's book "SOA Patterns with BizTalk Server 2009", and thought that I would try and make some useful comments on each chapter as I read it.
I am currently working in an environment where we have been implementing BizTalk Solutions as a part of an overall SOA strategy for a number of years, and I am hoping that this book will help me to gain a new perspective on the use of BizTalk in this type of architecture, and hopefully expand my understanding of the principles and patterns that can be employed.
The cover carries the tag line "Implement SOA strategies for BizTalk Server 2009 solutions", but what does this mean and what is the book is aiming to deliver?
The preface of this book helps to outline what is to follow and sets it's stall out quite clearly. This is not a book to help explain or sell SOA principles:
"If you are looking at how to engage your CEO or business stakeholders and expound on the virtues of SOA, this book is not you best resource."
Nor is it a book to teach you about BizTalk 2009 or WCF, although both are apparently covered within:
"This book is not a pure tutorial on BizTalk Server or WCF. So, I'll expect that you are somewhat familiar with BizTalk Server development, and have seen a WCF service in action before."
This is a book that is aimed at those already familiar with BizTalk Server and does not provide a full tutorial. It is aimed at developers building service oriented BizTalk Server solutions, containing common patterns to help with the design of services to encourage re-use and flexibility. It is also aimed squarely at systems architects, or anyone who is responsible for envisioning enterprise solutions and how to use BizTalk Server in a service oriented fashion.
"This book is ideal for architects and developers who want to develop the most maintainable BizTalk Server solutions possible."
The preface also outlines what the author means when referring to SOA:
"An architectural discipline based on loosely-coupled, autonomous chunks of business functionality, which can be used to construct composite applications."
Based on the preface I am really looking forward to reading the rest of this book; it seems to be aiming to tick all the right boxes for me, and if it does for you why not go out and take a look? Or feel free to read my thoughts on the following chapters in the next few weeks.
Chapter 1: Building BizTalk Server 2009 Applications
Chapter 2: Windows Communication Foundation Primer
Chapter 3: Using WCF Services in BizTalk Server 2009
Chapter 4: Planning Service-Oriented BizTalk Solutions
Chapter 5: Schema and Endpoint Patterns
Chapter 6: Asynchronous Communication Patterns
Chapter 7: Orchestration Patterns
Chapter 8: Versioning Patterns
Chapter 9: New SOA Capabilities in BizTalk Server 2009: WCF SQL Server Adapter
Chapter 10: New SOA Capabilities in BizTalk Server 2009: UDDI Services
Chapter 11: New SOA Capabilities in BizTalk Server 2009: ESB Guidance 2.0
Chapter 12: What's Next