Chapter 13. Building Distributed Applications with .NET Remoting
In This Chapter
Building distributed Windows applications did not start with .NET. The goal to build Windows applications that were composed of pieces of software executing on multiple platforms goes back to OLE and Kraig Brockschmidt's groundbreaking book, Inside OLE (first and second editions). The first edition of this book was published in 1993 with the second edition following in 1995. In the preface to the second edition, Brockschmidt draws an analogy between what he perceived as the current state of affairs and a book he had read titled The Chalice and the Blade, by Riane Eisler (San Francisco: Harper, 1987). He states the following:
I see a similar crossroads in the state of the software industry today. Perhaps the choices we have in the software business are merely metaphorical aspects of humanity's overall cultural evolution. (Perhaps this is stage three of OLE nirvana.) Today we have a dominator mode—millions of computer users are limited by a few applications created by a few large companies. Component software, however, is a computing environment in which diverse objects created by varied groups and individuals work together, in partnership, to empower all users to solve problems themselves and to create their own software solutions. The software industry can choose either to perpetuate its excessively competitive ways or to build a market in which winning does not have to come at the expense of everything else. Our current ways seek a homogeneous end—one company's products dominating the market. Instead, we can seek an end for which diversity is the most important factor. In a component software environment, one's potential is enriched by the diversity of available components and the diversity of available tools. The greater the diversity, the greater our potential. This holds true whether we are discussing software or society. (Inside OLE, Second Edition, pp. xxi–xxii).
That statement was made almost seven years ago, but technology is in much the same situation today. OLE, COM, ActiveX, and DCOM have given us technology to aid in building software that puts a premium on interoperability. The .NET Framework carries this interoperability to a new level. Most of the interoperability is due to the remoting services that the .NET Framework offers.
This chapter is about .NET Remoting. After reading this chapter, you should have a good understanding of how the .NET Framework allows you to easily connect and distribute applications. You will see how to offer a level of interoperability to your application that has previously not been possible. Part of the reason why software has largely adopted a “dominator model” is because the alternative has been so difficult. Everyone working together on an equal basis, a “partnership model,” required too much work. Now with emerging standards such as HTTP, SOAP, WSDL, and UDDI, it is easier to interoperate with other applications. More importantly, it is becoming expected that your application interoperate with other applications and conform to accepted standards. This chapter shows you how you can use the .NET Framework to fully embrace these standards in your application.