Was listening to a podcast the other day in which one of the authors of the Microsoft patterns & practices Application Architecture Guide was speaking about this latest version so I decide to take a look. So far I am very impressed as the information seems to do a fairly good job of coupling desgin guidlines for applications with some of the latest technologies.

The guide breaks architecture down into 4 parts.

Part I - Fundamentals

  • Fundamentals of Application Architecture
  • .NET Platform Overview
  • Architecture and Design Guidlines

Part II - Desgin

  • Designing Your Architecture
  • Deployment Patterns
  • Architecture Styles
  • Quality Attributes
  • Communication Guidelines

Part III - Layers

  • Layers and Tiers
  • Presentation Layer Guidelines
  • Business Layer Guidelines
  • Data Access Layer Guidelines
  • Service Layer Guidelines

Part IV - Achetypes

  • Application Archetypes
  • Web Applications
  • Rich Internet Applications (RIA)
  • Services
  • Mobile Applications
  • Office Business Applications (OBA)
  • SharePoint LOB Applications

Also the Appendix offers some great advice using a Matrix apporoach to various technologies.

Data Technology Matrix - Provides matrix of old and new technology options such as ADO.NET, Entity Framework, LINQ to SQL and more.

Check out the website on codeplex

Also here is a link to pocket guides based on the Application Architecture Guide but geared towards Web Architecture, Mobile Architecture, RIA Architecture, Rich Client Architecture, Service Architecture.

Check out pocket guides on codeplex