Description
This course prepares programmers and application designers to develop advanced, enterprise-wide, distributed applications using Visual Basic, Active Data Objects, ActiveX technologies, and Microsoft Transaction Server.

Audience
Application programmers and designers who need to design and develop distributed enterprise applications with Visual Basic.

Prerequisites
Completion of Arkoa’s Client/Server Visual Basic Development course, or an equivalent level of knowledge. Familiarity with object-oriented concepts and the Windows NT environment and architecture.

Hardware and Software
Windows NT 4.0+ (Workstation or Server) with DCOM configured. Microsoft Transaction Server 2.0+. Microsoft SQL Server 6.5+. (Other ODBC compliant database servers can be accommodated). Visual Basic 6.0. Visual Studio is recommended (Visual C++ 6.0, Visual J++ 6.0, etc.), but optional.

• Presentation
  
• Hands-on
  

Objectives
After completing this course, participants should be able to:

• Design and program multi-tier distributed applications with Visual Basic, ADO, and MTS
• Design clients and servers utilizing distributed ActiveX components
• Design and implement MTS components that control distributed database transactions

Client/Server Design Principles

• Client/server design methodologies
• Tiered systems

Database Programming with ADO

• Connection, command, and recordset objects
• Parameters, properties, and errors collection

Multiuser Database Considerations

• Transactions
• Pessimistic and optimistic locking

Internal Reuse

• Classes and objects
• Using the multiple interfaces

Object Model Implementation

• Properties and methods
• Errors

ActiveX Components

• OLE, DLL, and EXE

ActiveX Components Design

• Component design principles
• Compatibility

Distributed Components

• Tools and method blocking

ActiveX Controls

Advanced ActiveX Controls

• Binding controls

VB and the Internet

• ActiveX documents

MTS Overview

Developing an MTS Component

• Stateful versus stateless components

Installing MTS Components

Debugging MTS Components

Component-based Transactions

MTS Security

• Distributing MTS client applications