During my lunch I listened to the MSDN Architecture Webcast - Introducing the Web Service Software Factory, where Don Smith walks you through using the Web Service Software Factory. If you want a really good overview of the Web Service Software Factory with little effort, watching the webcast ( on demand ) is the way to do it.
After about 10 Powerpoint slides which give you a good overview of software factories, the role of the Guidance Automation Toolkit, and a brief history and future look of what to expect from the Microsoft Patterns and Practices Group, Don jumps into Visual Studio showing you how to create an end-to-end web service from service contract and implementation to a data access layer using stored procedures, repositories, and business entities. And, he didn't write a single line of code :) To be fair, Don didn't write any business logic, but the monotonous, time-consuming plumbing is auto-generated by the guidance packages making the creation of business logic enjoyable!
So, before you download the Web Service Software Factory to look at all this code generation and automation I have been spouting about, I recommend watching the webcast. You will see both the ASMX and Data Access Guidance Packages in action. These guidance packages are wizards that walk you step-by-step through the creation of the web services, business components, and data access layer. You can learn a lot about Microsoft Best Practices, design patterns, and .NET implementations of those design patterns by the code generated by the guidance packages.
Here is the webcast.
Source: David Hayden ( ASP.NET C# SQL Server Developer )
Filed: Web Service Software Factory