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Real World .NET – Installment 1 – Avatars are not just for movies

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This is so Hollywood. My MS SoCal colleagues (David Chou, Kevin Boyle) have implemented a cool combination of technologies. This might be something I use in my own presentations to show how you can mix and match technologies to solve business problems.

Let me ask you a question.

When was the last time you considered using a WorkFlow engine to orchestrate asynchronous processes? I haven’t lately. More on this later in this blog entry.

If you get a chance, check out this link:

https://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Case_Study_Detail.aspx?CaseStudyID=4000006307

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You can see how far we’ve come, especially if you remember some of the older Microsoft Characters. It won’t be long until avatars get the 3D upgrade, just like the move “Avatar.” I've always thought the future of computing would include more avatars, but they just historically haven't panned out. Today is different, however. Animation has graduated to adult entertainment and it no longer “comic-bookish.” A goofy green bird is different from the cast of characters you see below.

 

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Key technologies used to develop Evolver include:

  • Microsoft .NET Framework
  • Windows Communication Foundation
  • A highly distributed SOA [service-oriented architecture]
  • C# and C++ development languages
  • ADO.NET Entity Framework, which provides abstraction layer for the creation of business objects.
  • Windows Server AppFabric "Velocity,” which provides a scalable in-memory application cache for all types of data.
  • Windows Workflow Foundation
    • I’d love to know more about this point, but probably intellectual property
    • For “the orchestration and physical distribution of all asynchronous processes
      contributing to the speed of the avatar generation engine”
    • We all know how difficult it is to manage async processing. Who would have considered “Workflow” as a viable option?

It is always useful to see how technologies are put together. Case Studies are a great way to see that. Visit https://www.microsoft.com/casestudies