In this book, Peter Herzum and Oliver Sims present a complete component based strategy, the business component approach, that applies and extends component thinking to all aspects of the software life cycle for enterprise systems. The approach includes a conceptual framework that brings components into the world of scalable systems, and outlines the different component granularities. It also includes a methodology that goes beyond current object--oriented practices to provide the concepts required to meet the real challenges of component--based development. Using their business component approach, the authors then provide a blueprint for a business component factory----a development capability that can produce software with the quality, speed, and flexibility needed to match changing business needs. Sprinkled with guidelines, tips, and architectural patterns, this book fully prepares you for the approaching component revolution. Praise for Business Component Factory "...this book should be very useful for anyone considering the daunting task of adopting component software on an enterprise scale." --Clemens Szyperski (Microsoft Research), Author of the award--winning book, Component Software: Beyond Object--Oriented Programming "Herzum and Sims do an admirable job of differentiating the different component concepts, allowing this clearly written book to focus on the construction of business systems by non--software practitioners, out of business component parts developed separately (and perhaps for a commodity component marketplace). This is the future of software systems, and this book is a practical, giant step in that direction."--Richard Mark Soley, PhD,Chairman and CEO, OMG "Finally, a book that takes you from component design all the way down to the middleware on which they are deployed. ItOs an important contribution to the nascent server--side component discipline written by practitioners for practitioners."--Robert Orfali, Author of Client/Server Survival Guide, Third Edition and Client/Server Programming with Java and CORBA, Second Edition (both from Wiley)