For my ACM Middleware and OOPSLA tutorials I used a messaging toolkit that implements many of the basic patterns in our book. The toolkit allows users to compose solutions from the basic patterns and observe them in action. I developed the toolkit in C#, mostly because I am more familiar with the .NET user interface libraries. The kit is likely not 100% robust yet, but I am looking for feedback on the usefulness of the concept. The individual components can be run directly from the DOS command line or from a batch script. These scripts have a very nice, Domain-specific language feel to them.

For the record: the example implementations of the patterns are not the patterns, but only a consistent example implementation of such. Patterns comprise intent, forces, context etc. and are generally technology independent. For this toolkit I chose a specific implementation technology and created a collection of examples of the patterns. [more on the relationship between the toolkit and the patterns]

Quickstart: download_notes

1) Extract the ZIP file, preserving the folder structure.
2) Make sure your Windows Message Queuing service is active (see reference Sheet for details).
3) Run "Exercise1a.bat" from the "Exercises" folder.
4) Select values from the drop-down lists in the Customer window and click ' Send Order'.
5) Follow the Tutorial Presentation for more complex examples and exercises.

Requirements:
Microsoft Windows 2000, XP or 2003
Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0
Microsoft Message Queuing (part of Windows)

Multiple readers have asked for the complete source for the Loan Broker example from Chapter 9. While the examples in the book are primarily intended to illustrate design tradeoffs I agree that a running example can be a useful learning tool. The ZIP file contains the complete Visual Studio solution. It is also possible to compile the individual projects from the command line and avoid the need for Visual Studio.

Requirements:
Microsoft Windows 2000, XP or 2003
Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1
Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003