Microsoft .NET Development

Omicron’s Milestones with Microsoft Technology

Pre-1989 – A Microsoft Compatible Multi-tasking Operating System

Almost since its inception, Omicron has had a tightly integrated relationship with Microsoft and their products. In this timeframe, Omicron wrote a DOS-compatible operating system that was used for an embedded systems product. The product was used to meet the health of phone lines. The operating system, written by Omicron, was a round robin multi-tasking effort on an Intel 80186 chip. The 80186 was a multi-tasking chip that had a specific role before the 286 entered the market. During this engineering effort, Omicron also wrote new C run-time library startup code that allowed application developers to write and test normal C code and then compile it for the multi-tasking platform.

1989 & 1990 – Pre-Windows 3.0

As an early adaptor of Microsoft Windows, Omicron helped companies take advantage of three-tier computing when other consultancies had not yet started simple two-tier client server Windows programming. In 1989, Omicron created a set of applications that helped a major oil company introduce Microsoft Windows to their refineries worldwide. These were developed on Microsoft Windows/286 and released on Windows 3.0. The system consisted of three tiers of software:

1. Tier 1: Included two databases (OSIsoft PI and Oracle), both on a VAX platform.
2. Tier 2: Included an Omicron built middleware layer that could communicate over multiple protocols such as DecNET, IPX and TCP/IP. This layer would interpret business requests and execute cross database joints to formulate the response. The middleware would then package the response for return to the client applications.
3. Tier 3:The client tier was originally programmed on Microsoft Windows 286. It was quickly migrated to the initial release of Windows 3.0. On the client side Omicron created a custom graphical display tool for the visualization of process data from the plants around the world in real-time. In addition, Omicron created an Excel Version 3.0 based add-in that functioned as a report writer for process engineers to access the same data requests from both PI and Oracle and have the data returned to Excel.

1992 – Microsoft Windows NT 3.1 & MFC 1.0

Based on our previous work with IBM OS/2 and previous versions of Windows, Omicron recognized the value and impact of Windows NT. In fact, Omicron started so early that there was only a SINGLE configuration of hardware that had drivers and was supported by Microsoft. Our work on the NT platform allowed us to build more scalable, multi-threaded applications for use on the platform. In July of 1992, Omicron placed bets on the Microsoft Foundation Class libraries. This was done at a time when Borland was the leader in the C++ compiler platform. However, we were able to connect several dots on a line of progression and predict that the MFC libraries would be as dominant as they became. Omicron leveraged the MFC to produce products for companies that included compound document features to embed and integrate tightly with Microsoft Office Applications, again just ahead of the total dominance they came to enjoy.

1993 – To VBA or Not To VBA? That is the question.

During this timeframe Omicron worked with Microsoft, giving input to the strategic decision and marketing position for VBA to be released as a product for Independent Software Vendor (ISV) companies. The decision was made to license VBA to outside companies. The first company to sign a license agreement for the product was an Omicron client. Under that contract Omicron completed one of the top three integrations and exportation of the VBA platform the product team had ever reviewed … second only to Office and Visio.

1998 – VBA 6.1 - Omicron Contract to Microsoft-Redmond

In 1998, Omicron worked for Microsoft directly and helped produce and release The Microsoft VBA SDK Version 6.1.

1998 – Omicron’s First XML project

Omicron’s early support of key technologies continued in December of 1997. Omicron had the chance to bid on an RFP for what became a product in the content management space. Recognizing the serendipity of the still evolving specification from the W3C, Omicron made XML a core architectural element of the bid and then the software offering. In these early days, it was just a matter of what XML parser to use as how to use XML. The XML parsers varied greatly in performance and compatibility.

1998 – Omicron’s BizTalk History

Due to our early support of XML, Omicron recognized the value of a platform such as BizTalk (from Microsoft) in March of 1998 and published the position paper: “Impact of BizTalk Initiative to the Industry”. This was before the first NDA conference of BizTalk to a group of vendors in May of 1998. The conclusion of the paper puts BizTalk Initiative (not yet even a product) in perspective:

“Microsoft will propel the industry toward interoperability with BizTalk by making this enabling XML technology generally available at each tier of the commerce pipeline. In addition to the creation of standard XML schemas based on XML-Data for common business transactions and interaction, Microsoft will incorporate XML capabilities into products such as Office, SQL Server, and Site Server. The goal will be to enable partners…”

Two years later, in March of 2000, Omicron published the first book on BizTalk (Via SAM Publishing) almost a full year ahead of the first release of Microsoft BizTalk.

2001 – Omicron’s .Net History

In early 2001, Omicron had the chance to attend the .Net Author Summit. Omicron’s R&D followed soon after. In mid-2001, Omicron released our first set of managed code with SOAP support to one of our customers. In early 2002, Omicron released a major B2E Business to Employee) extranet web site for ARAMARK, version 2.0 of My Assistant (www.myassistant.com).

2002 – Omicron and SharePoint Server 2.0

In 2002, Omicron was invited to take part in the SharePoint Server, Windows 2003 SharePoint Services JDP. This program had approximately 50 outside companies working with Microsoft’s product team. As a result of this work to release a product (for one of our customers) on this platform, Omicron had an early jump not only on implementing SharePoint, but also using it as a programming platform.

How to Leverage Omicron and .Net

As you can see from the Omicron’s Milestones with Microsoft Technology section above, Omicron helps companies adopt new and emerging technologies. Our .Net expertise can help in many ways. We can help:

• Bridge the gap in the migration from unmanaged to managed code.
• Decide how to best leverage the parts of the .Net framework that are right for you.
• Navigate the differences between the .Net framework and Compat.Net Framework.
• Understand .Net Security.
• Understand Microsoft’s Patterns & Practices.

In fact, Omicron has a seat on the advisory board of Microsoft’s Greater Philadelphia District Architects Advisory Board. In short, if you need help with a Microsoft .Net application, you need look no further.