Chapter 4. BizTalk Server Primer

This chapter is intended to provide people who specialize in technologies like SQL Server or perhaps, general .NET development with an understanding of what BizTalk is, how it works, and also gives you an idea of how to write your first application.

If you have worked with BizTalk Server for many years, written pipeline components, developed custom adapters on the old and new framework, then before delving into the later chapters please flick over and briefly look at the roadmap information to ensure there is nothing new that you've missed.

Heterogeneous systems

Every IT department of any reasonable size that I have seen has used systems from at least two separate vendors. In this heterogeneous world, there are a number of challenges that I consistently see customers facing:

• Incompatible data formats:

  • X12 850, EDIFACT ORDRSP, IDOC 850 are all used to represent purchase orders, but they look very different and represent content in different ways

• Incompatible system...