The ability to call up and save AspDotNetStorefront topics is nearing completion in BackOffice. The HTML Editor still needs to be added but finding a decent one for WPF is proving a challenge. I have found a few candidate examples and hope to roll those into a useful tool here that inherits the CSS styles and artefacts of the actual site so that you really see what you get! (Windows Live Writer for blogs is an excellent example of this.)
The BackOffice program has made a large step forward in that the Inventory Management module has now been built and deployed to the BackOffice WPF Composite Application Framework.
Using the WSI interface on ASPDotNetStorefront the application can load the product catalog and then allow you to make various modifications to the inventory. Changes are automatically sent back to the website so that the BackOffice application and the storefront are always in sync.
Next to come is the ability to modify Topics. Following that will be a full catalog management interface.
The BackOffice application is starting to take shape. It is based on the Composite Application Guidance for WPF and is deployed as a Smart Client interacting with the eCommerce website through Web Service calls.
At present the only module completed is the Inventory module which lets you have quick access to the full catalogue and just manage the inventory counts.
There is still a lot to add but now that the major framework is in place the next modules should slot in much more smoothly. Stay tuned!
Over at MSDN they are giving away a free eBook covering some of the best technical articles over the last year. Could well be worth checking out.
The first product from GFRSoftware is a Windows Presentation Foundation application developed under the working title of BackOffice. Development has already started and good progress is being made.
It is time to get serious about application development lifecycle management. I have decided to give Team Foundation Server a try. On Codeplex you can download the entire PDF version of their excellent guide to the use of Team Foundation Server. I did just that and am reading up on getting started.
I now have a working company logo and template for GFR Software. A start. I can see that a lot more needs to be done before I can say we are officially open for business!