The team at Next Version has done over a dozen projects where we produced a shell for an application. We usually call this a “navigation shell” because it handles all the user navigation among various parts of the application. It loads modules, puts up views, handles authentication, and other capabilities needed by most applications.
However, a good navigation shell handles a lot more than that. For several clients, I created a document describing why a navigation shell was important, the typical capabilities it supports, and some notes on architecture and technology considerations.
I decided this past weekend to create a generic version of those documents, and offer it as a white paper for anyone who is working on a line of business application in XAML. If that describes you, I think you’ll find some useful ideas for your own shell development. You might also decide that you’d like to get some help on some capabilities from a team that has done them before, in which case you can contact us. Contact information is included in the white paper.
The white paper is in PDF. It is 13 pages, and can be downloaded here.
This is the first version, and I expect to update this document once or twice. So I welcome your comments and suggestions. The email is my first name –at– nextver.com, and phone numbers are at the end of the white paper.
Billy