This week on .NET Rocks! we had a very informative discussion about messaging with Benjamin Mitchell and John Bristowe. Benjamin and John cut through the WS-AlphabetSoup set of specifications, avoid frequent references to SOA and cover what the benefits of web services are, why you might want to use WSE (security, policy, addressing and support for TCP), how to use web services in your applications today and where Microsoft is heading with web services and Indigo in future. Michele Leroux Bustamante joined us unexpectedly in the second half, and she even told a great joke!

 

Benjamin Mitchell is an independent contractor and a Microsoft Regional Director based in the UK. Having worked as a lead developer and architect on some of the largest internet sites in Australia he moved to London several years ago to be part of larger challenges. Recent engagements have involved helping global banking clients create web service security frameworks. He is passionate about improving development practices through agile methodologies and making the web easier to use for applications with web services. He has spoken frequently at user groups across the UK as well as TechEd San Diego and the upcoming TechEd Amsterdam. In almost 10 years of development experience he’s managed to pass 20 exams and holds MSCD, MCSE and SCJP certifications. He maintains a blog at http://benjaminm.net

 

John Bristowe is a Systems Analyst with Quadrus Development Incorporated, a .NET training and consulting firm based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Since its beta, John has been working feverishly with the .NET Framework; evaluating, developing and rigorously testing all facets of .NET offerings as they are released. John has a passion for, and as such, a constant focus on service-oriented architectures and associated XML Web services plumbing and protocols. John is a Microsoft Regional Director and a MVP for ASP.NET.

 

Michèle Leroux Bustamante is an Associate of IDesign Inc., an internationally known speaker, and author. Before joining IDesign, she spent over 10 years working for companies in San Diego and held several lead architect and executive positions. At IDesign Michele contributes her diverse background to .NET training and high-end corporate consulting. Her expertise spans technologies related to graphics and imaging, COM and high-availability Internet applications, with a hands-on background developing enterprise applications with VB, C++, Java/J2EE and C#/.NET. Michele speaks regularly at technical conferences such as VSLive!, DevConnections, SD Expo, Web Services XML ONE, .NET ONE, and SDGN. She is a member of the INETA (International .NET Association) Speakers Bureau – a selection of recognized international speakers designated to promote .NET worldwide. In 1993, Michele founded the Microsoft programming curriculum at UCSD Extension, and since has continued as Program Advisor to the Visual Basic, Visual C++, and .NET certificate programs. Michele is also founder of a new code letter, .NET Dashboard (www.dotnetdashboard.com). Reach her at: mlb@idesign.net