InformationWeek

COM+ forms the "business logic" layer of DNA. In theory, it will be sandwiched between Forms+, a unification of the presentation layer of Windows, and Storage+, a unification of file, directory, and database storage services under a single access model. These two technologies, while far from being packaged and ready to go, can be seen as extensions of two technologies Microsoft has taken a great deal of interest in lately: Extensible Markup Language and directory services.

XML can be used to maintain consistency of the display attributes of an application across thick and thin clients. XML can also carry with it features such as data validation and information formatting, and it can carry out these tasks independently from the business logic of the application. Watch for Microsoft to use its XML parsing technology as part of the eventual Forms+ product.

Storage+, as defined by Microsoft, will expose the entire data store of the Windows environment-databases, file hierarchies, and the like-through OLE DB or some similar database technology.

Microsoft is already moving toward greater abstraction of data access through its support in Windows 2000 for removable media and offline hierarchical storage. Sources also point to the possibility of OLE DB being able to access Windows 2000's file system through its file-search engine.