SQL Server Service Broker: samples and tools for the [near] future...

SQL Server Service Broker: samples and tools for the [near] future...

"Today I've found a great post about possible tools and samples for SQL Server Service Broker on www.sqlservicebroker.com:

- External Activator - (This is a work in progress. Similar to our internal proc activation, this is an NT Service that launches service programs outside of SQL Server (ie. .exe). Allows configuration of things like min, max, etc. Logs all activity and even recovers (based on the log) in the event of unexpected shutdown.) We plan to deliver this sample to you in the next couple of months, maybe by the end of February. It has no GUI, the config is an XML file that the program monitors for changes. Any good GUI writers out there want to build an admin interface for this?

- Broker-based chat - This is also a work in progress, but on a slower ship schedule.

- IE protocol handler - Offline browing anyone? This is a protocol handler that talks to a back-end broker service via dialogs that in turns talks to web sites / SOAP-based services. Another sample that we are working on slowly as a back-burner project. The purpose of the sample is to illustrate how to bridge dialogs to other technologies.

- Auto-route populater - This sample will respond to the broker's notifications of missing routes by fetching routes from a master and adding them, thereby allowing stalled conversations to continue. One example of this is being worked on currently. Many variations makes sense given how many different ways customers like to store their "master" meta-data: LDAP directories, UDDI, custom solutions, etc.

- Broker-based scheduler - Reliable, distributed scheduling based on the arrival of messages, time, completion of another scheduled task, etc.

- Broker diagnostic dashboard - The idea behind this is to build a command / control style interface that allow for quick diagnosis of the health of a given service and its conversations. This could be much bigger than this even, but that gives you the basic idea.

- Paging service - Service that accepts incoming requests via dialogs and translates them to alpha pages or cell phone messages.

- Emailer service - Same as above, except for email.

- Pub / Sub Service - Service that matches up publishers and subscribers and takes cares of delivering a given incoming messages to all of the subscribers. Broker-based spam anyone? Just kidding.

- Broker Explorer - GUI-based creation and maintenance of broker objects. I know of one of these being built.

- Visual Studio wizards - Wizards to simplify creation of service broker applications."


People seem to be having a hard time getting their hands around the new SQL Server 2005 Service Broker. These samples (if they come to light) might go a long way toward helping with that...