Although DNA is associated quite closely with Microsoft, no one actually 'owns' the architecture. If you use it, there are no payments, no penalties, and definitely no right or wrong ways to implement it. It's a high level idea; there are no coding practices, special notations or even restrictions on the technologies to use.

However, this is not to say that Microsoft does not gain a huge advantage if you adopt the architecture.

The DNA approach to building applications is a pseudo technical-cum-marketing idea generated from Microsoft that is both application development architecture and medium for selling application developers more products. It is an approach that delivers in stages, often expensive stages,

The reality of the model is that it fits neatly into a range of Microsoft technologies, which is in part, by design. Thus, it is common that if you adopt the architectural model, you'll also adopt quite a few non-free Microsoft products in the process. That is because the Microsoft products all work in support of the architecture.

However, in defense of Mirosoft, when we say that the Microsoft suite of technologies happen to slot nicely into the DNA architecture, what we really mean is that the products have been engineered for the architectural solution. The products do work fairly well in helping developers implement the architecture and the architecture does help developers write applications! What's more, you can use any products, even non-Microsoft ones, in a DNA architected application. It just may be a little more inconvenient!

Microsoft DNA encompasses all, and more, of the technologies and practices that we shall cover in this tutorial. If you already work and develop solutions using databases, middleware, connectivity products and services from Microsoft then you are already using some portions of the DNA technology structure. The only remaining question is whether you are using the methodology as well. Using the technologies without the methodology is acceptable, but you won't reap the full benefits the technologies and architecture have to offer.

In other words, you can write ASP applications that do not leverage the DNA. And they will work just fine.

However, if you do so, you gain none of the special benefits that ASP has to offer over other similar solutions such as CGI or Servlets.

As a result, in this tutorial, we'll be paying close attention to not just the tools of ASP, but how they fit into the greater DNA architecture.