Encountered a scenario recently that underscores the difficulty of working in a multi-tier web app architecture. Recent project was SQL to .NET CMS and a Flex client side, spanned by Weborb.
Problem came about when I updated the .NET CMS, suddenly the front end flex app started throwing the application error, ____, stating a method in my weborb-generated code was coming up null. This was strangely the case not only for my code, but for the autogenerated testdrive as well.
I chalked it up to a misnamed package on either the server or client side, later to find that troubleshooting it was not helpful. I replaced the service locator xml files from my base install, which also did nothing to help.
Finally I built a test case and slowly bridged it from working to nonworking case, using varying test cases similar to the nonworking build. After lots of wasted time, I found what is either a memory leak, or an Eclipse bug.
Either way, I had to work around it and ultimately create a new build that is identical - as far as I can tell - to the nonworking version. Only it works.
The tier problem I speak of is the many levels of unknown in the overall architecture. It is difficult and time consuming to isolate layers one at a time to find the culprit. It would suggest that rich media apps require a team of specialized workers. Takes too long.
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