The development tools discussed in this book will handle many complex distributed applications. However, many of the largest and best-known systems are really extreme cases that employ exceptional methods and are not typical of the way other business systems will be built. They are often the first application of their category, the largest company in their industry, or a unique organization such as a clearinghouse. Examples include:
-Travel reservation systems, such as Sabre and Amadeus
-Banking clearing-house systems, such as SWIFT
-Exchange systems, such as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Commodities Exchange (COMEX)
-Large organizations, such as Wal-Mart, Bank of America, and Citicorp
-Leading dot-com companies, such as Google and Amazon.com