David,

>1. What should happen in getName when the getData method hasn't been called yet? Does mmBusinessObject.GetCurrentDataSet() throw an exception or return an empty DataSet?

>2. What if a value for primaryKey is passed to getName that isn't in the DataSet? Is the decision to return string.Empty or "primaryKey not found" or throw a custom exception a stylistic one?

Without knowing the context in which the object is used, I would tend to retrieve the requested data if it's not already in the business object's DataSet. So, this would require the following:

1. If the current DataSet is null retrieve the requested data from the back end
   
   
2. If the current DataSet is not null, search for the data in the DataSet. If the data is not found in the current DataSet, retrieve the requested data from the back end

>3. Does MM come with a list of all the classes, their properties and methods, and the exceptions they throw? I thought that I had a reference, but I can't find it.

The MM .NET Developer's Guide contains a list of all classes, properties and methods under the topic "MM .NET Classes". We don't have a list of all exceptions thrown by MM .NET...we throw very few exceptions except in our builders.

Regards,