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Leveraging Synergies: RTI and SOA Unite ebizQ, March 22, 2007 The relentless pursuit of business agility in the 21st century is forcing IT to evolve to higher plains of existence. IT evolution is all about disruptive technologies and best-of-breed ideas merging together to lead to even better solutions for the enterprise. Two such 800 pound gorillas that are coming together presently are Real-Time Infrastructure (RTI) and Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). SOA Antipatterns ebizQ, August 31, 2006 There have been numerous articles and blog entries on SOA best practices, designing good services, and a robust supporting backbone. In fact, I have written extensively about these topics myself. But there is another side to the coin. Let's say that you've just embarked on a major SOA initiative for your (or your client's) organization. You are now faced with a myriad of questions. How will you avoid starting down the wrong path? How will you know when you are doing something that is about to get you into trouble by limiting your options in the future? How will you figure out that the SOA initiative that you have so lovingly started is about to create more problems than it can solve? Finally, and probably most importantly of all, how will you figure these things out in time to cut short this vicious cycle and get back on the right track? Software Factories - But What about my SOA? Unisys System Architect Quarterly, June 2006 (not available online) Who hasn’t heard of “The Chaos Report” published by the Standish Group in 1994? It’s one of the most widely cited studies on software project failures in software related articles and books. And rightfully so, for even after more than 11 years of its publication, the findings reported by it are still as valid today as they were back then. According to the report, only 16.2% of all software projects were completed on time and within budget (i.e. really successful). This number became significantly worse as the size of the performing company increased with only 9% of all projects fitting the success category in the largest companies. According to the same Standish Group, the numbers for overall successful projects in 2000 and 2004 are at 28% and 29% respectively. While these numbers show an improvement, they are still dismal compared to the numbers for successful projects in other industries. In this age of 6-sigma initiatives where companies strive to be better than a 3 sigma, which represents a success rate of more than 93%, software development as an industry with its success rate of 29% would rate as less than 1 sigma (~31% would be 1 sigma)! In this article, I will present software factories as a way to improve the overall state of the software industry and how your existing SOA investment can help drive that process. Creating Microsoft-Based Interoperable Solutions for a Digital Government Microsoft Government Solutions, January 23, 2006 (not available online) Government organizations constantly seek ways to improve service and cut costs. Increasingly, they look to standards-based technologies to help. Now governments can deliver innovative, cost-effective business solutions to their constituents using a Microsoft .NET strategy to help integrate their diverse environments. Tarak Modi, an executive architect at Unisys, recently led one such highly successful effort. His team used Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) and Web services on a .NET platform to create an interoperable e-government application, building on a state agency's legacy systems to deliver new services to citizens. Modi describes his team's work and the results they achieved in a white paper published by Microsoft. Event-Driven Architecture: Achieving Architectural Agility SOA Pipeline, June, 2005 (not available online) To the layperson Event Driven Architecture (EDA) can seem quite esoteric, but it provides unique benefits and capabilities that can enable business systems to become more agile and responsive. What's even better is that you don't have to abandon any of your hard-learned SOA lessons since EDA and SOA can not only happily coexist but also thrive by leveraging each other's strengths ESB and SOA: The Even Couple SOA Pipeline, April, 2005 (not available online) No one can accuse us technologists of lacking in creativity--after all, we've created countless fancy acronyms. Two such exotic acronyms are SOA and ESB, which stand for service-oriented architecture and enterprise service bus, respectively. Sarcasm aside, I assure you that both of these are more than just buzzwords. Each of these technologies by itself can add much value to any IT shop, but when used together they can put you well on your way to technology nirvana. Enterprise Class Web Services: Eight Design Principles (Part 2) SOA Pipeline, March, 2005 (not available online) Welcome to the second installment of my two-part series covering eight essential design principles that I use while implementing service-oriented architectures (SOAs). As I mentioned in part 1, 2005 is the year that almost all organizations are at least thinking about SOAs. But experience has proven time and time again that implementing a robust SOA can be tricky. As you may recall, part 1 of this series covered the first three design principles to help ensure that you start off your SOA endeavor in the right direction. Now without further ado, let's take a look at the remaining five principles. Enterprise Class Web Services: Eight Design Principles (Part 1) SOA Pipeline, February, 2005 (not available online) The truth of the matter is that creating proper services (crucial to a robust SOA) is more challenging than it seems and has even led to the definition of a new role within the IT department called an SOA Architect. This is the first part of a two-part series covering eight (8) design principles that I normally follow while designing services and implementing SOAs. Splitting Hairs: Web Services Vs. Distributed Objects SOA Pipeline, January, 2005 (not available online) There are two primary camps where Web services are concerned. Are there differences between Web services and distributed objects? Our expert explores this issue. KISS Your Web Services SOA Pipeline, December, 2004 (not available online) In a recent blog entry titled WS-Confusion?, I questioned whether the explosion of specifications (and so-called standards) for Web Services is causing more harm than good. In this article, I will discuss why such an explosion was inevitable and how software architects, designers, and developers can cope with this continuing explosion until a stable state is achieved. SOA - Debunking 3 Common Myths Enterprise Architect, September, 2004 Imagine this scenario: Two software professionals are fraternizing over drinks at a cocktail party. One of the software professionals starts describing her product's architecture, and upon seeing a slightly perplexed look on the other professional's face, proudly states that it is a service-oriented architecture (SOA). The look of confusion transforms into one of admiration and satisfaction. After all, everyone knows what an SOA is, right? Like any other technology that is "better than sliced bread," SOA has its fair share of myths. I'll dispel three common myths surrounding SOA, so that in the worst case, these myths won't manifest themselves as poor architecture or design decisions during an SOA implementation. Safeguard your XML-based messages JavaWorld, December 20, 2002 Apache XML Security is an open source implementation of the XML Digital Signature specification that allows you to digitally sign your Web service messages. Digital signatures assure your messages' receivers that the messages are really from you. After reading this article, which serves as an introductory tutorial to Apache XML Security, you will be well prepared to start signing your Web services messages. Axis: The next generation of Apache SOAP JavaWorld, January 25, 2002 SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is no longer just an XML wire protocol. It has evolved to become the foundation of Web services. Not surprisingly, Apache has always strongly supported SOAP with its Apache SOAP project. However, as typical among many successful open source projects, Apache SOAP has evolved to the point of its own extinction. Apache's Axis project is a complete re-architecture of its SOAP implementation and has many new features previously unheard of in Apache SOAP. In this article, I provide a high-level look at how Axis takes the Apache SOAP implementation to the next level. WSIL: Do we need another Web Services specification? Web Services Architect, January 16, 2002 There still exists a chasm between service providers and service consumers. That's exactly where the Web Services Interface Language (WSIL) fits in. WSIL promises to help us cross this chasm while UDDI registries get their act together. WSIL was announced by IBM and Microsoft in November of 2001. As I will show you in this article, WSIL is complementary to UDDI. Better yet, this is also another example of how Microsoft and IBM continue to pave the Web Services road ahead. This article is also referenced in the WebSphere and .Net Interoperability Using Web Services (part of the IBM RedBooks Series, Page 137). Clean up your Wire Protocol, Part 4: Dynamic proxies make Apache SOAP client development easy JavaWorld, July 7, 2001 As I've mentioned throughout the first three parts of this series, Apache SOAP client developers end up with a raw deal, since they must complete extra work that they normally would not have to do. So, in this fourth and final installment, I will present a framework based on the dynamic proxy classes in the Java 2 Platform, Version 1.3. This framework will make creating SOAP clients just as easy and intuitive as creating SOAP services. Clean up your Wire Protocol, Part 3: Create SOAP services in Apache SOAP with JavaScript JavaWorld, June 1, 2001 As you've learned from Parts 1 and 2 of this four-part series on SOAP, creating SOAP services is easy. In Part 3, I will show you an even simpler way to create SOAP services using Apache SOAP and JavaScript. Clean up your Wire Protocol, Part 2: Use Apache SOAP to create SOAP-based applications JavaWorld, April 27, 2001 Creating applications that use SOAP is not difficult, and Apache SOAP makes it even easier. In Part 2 of this four-part series on SOAP, I will introduce you to Apache's SOAP implementation and walk you through some simple examples that demonstrate the essence of creating SOAP-based applications Clean up your Wire Protocol, Part 1: An Introduction to SOAP Basics JavaWorld, March 30, 2001 SOAP is not just another buzzword. It is a powerful new application of vendor-agnostic technologies, such as XML, that can help take the world of distributed programming to new heights. This article, the first in a series of four, introduces you to the basics of SOAP. |