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Peter Coffee Technology Editor, eWEEK SOA: Future-Tex? The service-oriented prospects for a future-proof infrastructure Peter Coffee Technology Editor, eWEEK

Web 1.0: www = “what was wrong” HTML was supposed to be content notation Hijacked to become a page description language Too difficult to render content on diverse devices Too many times to the well: constant reloads Embedded code is crude and fragile Scripting languages do too little and too much Inadequate database capabilities Too little control of client-side privileges Reuse is by copying, not by inheritance

Why Web Services are Right Keep code under your control Code should act on data close at hand Client-side code uses little of what it retrieves Code downloads leak intellectual property Server-side code adds value, aids efficiency Clarify interface definitions Put business function implementation with owner Enable incremental improvement Create partner opportunities Service chains Custom data interfaces

How to do SOA Wrong Let services grow out of applications Create multiple instances of services bus… …instead of defining one SOA environment Let service creation run wild… …instead of defining governable process Make it easier to reinvent than reuse… …instead of stressing discoverability & security Confuse modularity with reusability Jigsaw puzzle pieces are modules… …but they only fit together one way “ABOS” (A Bunch Of Services”) is not SOA

No Unmixed Blessings Service architecture entails remote trust Authentication only says whom you can sue Privilege control is crucial IPv6 offers leverage: DoD deadline is 2008 Every line of code can’t be a security risk Put securability into the stack: do it right just once

No Unmixed Blessings Self-disclosing data formats use bandwidth Next-generation networks require XML awareness Think about audit and compliance in context of future scalability

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