Just about every publication, marketing brochure, and IT commercial currently on parade for your enjoyment contains some mention of service-oriented architecture. If products were still sold in boxes, instead of downloaded, you would see a bright sticker on the box saying "New and Improved: Now with SOA." Instead of Fuller brushes, today's sales wiz now pushes SOA - it's good for what ails you.
Now don't get me wrong - I'm more or less in favor of SOA, although I do believe there are times when it is inappropriate for use. But after all, this is a magazine devoted to SOA, so as its editor, you can bet I find those inappropriate times few and far between. SOA is a concept that works naturally in a partitioned application world - it allows the natural creation of interfaces and construction of software from basic services. A previous generation of coders might have recognized this as the same mantra used by proponents of component-based development, with increased interoperability being the added bonus of the current SOA strategy. And to an extent they'd be right - SOA is a modern software Lego set. Need security? Grab that piece there. Logging - this little piece over here. Have to connect billing to order management? Get that little connector thingamabob. All in all, it's a very neat, logical concept that resonates well with the logical mind of a programmer or architect.
