Monday, March 8, 2010

TOGAF and SOA

I am with a mission to define the technology architecture i.e. the phase D in TOGAF ADM (http://www.opengroup.org/architecture/togaf8-doc/arch/chap03.html). Days are changing, the current trend (try with google) is SOA :)
So everything should be done in SOA way. TOGAF is an architecture framework while SOA is an architectural style. TOGAF does not mention any specific architectural style to be followed, so I can use SOA with out any issue. Technology architecture as defined by TOGAF needs input from the business and application architecture as well.
During the last couple of years people used object oriented paradigm more conveniently with most of the IT system architecture, analysis, design and development. SOA can be used as an architectural style during the analysis (not sure if the business can always be analised in terms of services) design and modeling but once it comes to the implementation arena it's no more SOA. Services are implemented as web services or something else similar to that. Finally it boils down to files, dlls, java classes, exe, xml file etc. It's hard to distinguish the bricks collapsed out of a charch or a library or a skyscraper after an earthquake :)
When there's no abstraction, there's no SOA or object orientation or any other style, they are all the same. Finally all the services and objects are going to be converted to the binary language for the machine to execute.
To me the technology architecture that talks about the concrete deployment environment for a system or application has got very less to do with SOA.
Digging the lower level details of the BPEL process engines or ESBs will return the application server underlying. ESB and BPEL process engines are mostly deployed as applications on the top of an application server for most of the vendors (be it Webspehere or Weblogic).

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Though I have very less technical knowledge and understanding, but from the feedbacks it seems people want you to continue putting your effort.