Man, oh man, there is a ton of buzz (or is it hot air?) around this TLA. I have been in the software industry as a programmer type for 15 years and have never seen so much marketing hype and confusion around this term. Here is the technical truth.
What is SOA?
SOA is based on a systems environment specifically architected to utilize free standing units of functional code, each of which corresponds to a specific activity.
What is a Service?
A self-describing software component that is accessible over a network and has a published interface that does not require knowledge of the technology used to create and deploy it.
What is a Web Service?
Web services should be seen as the primary delivery model for SOA.
Key Attributes of a SOA
- Network-based architecture
- Standards-based defined architecture (XML, SOAP, WSD