Architects need a way to flexibly describe and build service networks, tying together services written in a variety of languages and dynamically re-wiring them as business needs change. Currently, there is no standard for this, and no comprehensive solution available. Ideally, architects should be able to describe what capabilities a service offers, specifying reliability, service level agreements, and connections to other services, without having to write code. They should be able to pass this metadata to developers who can then use it to build new services. In addition, architects should be able to wire together existing services deployed on a variety of technology platforms.

In response to this unmet need, industry leaders—including BEA, IBM, and Oracle—came together to form the Open SOA Collaboration, an informal alliance dedicated to defining a language-neutral service composition model. The OSOA Collaboration is currently working on two specifications, available on a royalty-free licensing basis:

• Service Component Architecture (SCA), a model for the creation of service components in a wide range of languages and for assembling service components into a business solution
• Service Data Objects (SDO), a consistent means of handling data within applications, regardless of source or format. SDO provides a way of unifying data handling for databases and services, and offers mechanisms for the handling of data while detached from its source.

SCA and SDO can each be used separately, or together to provide a powerful and flexible way of building applications around a service-oriented architecture. The OSOA Collaboration is aiming to submit SCA and SDO to a standards body in the near future, so that they can serve as a cornerstone of SOA in a multivendor environment.

The OSOA Collaboration is eager for feedback from architects. Architects can provide their feedback on the OSOA Web site or check out the Tuscany project (http://incubator.apache.org/tuscany/), a blended-development Apache project that supports the SCA specifications. BEA is actively participating in Tuscany as well, adapting our products to support and leverage the open-source tools and techniques that will evolve from this initiative. Please join us in shaping the formation of this important set of standards, to help ensure that it meets your needs, too.

Check out these related Webinars:
» Service Component Architecture
» JSR 235 Service Data Objects (SDOs)