Service Oriented Architecture Fundamentals

Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) is a network design that uses Uniform Resource Locators (URL) to define and locate services provided to businesses. As it appears, many proclaim it is the simplest of network service access methods. The concept simply uses the current web structure with some sophistication in "browser accessing" the requested URL. SOA architect can take on many forms in design, depending on the designer architecture methods, but remain consistent in using URL as its building block.
URL root is founded in the W3C naming conventions, which is why its concept is measured in simplicity. It uses the World Wide Web concept and format to call services by using the naming convention. One of the major advantages that this concept has over others is the ability to allow its architecture design to be revised without affecting the structure of the remaining architecture. The design concept, when implemented facilitates simplicity when connecting to suppliers, customer and others.
Iterations are much simpler. SOA applications reduce the cost and difficulty that can attribute to business process designs by the use of the concept loose coupling, and reusable services2, if designed correctly. With the assistance of Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI), documents are published in XML based registry for public access3. SOA uses a communication language, of which Representational State Transfer (REST) and Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) are the most predominate methods. Comparisons of the two has created a long standing battle as to which is more appropriate for use. Soap is based on designs that are tightly coupled, while REST is based on loose coupling.
;Fundamental components of an SOA design are :
# Service: Actual entity that uses the URL
# Service Broker: In specific situations where the services are not found, the broker assists in finding the location.
# Service Locator: A service that acts as a registry of available services and assists in locating a specific service.
# Service Provider: The entity that offers the services.
# Service Requester: The entity requesting the services.
;Some benefits of Service Oriented Architecture to businesses are:
# It has the ability to help quickly meet customer demands, thereby increasing customer retention
# It enables employees self-service, thereby cutting down on consulting fees
# SOA enables business become more agile, thereby boosting return-on-investment (ROI)
# SOA helps business meet their IT goals:(a) by proposing simpler but effective systems that can help achieve stated goals and objectives. (b) by proposing lower cost of maintenance, lower cost of integration and lower cost of (IT systems) migration. (c) by bringing an enhancement in flexibility to the IT architecture

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