Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA):
A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction

What is this course about?

Modern software development paradigms include highly distributed applications that are implemented in Service Oriented Architectures, generally known as SOA. Rather than discrete, disparate programs, SOA combines these programs into interoperable systems that map directly to business processes.

This course defines "service" and "architecture" and establishes a strong understanding of the concepts needed to have an effective working knowledge of SOA methodologies, modeling, design, SOA technologies, orchestration and architectural frameworks.

What background do I need?

Some involvement with creating business applications is assumed as is general knowledge of the Internet. Prior experience with SOA is not required.

Who will benefit from this course?

This is an introductory course, providing the foundation knowledge of SOAs and their discovery, modeling and design, leading up to implementation. Analysts, strategists, software architects, developers or anyone involved in SOA projects will benefit greatly from the knowledge gained in this course.

How much of the course is devoted to hands-on exercises?

Approximately 55 percent of the time in this course is spent doing hands-on exercises. The course incorporates both small-group discussions and computer-based exercises, including:

• Mapping an organisation as a set of services
• Modeling services using a design tool
• Defining the operations for a service with use cases
• Implementing Web services from contracts

All exercises reinforce the concepts of modeling and design taught in the course. During the course, a service oriented architecture is developed for as part of an ongoing case study.

What tools does this course use?

The course is tool-neutral and the concepts discussed can be implemented using any contemporary SOA toolset. The modeling tool used is Enterprise Architect. Implementing in Java with Sun NetBeans and in .NET with Microsoft Visual Studio is briefly discussed. Various other representative tools are also used.

Further, this is an architecture course rather than a technology/implementation course and so covers architecting service-oriented solutions rather than the details of a particular implementation. The course provides an overview of the options available in implementing services, focusing on when each is the most appropriate choice. Options discussed include Web Services (with WSDL and SOAP), REST, JSON, RMI, and .NET remoting.

How much time is spent on each topic?

How does this course differ from Course 577, Building XML Web Services with Java: Hands-On and Course 2601, Programming .NET Web Services: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction?

Course 577, Building XML Web Services with Java: Hands-On, and Course 2601, Programming .NET Web Services: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction, deal specifically with the development of Web services using Java or WCF. Thus, both courses 577 and 2601 are specifically intended for software developers using particular languages and do not deal with determining what services an organization requires or defining the architecture those services are part of.

Course 424, on the other hand, deals with the broader aspects of an SOA. This course is intended for analysts, strategists, software architects and developers dealing with the strategic implementation of orchestrating an SOA.

How does this course relate to other Learning Tree courses?

This course is part of the Software Engineering curriculum. Other courses in this curriculum that may be of interest include:

• 218, User and System Requirements for Successful Software Development  provides the skills needed to apply use cases to software development initiatives, model user interface, data and non-functional requirements, and employ advanced tactics suitable for complex and high-reliability systems.
• 342, Software Change, Configuration and Release Management  provides the knowledge and skills needed to deploy SCM patterns and activities supporting methodologies ranging from agile (XP, RUP, MSF) to those promoted by industry standards (ISO, CMMI, IEEE).

Courses from other Learning Tree curricula that may be of interest include:

• 577, Building XML Web Services with Java: Hands-On  provides the skills needed to design and build Web services using Java. You develop services and clients using the latest standards-based technologies.
• 2601, Programming .NET Web Services: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction provides the skills needed to design and build services using Microsoft's .NET Framework. You develop services and clients using all of the latest features of the Windows Communication Foundation.
• 381, Business Process Re-engineering for Competitive Advantage  provides the critical knowledge and skills needed to implement BPR within an organisation.
• 542, XML: A Comprehensive Hands-On Introduction  provides hands-on experience developing Web applications using Extensible Markup Language (XML).

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