Re: Application design & architecture

[Rob Dixon <rob.dixon@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Trevor

Trevor Perry wrote:
> Rob,
>
> There was nothing personal in my email.
>
> You are offering an approach to design an architecture that would be the 
> 'best'.
No - I am offering nothing.  G4 started the thread and I responded.  I 
am happy to contribute.  I don't know what the "best" solution is and 
nor does anyone else.  We may or may not be able to evolve a new method 
in our discussions and, even if we do, it may or may not be better than 
existing methods, including SOA 
> My point is that it has been done with SOA. 
What has been done?  Are you saying that the "best" solution is SOA?  
Doesn't it pull together existing tools, languages etc. If so, even if 
it provides a solid foundation for them, those programs, modules - call 
them what you will - will be the lowest common denominator and be the 
weak points of the SOA solution.

I would like to find a way of making development much more efficient.
> The vendors are making 
> it complex, but in the big picture, it is rather straightforward. As a 
> business-man, you would be one of the ~best~ people to understand it.
>
> I encourage you to spend more time learning about SOA.
>   
Perhaps you could kindly answer some starter questions. 

How long is the learning curve before someone could start to develop a 
useable robust scaleable SOA solution? 

What is the approximate percentage improvement in development 
productivity compared with traditional methods TAKING THE WHOLE 
DEVELOPMENT CYCLE?

In what way does SOA help to simplify the processes of development?

To what extent does SOA automtically enable reuse of 
methods/objects/code etc?

Does SOA allow incremental development without the need for a most 
detailed specification before development begins?

Does SOA require physical file design?

How does the performance of SOA applications compare with other methods?

In what way does SOA help to simplify the processes of maintenance?

Does SOA allow you to change file layouts without shutting down 
applications?

How does SOA help to provide 24/7 solutions with automatic parallel 
duplicate databases for rapid recovery after a major disaster?

How does SOA overcome the inability of relational databases to model the 
muti-dimensional complexity of the real world?

Does SOA require greater or less technical skills than existing methods?

What hands-on experience do you have of actually using SOA?

Best wishes

Rob