Click here to receive your FREE subscription to Campus Technology
News
OASIS Ramps Up SDO Efforts for SOAs
11/19/2007
The nonprofit OASIS standards group has created a technical committee in support of the Service Data Objects (SDO) specification at OASIS. The SDO spec, which is a subset of the Service Component Architecture (SCA) spec, aims at simplifying data handling in service-oriented architectures (SOAs).
The advantage of implementing the SDO spec is that developers aren't tied down to specific data types or frameworks in an SOA, according to advocates for the standard.
"By offering a common facility for representing collections of data--regardless of data source type--SDO gives application developers a more simple, unified programming model and enables tools to work across heterogeneous data sources consistently," stated IBM's Shawn Moe, convener of the OASIS SDO Technical Committee, in a prepared statement.
According to a white paper (PDF) by the Open SOA group, the core SDO spec permits the use of any query language (SQL, XPath or XQuery). It works with object-oriented databases, relational databases or XML data sources.
OASIS initially began working with the Open SOA group in March of this year to develop the SDO spec. Currently, 11 Open SOA partners are behind the SDO spec. Those Open SOA partners include major SOA solution providers, such as BEA Systems, IBM, Oracle and Software AG.
Microsoft is not a part of this effort. Sun Microsystems initially wasn't part of the effort either, but the company later joined the Open SOA SDO effort as a partner. Some analysts early on suggested that SCA might be an attempt to get around Sun's Java Business Integration (JBI) effort.
In the battle over promoting SOA software, two standards typically get mentioned: SCA and JBI.
SCA provides a description of service components and how those components work together, according to a white paper (large PDF file) by David Chappell of David Chappell & Associates. SCA components can be built with Java or other languages or they can be built using Business Process Execution Language or the Spring Framework. Chappell adds that SCA is a new way to create Java business logic in an SOA and that it is an alternative to older methods, such as EJB and JAX-WS.
JBI, on the other hand, is a standard supported by Java Community Process JSR 208. JBI provides a Java runtime environment.
The Open SOA group sees SCA as generally complementary to JBI, according to a note posted by Mike Edwards of IBM. However, SCA supports types that don't run on a Java Virtual Machine, such as C++, he added.
Recommended Reading
- College of Southern Nevada Implementing Angel To Run Online Courses
The College of Southern Nevada (CSN), a community college in Las Vegas with 41,000 students, has adopted the Angel Learning Management Suite (LMS) to support its online course offerings. In Spring 2008 CSN began evaluating alternatives to WebCT, which it currently runs, and made the decision to adopt Angel in the fall. In January 2009, CSN's 865 sections of online enrollment will be delivered using the Angel LMS.
- Toshiba Brings DisplayLink to Docking Station
Toshiba has introduced a new USB docking station that incorporates DisplayLink--a technology that allows computers to connect to projectors and other types of displays through USB 2.0.
- Mitsubishi Ships SXGA+ Projector with DICOM Simulation
Mitsubishi has begun shipping a new LCD-based SXGA+ projector aimed at higher education, specifically medical schools. The new MH2850U, according to Mitsubishi, is "specially engineered for projecting DICOM simulation images for use in medical education and training."
- First Look: Komodo IDE 5.0
Last month, ActiveState released Komodo IDE 5.0, the company's latest integrated development environment (IDE). Komodo supports multiple programming and markup languages, including HTML, JavaScript, PHP, Perl, Java, Python, C++ and more. It does not support some .NET languages at present, such as ASP/ASP.NET, C# and VB.NET.
- IBM Offers Cloud Computing Help
IBM last week announced consulting services specifically designed to help organizations assess their options in using cloud computing technology. "Cloud computing" is a much argued term, but it typically refers to solutions delivered over the Internet, rather than via customer premises-installed software.
- Hollins U Chooses Omnilert for Emergency Notification Ahead of VA Deadline
Hollins University, among other higher ed institutions in Virginia, has implemented Omnilert's e2Campus emergency notification system (ENS) just ahead of a state-mandated deadline requiring them at every public institution of higher education by Jan. 1. Hollins itself isn't a public campus, but wished to implement an ENS before the end of the year, the school said in a company statement.
