A top worldwide priority for the next decade will be implementing or improving distributed computing platforms and service-oriented architectures (SOAs). Distributed systems technology allows corporations to create systems that, in many ways, are better than centralised systems. Service-oriented architecture is a software architecture design pattern that provides application functionality for vendors and products. As the computer industry takes advantage of these two approaches, software engineers must consider benefits, constraints, scalability, conversion issues and so on.

This week, you will discuss distributed computing platforms, analyse appropriate service-oriented architectures and further evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of such development systems.

To complete this Discussion

Post: Service-oriented architecture, like many other tools, is not the right answer for all architecture technology problems. With the information you have read in this lecture and the text, and/or your own experiences with service-oriented architecture, identify two types of applications where you would not recommend the use of service-oriented architecture and critically defend why you chose these two application types.

Respond to your colleagues with substantial follow-on responses.