EXTOL Technology Blog

Camels can be stubborn and angry animals if you don’t take care of them. Lucky for you the EXTOL development team has figured out how to tame them. And we even taught them how to work with data! 

Everywhere we look today we can see patterns. They’re in your shirt or tie. You witness traffic patterns (big or small) on your way to work. There are even patterns of integration – Enterprise Integration Patterns (EIP). These patterns allow you to define standard ways of dealing with messaging systems. Examples of these patterns include content-based routing and wiretapping.  Read more…

A Web Service is any “service” that is available over the Internet, using a standardized XML messaging system, and is not tied to any one operating system or programming language.

Example Web Service Implementation:

MyCompany receives purchase orders from UPS and during the translation process uses an HTTP connection to interface with an existing UPS Web Service.  Through this Web Service MyCompany verifies addresses, retrieves tracking information, sends (SMS) text messages, and performs currency conversions (among other functions).  This Web Service provides MyCompany access to information from the UPS tracking database needed inside MyCompany application and is achieved without complex programming. Read more…

There are a number of blogs, discussion groups, podcasts, etc. talking about Service-oriented Architecture (SOA) and Service-oriented Integration (SOI). Instead of focusing on them individually, this blog focuses on using them together for better ROI results.

Service-oriented Integration (SOI) is the practice of using XML over HTTP (e.g. Web Services) to achieve interoperability between applications and services – for example, wrapping a legacy application function and exposing it to other applications, services, and business partners. Service-oriented architecture (SOA) encompasses architecture principles and best practices that guide the design and implementation of SOI, including methods that minimize coupling, complexity, and functional overlap. Most SOA initiatives start with the need to integrate an application; I believe the reason why companies fail and overspend on SOA initiatives is due to the lack of consideration for SOI and SOA together.

Read more…