[Cross-posted in REST-Discuss Yahoo Group] Two Gartner colleagues and I just published a note on WOA -- a term I coined a couple of years ago and finally got around to nailing down.
I've posted some highlights from it on my blog: http://blogs.gartner.com/nick_gall/2008/11/19/woa-putting-the-web-back-in-web-services/ . Let me just repeat the essential definition here: WOA is an architectural substyle of SOA that integrates systems and users via a web of globally linked hypermedia based on the architecture of the Web. This architecture emphasizes generality of interfaces (UIs and APIs) to achieve global network effects through five fundamental generic interface constraints: 1. Identification of resources 2. Manipulation of resources through representations 3. Self-descriptive messages 4. Hypermedia as the engine of application state 5. Application neutrality I am especially interested in this list's feedback on the addition of a fifth constraint to Roy's four "uniform interface" constraints: "application neutrality". Reactions to the change from "uniform interface" to "generic interface" are also welcome. (As are any other reactions -- except to the choice of the name "WOA". <grin>) -- Nick Nick Gall Phone: +1.781.608.5871 AOL IM: Nicholas Gall Yahoo IM: nick_gall_1117 MSN IM: (same as email) Google Talk: (same as email) Email: nick.gall AT-SIGN gmail DOT com Weblog: http://ironick.typepad.com/ironick/ Furl: http://www.furl.net/members/ngall
