Middleware Matters

For some reason I've always been able to see both sides of most arguments. I'm not sure why, but maybe it's because I'm the middle of seven children. Whatever the reason, my latest Internet Computing (IC) Toward Integration column tries to take a middle ground in the ongoing "REST vs. SOA" debate. It's called "REST Eye for the SOA Guy" (PDF) and it attempts to explain, from the perspective of someone like me with a lengthy SOA background, the benefits that REST brings to the distributed systems picture. As always, all feedback on the column (or any of my previous columns) is welcomed.

This column is my 30th for IC, which is published bimonthly, which in turn means that Toward Integration now enters its 6th year. I'd like to thank all of you who have read my work over the past 5 years, and would especially like to thank those of you who provided me with reviews and feedback. If you have ideas for topics you'd like to see me cover in 2007, please drop me a note. I write this column in my "spare time" — being chief engineer for IONA is more than a full-time job, as you might imagine — so coming up with topics isn't always easy.