Paving cow paths - Service Component Architecture plans to smooth out the bumps

If you have the time, you might enjoy reading the joint whitepaper from BEA, IBM, Interface21, IONA, Oracle, SAP, Siebel, and Sybase on
Sevice Component Architecture.

Unfortunately, "No part of the document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission..." so I can't quote the document, but I can hopefully paraphrase its goals without getting into trouble:

• Simplify business component development
• Simplfy the assembly and deployment of business solutions built as networks of services
• Shield business logic from middleware details and low-level changes
• Improve the testability of business services

These goals are particularly attractive to those who have had some misgivings about Java's suitability for business programming.

SCA builds on and embraces Spring, BPEL, Web Services, EJB3, REST, etc. in an attempt to create de-facto standards for assembling diverse components into composite applications using little or no bridging code. In that sense, SCA is paving cow paths rather than breaking any new ground. I find that refreshing.

It is way too early to judge SCA's success, but it could turn out to be a very good thing if they can pull it off.