10 Apr Service-Oriented Architecture

A systems design/architecture strategy with more separate, reusable programs designed as services, rather than fewer large applications. These smaller services are normally much simpler than large applications, with functionality limited to easily defined capabilities. The  services are often invoked through a service bus using a predefined mechanism governed by a contract. This is an important evolution in computing in that it brings us a step closer to the end of code that is independent of knowledge, and closer to knowledge-driven functionality (code).