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Subject: RE: [soa-rm] Reference Model vs. Reference Architecture (Road Map)
Joseph:
I am going to take a try at this. Please forgive
this next sentence:
"A reference model is a model while a reference
architecture is an
architecture. "
Okay - so what does that really
mean (other that I couldn't find
appropriate words)? Not an easy
question to answer.
There are multiple differences you can state such as
"One is
implement-able, the other is not". A reference architecture
does tend
to be more generic than most use cases would require and would
still
need to be specialized further for a particular set of
requirements.
Reference architecture is sort of a proof of concept.
Individual
requirements and implementations may vary, but with
the
data and guidelines from such reference implementations the
system
designer can make more informed decisions. A reference
architecture
also may force you to consider things the RM does not delve
into. The
RM for building a house may have a notion of a bathroom and
also a
kitchen. The reference model states you have to have one
instance of
each to fulfill the functional requirements of providing a
habitat for a
human being, but does not show a level of detail of how you
could build
a house having both.
The reference architecture for a
house would delve into how plumbing
gets from the source/target to both the
bathroom and the kitchen, as
well as a documented layout that shows how they
are connected and what
other common touchpoints and infrastructure they
share. It is a more
specific design that can also be further
specialized. It forces someone
architecting another house to consider
the same question and perhaps
even shows them a solution paradigm (example -
hide the pipes in the
wall). This also hints at ways of implementing
things that are
optimized (hiding pipes in the wall is better than running
them outside
the house in climates where they may freeze).
The
Reference Architecture for this alleged house can also be modified
for
someone who owns property that is on a 10 degree slope or is not
connected to
a city water and sewage system (let's not get into those
details). It
may also further optimize the house's orientation to
optimize it for natural
sunlight and views via windows.
The order of abstraction is as
follows:
1. Meta models and meta conventions(ADL's and notions such as
patterns
of pipes and filters, stacks, etc.)
2. Reference Models
3.
Reference Architectures
4. Specific Architectures.
There is of course,
not 100% consensus on this subject and even
something as simple as a
definition of architecture itself has proven to
be very difficult.
I
would also pick Matt's brain on this subject. He is far
more
knowledgeable since he lives in this world every
day.
Duane
Duane
Chiusano Joseph wrote:
> I think
it is very important that at some point we include in our spec
> the
necessary guidance for users of our spec to move from our
> reference
model to a reference architecture, and perhaps beyond.
>
> I
have seen so many cases in which the terms "reference model" and
>
"reference architecture" have been used interchangeably (and sometimes
>
in the same resource!) that I am no longer crystal clear on the
>
similarities/differences between the 2. I know that there has been
>
preliminary discussion that reference model != reference
architecture.
>
> Can someone please provide a clear
distinction between the 2, and how
> we envision our RM "flowing" into an
RA?
>
> Thanks,
> Joe
>
> Joseph
Chiusano
> Booz Allen Hamilton
> Visit us online@ http://www.boozallen.com <http://www.boozallen.com/>
>
--
***********
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Standards Strategist - Adobe Systems, Inc. - http://www.adobe.com
Chair - OASIS Service
Oriented Architecture Reference Model Technical Committee -
http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/tc_home.php?wg_abbrev=soa-rm
Vice
Chair - UN/CEFACT Bureau Plenary - http://www.unece.org/cefact/
Adobe
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