Architecting with RM-ODP (Software Architecture Series) (Paperback)

by Janis R. Putman (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
(Pearson Education) Provides a best-practice approach to creating an architectural specification using current practices and RM-ODP, identifying tools under development in the vendor community. Softcover. DLC: Computer architecture.

From the Back Cover
* Back Cover Architecting with RM-ODP is a comprehensive guide to the techniques for architecting a software system. An architect must address many complex challenges, ranging from business strategy related challenges to technology related challenges. Businesses are evolving from small, centralized, organizational endeavors to large, distributed, virtual enterprises with a multitude of endeavors. Concurrently, technologies supporting systems are evolving to support more autonomous ad distributed processing. Architecting a system for a business that meets the needs of today but is flexible enough to meet the needs of tomorrow requires a number of carefully made architectural decisions, such as: * Determining how to capture the business problem to be solved and relating this to an architectural specification * Creating specifications at the appropriate level of detail, and how to represent these through modeling tools such as UML * Ensuring conformance of the implementation to the specified architecture * Identifying ways of specific semantic behavior * Identifying ways to componentize elements of the architecture Architects of a system must address a number of technology related considerations as well. Among these are interoperability, interactions, policy driven execution, fault tolerance, quality of service, and federation. Patterns of reasoning, architectural patterns for defining a solution, for all of these considerations are found in this book. The International Standard Reference Model of Open Distributed Processing (RM-ODP) provides much in the way of fundamental concepts, rules, and patterns of reasoning for a software architecture of distributed systems. This book explores the use of RM-ODP, augments that with best practices in industry and academia, and guides the reader to the strengths and weaknesses of RM-ODP. To be sure, RM-ODP is an internationally agreed upon methodology for clearly defining any architecture of a distributed system in an open manner. This book also provides the reader with some of the industry uses of RM-ODP and some of the available tools that currently support RM-ODP. It also covers software architecture specification in an object world as well as enterprise-wide and component architecture approaches. Architecting with RM-ODP provides a best-practice approach to the creation of an architectural specification for a system that solves a business problem, a system of any size, using technologies today but prepared for tomorrow's changes, and providing patterns for solutions of distribution challenges, using current best practices and RM-ODP. A pair of real-life case studies uniquely illustrates the principles of project development as they teach. Systems architects, engineers, developers, program managers, and researchers will all find this definitive book an invaluable guide to the standard and its use in architecting a distributed system, testing that system, and choosing technologies for implementation that adhere to the business rules. Sidebar Architecting with RM-ODP defines and resolves many of the challenges faced by systems architects and engineers architecting a distributed computing system, large of small. The RM-ODP as well as architectural work in academia and industry offer powerful solutions to complex structural issues while encouraging cost-effectiveness and reusability. All of these are blended together synergistically in this book.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 880 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR (October 16, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130191167
• ISBN-13: 978-0130191168
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #753,997 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars RM-ODP Finally Explained !!, February 10, 2001

By	Dan Lundy (Minneapolis, MN United States) - See all my reviews

Reference Model of Open Distributed Processing

Wow. In a word. This is the definitive source on comprehending the RM-ODP specifications. If you are a Software Architect and are considering the RM-ODP school - this is the book for you.

I have only just completed my first pass through this 800+ page guide/tutorial/reference and know that I will have to pass through it several times again.

The preface to this work quotes Aristotle "To understand anything, you should not try to understand everything". Use this as your guide in plunging through the depths of this work. Operate under the assumption, as I did, that you will either comprehend it on the next pass or it will be referenced again later in the work.

The task Janis Putman must have set for herself in shedding more than light: clarity - on the subject of RM-ODP, had to have been daunting.

She succeeds! Filled to the brim with diagrams, cross-references, different views into the work - this is worth every penny if RM-ODP means anything in your life. If you are involved in distributed system development - you must have this book.

If you have tried to comprehend the RM-ODP specification on your own - stop! I attempted that myself and got somewhere into the middle of it before I lost the threads I was following. This Book will pull it all together for you.

My review at this time is twofold: Relief I made it through the experience and Joy that the trip was worth the time to go from cover to cover.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars It's a shame this is the only available RM-ODP book., May 9, 2001

By	Paul Mahler "paul" (Palo Alto, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book will prevent all but the hardiest of souls from adopting RM-ODP, which is a shame since RM-ODP presents so much that is useful to the architect.

You are much better off learning RM-ODP from the ITU Reccomendations than this book.

If you are already familiar with RM-ODP this book does contain some useful nuggets of information--if you are willing to dig hard enough to find them.

Ms. Putnam's book is disorganized and prolix. It is appalling that she quotes herself in the front matter. "Architechting with RM-ODP" is neither of use to the beginner or valuable as a reference to the practitioner.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Some Good but Not Enough, October 20, 2001

By A Customer

There is a lot of good information in this book, and it is much more readable than the specifications. Putman is able to give meaning to a terse and deep standard.

However, there is almost no practical application in her book. The running example is left for a hundred pages at a time. There is little to demonstrate how an architecture affects software design and code.

There is also very little to tie concepts together. When finished with the book, I didn't have an overall view of RM-ODP: just lots of little views.

This is the only book available on RM-ODP, so I recommend this book with that in mind. However, I hope Putman is able to revise this work into a more practicle and cohesive form.