Book Review: Service-Oriented Architecture

Title: Service-Oriented Architecture
Subtitle: Concepts, Technology, and Design
Author: Thomas Erl

I don’t have much to say about this book, other than the fact that it’s a must-read for anyone interested in the topic of Service-Oriented Architecture. Erl is clear and articulate, when laying out the concepts, and brings you to a full understanding of SOA in a way that will make sense to you. Consider this book a textbook for any SOA-related work you want to do, whether you’re an architect, a business analyst, a developer, or perhaps even a manager.

Of course, you’ll need to be prepared for the book’s size and weight; it’s huge. (Even if you’re not interested in SOA, you might want to consider buying the book to help yourself get in shape.) But don’t be daunted by that; there are a lot of diagrams included, and the book is very well laid out, so it won’t take as long to go through as you think it will. (That being said, I’ve been reading this thing since I received it as a Christmas present! But not because of the length; for most of that time, it sat untouched on my bed-side table.)