What is Service Data Object?

SOA creates an environment where different types of data must work together. This makes application development complex. Service Data Object(SDO), provides a very simple programming model that addresses this issue. The key high level advantages of SDO are:

• Uniform access to data from heterogeneous sources which could be XML, RDB, POJO, SOAP, etc.
• SDO provides both a static (or strongly typed) programming model and a dynamic (or loosely typed) programming model. This provides a simple programming model without sacrificing the dynamic model needed by tools and frameworks.
• Provides Meta-data for easy introspection of data types
• Supports a disconnected model, whereby data can be retrieved from a data source via Data Access Service. The data can be modified by a client with change tracking, and applied back to the data source.
• SDO programming model is language neutral

Tuscany implements SDO in Java and in C++. A PHP version of SDO is also available.

SDO specification can be found at the Open Service Oriented Architecture website.

Learn more about SDO

• What is SDO? Part One: The value of many of the facets of SDO,Java Developer Journal, article by Kelvin Goodson & Geoffrey Winn

• What is SDO? Part 2 - A standardized approach to data programming particularly well suited to SOA,Java Developer Journal, article by Kelvin Goodson & Geoffrey Winn

• Varous white papers and presentations about SDO can be found on www.osoa.org SDO resoruces page.