Towards a Service-Based Architecture Description Language

The service-based computing paradigm is rapidly gaining ground as a viable choice for the design of modern software applications. In this paper, we review the basic operation of software components and the necessary infrastructure in the service-based paradigm, and identify the core set of requirements that those components and infrastructure have to satisfy. We argue that these requirements necessitate the use of a suitable architecture description language (ADL). Upon examining a few existing ADLs from the viewpoint of those requirements, we identify the salient features of a service-based ADL. In particular, we analyze the role of the core set of ADL elements such as supporting styles, validation facilities, and the representation aspect of architecture design.