Foreword

Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g is an extraordinary release in the rich history of Oracle. It provides the foundation for Fusion Applications as well as a complete, open, and integrated platform for the development and integration of modern as well as legacy applications by organizations around the world. FMW provides the tools that enable Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), Business Process Management (BPM), and Event-Driven Architecture (EDA), based on all the relevant industry standards. Business agility and adaptability is the primary objective, achieved through reuse, encapsulation, interoperability, and loose coupling. Oracle SOA Suite 11g, in conjunction with various other key products in the FMW stack, helps organizations design and build, test and deploy, secure, administrate, and govern composite applications according to these architectural guidelines.

This book provides a wealth of information to different types of readers interested in Fusion Middleware and specifically the SOA Suite. Although developers are probably the primary audience for this book, it would seem that IT management staff and business analysts, as well as administrators and testers will find a lot of useful content from the perspective of their respective jobs. The book provides a comprehensive background on the business objectives and potential benefits of introducing Service-Oriented Architecture as well as a concise historical overview of the evolution of both industry standards around services and the Oracle technology that implements those standards, giving great insight in the evolution of the SOA Suite and its role in Oracle’s Fusion Middleware stack. It goes into the details of creating BPEL processes and making optimal use of the Mediator, Business Rule, and other service components and adapters. But it also describes how to deploy, secure, administer, and do governance for SOA composite applications. The last part goes beyond the basics, touching on advanced topics and integration between many different parts of Oracle FMW—including ADF and WebCenter—and concluding with a glimpse into the future.

The publication of this book comes at a good moment—at the time when Fusion Applications, as the biggest proof point of Fusion Middleware to date and the best example of applying SOA Suite 11g, has started its rollout. And at a time when key components such as BPM 11g, OSB 11g, OER 11g, CEP 11g, and Spring Java have all been integrated with SOA Suite 11g. The book manages to discuss all these components—and their application to address real business challenges in an imaginary hospital. And although this fictitious St. Matthews Hospital may not be an exact duplicate of your own organization, it possesses many characteristics that will be similar enough as to make the examples in this book useful sources of inspiration for your business environment.

Another aspect of this book is quite close to my heart. Back in 2004, Oracle launched the Oracle ACE and ACE Director program, which formally recognizes Oracle advocates with strong credentials as evangelists and educators in their communities. Since that day, some 200 Oracle ACEs have been nominated as well as close to 100 ACE Directors, across all the various technologies and product lines that are relevant to Oracle and its customers. It is great to see that no fewer than seven ACEs and ACE Directors have collaborated on this book in some form, with many more of them making smaller contributions along the way. It shows how a strong community has evolved among these highly professional individuals and how they participate to share their collective experience and passion for Oracle’s products with the rest of the world.

I trust this book will live up to its promise in empowering you to start taking advantage of the full potential of Service-Oriented Architecture through the use of Oracle SOA Suite 11g. The information, examples, and pointers should give you the knowledge, enthusiasm, and skills that will prove invaluable when you consider, start, or continue using the product.

Thomas Kurian

Executive Vice President

Oracle Product Development