Resources: standards and architectures

Representational State Transfer (REST) is a collection of principles for managing information over a computer network like the world wide web. The term originated in a 2000 doctoral dissertation about the web written by Roy Fielding, one of the principal authors of the HTTP protocol specification, and has quickly passed into widespread use in the networking community.

While REST originally referred to a collection of architectural principles (described below), people now often use the term in a looser sense to describe any simple web-based interface that uses XML and HTTP without the extra abstractions of RPC-based approaches like the web services SOAP protocol. Strictly speaking, it is possible (though not common) to design web service systems in accordance with Fielding's REST principles, and it is possible to design simple XML+HTTP interfaces that do not follow REST principles, so these two different uses of REST cause some confusion in technical discussions.

Systems that follow Fielding's REST principles are often referred to as RESTful; REST's most zealous advocates call themselves RESTafarians.

# In software, the word component has an emerging meaning generalizing the idea of a software pattern, software object, software framework and software architecture. software componentry can be any of these. See also: component software theory, software component. A standard way to implement a component is as a class object (object-oriented programming)

Software architecture is a coherent set of abstract patterns guiding the design of each aspect of a larger software system.

Software architecture underlies the practice of building computer software. In the same way as a building architect sets the principles and goals of a building project as the basis for the draftsman's plans, so too, a software architect sets out the software architecture as a basis for actual system design specifications, per the requirements of the client.

Open source means when sources of information, code, pictures, maps, authors, and everything related are all publicly viewable and openly modifiable.

When used as an adjective, the term is hyphenated: "Apache is open-source software"; otherwise, when used as a noun, there is no hyphen: "open source".

Something proprietary is something exclusively owned by someone, often with connotations that it is exclusive and cannot be used by other parties without negotiations. It may specifically mean that something is covered by one or more patents, as in proprietary technology. It can also mean that the copyright is used in a way that restricts the users' freedoms.

Increasingly, proprietary architectures are seen as a disadvantage. Consumers prefer standardized and open architectures, which allow them to mix and match products from different manufacturers.

An architecture whose specifications are public. This includes officially approved standards as well as privately designed architectures whose specifications are made public by the designers. The opposite of open is closed or proprietary.

The great advantage of open architectures is that anyone can design add-on products for it. By making an architecture public, however, a manufacturer allows others to duplicate its product. Linux, for example, is considered open architecture because its source code is available to the public for free. In contrast, DOS, Windows, and the Macintosh architecture and operating system have been predominantly closed. Many lawsuits have been filed over the use of these architectures in clone machines. For example, IBM issued a Cease and Desist order, followed by a battery of lawsuits, when COMPAQ built its first computers.

Standards subcategories and terms. Dictionary Definitions for Words in the Standards Category

(n.) A design. The term architecture can refer to either hardware or software, or to a combination of hardware and software. The architecture of a system always defines its broad outlines, and may define precise mechanisms as well.

An open architecture allows the system to be connected easily to devices and programs made by other manufacturers. Open architectures use off-the-shelf components and conform to approved standards. A system with a closed architecture, on the other hand, is one whose design is proprietary, making it difficult to connect the system to other systems.

What is software architecture?

There is no standard, universally-accepted definition of the term, “software architecture,” although there is no shortage of definitions, either. The following sections attempt to capture an appropriate cross section of what is meant by software architecture. The first section includes definitions from recent works on software architecture. The second section provides the "Classic Definitions," a brief tour through some of the more important or influential ones. These definitions are followed by additional definitions from articles taken from our software architecture bibliography. Lastly, definitions are listed that Web visitors have suggested (complete list, new listings only).

Open standards are publicly available specifications for achieving a specific task. By allowing anyone to use the standard, they increase compatibility between various hardware and software components since anyone with the technical know-how and the necessary equipment to implement solutions can build something that works together with those of other vendors.

Many standards are proprietary rather than being open, and must be licensed from the organization that owns the copyright for the standard before obtaining a copy. Being an open standard also does not necessarily imply that no licenses to patent rights are needed to use the standard or that such licenses are available for free. For example, the standards published by the major internationally-recognized standards bodies such as the ITU, ISO, and IEC are ordinarily considered open, but may require patent licensing fees for implementation.