Current Perspectives on Interoperability

I found a paper who might interest the community here

[[[
Abstract: This report describes current research within the software  
engineering community on the topic of interoperability between  
software systems. That research includes analyses of the different  
types of software system interoperability definitions, problems and  
issues and efforts to define models of interoperability that will aid  
in creating solutions to those problems.
]]]

-- Current Perspectives on Interoperability
http://www.sei.cmu.edu/publications/documents/04.reports/04tr009.html
Wed, 22 Jun 2005 12:55:01 GMT


In the document, they give a definition of interoperability

[[[
1.2 Interoperability and Integration

There are many definitions for interoperability. Consider the following:

    * the ability of two or more systems or components to exchange  
and use information (IEEE STD 610.12) [Standards 90]

    *
	a) the ability of the systems, units, or forces to provide and  
receive services from other systems, units, or forces and to use the  
services so interchanged to enable them to operate effectively together
	b) the conditions achieved among communications-electronics systems  
or items of communications-electronics equipment when information or  
services can be exchanged directly and satisfactorily between them  
and/or their users
	c) the capacity to integrate technology between or among different  
technical platforms.  This form of integration is achieved through  
information engineering, which translates  process requirements into  
software programs (Joint Pub 1-02) [DoD 01].

     * the ability to exchange data in a prescribed manner and the  
processing of such data to extract intelligible information that can  
be used to control/coordinate operations (FED-STD- 1037C) [NCS 96]
]]]
-- Current Perspectives on Interoperability
http://www.sei.cmu.edu/pub/documents/04.reports/pdf/04tr009.pdf
March 2004


But they decided to adopt

[[[
These observations lead us to a more abstract working definition of  
interoperability:

The ability of a collection of communicating entities to
	(a) share specified information and
	(b) operate on that information according to an agreed operational  
semantics.

This definition is intended to be encompassing. The communicating  
entities can be people, computer systems, or a mixture of both. The  
shared information may be in the form of data or descriptions of  
services provided or capabilities required. The ability to operate on  
data according to agreed semantics is a fundamental requirement for  
interoperability between two systems that goes beyond the mere  
exchange of that data.
]]]
-- Current Perspectives on Interoperability
http://www.sei.cmu.edu/pub/documents/04.reports/pdf/04tr009.pdf
March 2004


There is also a passage about Standards based approach which says:


[[[
3.1.2 Standards-Based Approaches

A common component of virtually all strategies for improving  
interoperability is the requirement to conform to some set of  
standards. Standards conformance has long been a staple of defense  
acquisition, although their use has undergone significant changes in  
the past 10 years. Rather than specifying how to build systems,  
requirements compliance is now used as a means to leverage commercial  
technologies and manufacturing processes while meeting military- 
unique environmental and operational requirements. Examples of this  
include requirements to conform to the (mostly commercial) standards  
specified in the Joint Technical Architecture (JTA), and  
certification for operation with the Common Operating Environment  
(COE). More recently, and mirroring a similar push in the commercial  
marketplace, there has  been strong advocacy for the use of the  
eXtensible Markup Language (XML) as a lingua
franca for achieving interoperability; this movement is gaining  
momentum as the DoD migrates from the COE architecture to one based  
on the Net-centric Core Enterprise Services (NCES). Related efforts,  
like Defense Information Systems Agency’s (DISA) DoD XML Registry and  
Clearinghouse and the Universal Data Element Framework (UDEF), are  
attempting to define common XML components and data/metadata  
interchange definitions for use by all programs.

Test facilities (e.g., engineering laboratories and simulators) have  
taken on increased importance in assessing standards-based  
interoperability. While such facilities have long been used in  
achieving a degree of interoperability (e.g., the Navy’s Integrated  
Combat System Test Facility, ICSTF), there has recently been a  
significant growth in demands on such environments to support large- 
scale, high-fidelity integration and interoperability engineering.  
Virtual facilities, like the Navy’s Distributed Engineering Plant,  
make it possible to identify present  and reasonably foreseeable  
interoperability problems, facilitating resolutions well in advance   
of actual system integration and deployment.
]]]
-- Current Perspectives on Interoperability
http://www.sei.cmu.edu/pub/documents/04.reports/pdf/04tr009.pdf
March 2004

-- 
Karl Dubost - http://www.w3.org/People/karl/
W3C Conformance Manager
*** Be Strict To Be Cool ***

Received on Tuesday, 15 November 2005 16:16:09 UTC