Approaches to Constructive Interoperability

Interoperability between systems requires the capability for users to exchange information (syntactic interoperability) and a common understanding of its meaning or how to act upon it (semantic interoperability). This report will discuss several current approaches to constructing systems of systems that have interoperability requirements, with respect to syntactic and semantic interoperability. The areas examined include Model-Driven Architecture, Service-Oriented Architecture, Web services, Open Grid Services Architecture, and Component Frameworks. These initial discussions assume that the interoperating systems agree on a common approach. Reaching an agreement can be challenging, especially when legacy systems are involved. Technical techniques and recommendations for reaching an agreement between systems that use differing technologies are also briefly explored.