Reuse and SOA

In the last week I have heard and read the usual lament that software reuse is hard and has been a dismal failure. As many claim that the main value preposition for SOA is based on reuse, the argument is that it also will be a dismal failure.

Here I have to take a heretical POV and contend that software reuse is maybe hard, but that it exists, has been an enormous success and forms the mainstay of software development today.

Let’s look at UIs. Nobody would develop a UI today without a set of reusable components. What about basic programming. One only needs to look at how rich and extensive the J2EE or .NET class libraries are and how much their (re)use is part of standard software development practices is to see that reusability is the norm rather than the exception.

But what about the bit in the middle, the so called business logic? The enormous success of ERP companies such as SAP is surely adequate proof that reusable business logic is a reality.

The only thing that stands out here is that reusable components are not developed in-house by IT-Shops (as David Chappell pointed out when he asked about in-house reuse programs), but are developed by vendors who:

a) invest heavily into their products and

b) have an industry wide view point instead of a restricted company view point.

Perhaps this is clear indicator to where we can expect the majority of reusable business services to come from.