Articles by Steve Benfield

Beyond BPM: Using Goal-Seeking Agents to Tackle Highly-Complex SOA Applications

Mon, 27 Feb 2006 08:00:00 EST

Solving complexity has been a continuing goal of application architects & developers since we started writing programs. While SOA techniques do a great job at standardizing the interface between systems and BPEL attempts to standardize the logic flow between services, they tend to break down when systems become overly complex and uncertainty is introduced into the system. An Agent-Oriented Goal-Seeking approach to building applications has been shown to reduce the complexity of building major real-world applications and to reduce total development time by up to 75%. Goal-seeking agents dynamically execute services based on goals, rules, and plans instead of traditional explicitly coded logic paths. As this session will show, Agent-Oriented development is backed by both cutting-edge computer-science research as well as real-world case studies. This session introduces goal-seeking agents and covers several case studies showing how they can be used to dramatically simplify complex programming situations and allow you to deliver applications faster.

Java at a Crossroads

Mon, 29 Mar 2004 00:00:00 EST

Java and J2EE are at a crossroads - facing issues such as complexity and vendor lock-in. Where can you turn for the the productivity, performance, and ROI you've come to expect? Having entered the mainstream and taken hold in roughly 70% of enterprises, Java is the clear winner when it comes to enterprise server architecture.

JSF: The Ultimate in Flexibility? Or Complexity?

Fri, 05 Mar 2004 00:00:00 EST

I have a love/hate relationship with J2EE. I love the idea of standards that we can all use in our development to improve interoperability, ease integration issues, create a pool of skilled developers, etc. I hate the idea that I have to wait years for the standards to evolve and become usable.

Java at a Crossroads

Wed, 25 Feb 2004 00:00:00 EST

This is a crucial time for Java and J2EE. Competing market and technical interests are moving Java in different directions. IT organizations are clamoring for ease of development, faster standards adoption, and stability. The application server market continues to consolidate enough so that there may be only three major application server vendors in the near future. (Or will it be only 2?!!!) The industry is also torn between 100% standards adoption and the productivity of proprietary frameworks. Some people claim that middleware is dead-yea right! Come join us for what promises to be a lively, slightly heretical, and thought-provoking session.

Development Tools for All

Thu, 05 Feb 2004 00:00:00 EST

IT development organizations tend to comprise Business Developers and/or Technology Elites, or a mixture of the two. The latter group basically has all they ever want or need from the Java community - tools, technologies, documentation, standards. But what about the Business Developers?

The White Knight Killer App

Tue, 22 Jul 2003 10:42:00 EDT

Hmm..according to my latest Monthly Hype magazine, Web services open a whole new vista of applications to the world. Applications that have been unseen or unimagined by mankind. Everyone is asking about the Web Services Killer App. What is the Killer App?

Real World WSFL

Fri, 24 May 2002 00:00:00 EDT

Web services has promised many things. One primary promise has been the ability to piece applications together by snapping Web services together like so many Lego blocks. The output of one service becomes the input to the next and so on.

What's Happening in Web Services?

Thu, 29 Nov 2001 00:00:00 EST

So, what is going on in the world of Web services? I'm looking at a ton of analyst reports saying Web services won't be mainstream for another two or three years. One firm says that only 16% of companies will use Web services this year. I suppose it comes down to your definition of Web services. Which is another question I get a lot-what is a Web service? Some people have a very broad definition and include Web sites that execute functionality.

Web Services: XML's Killer App

Sun, 01 Apr 2001 00:00:00 EST

My hype meter has been revved up lately, and what has pegged it is Web services. Who is hyping up Web services? Hmm...Microsoft, Sun, IBM, HP, BEA, SilverStream, Ariba, BowStreet, webMethods...my aunt Judy. I'm expecting to see this e-mail soon: 'Quit your job and make $100,000 a year writing Web services in this groundbreaking business opportunity.' Oh...that one might be true <G>.

Web Services The Power to Change the World?

Sat, 01 Jan 2000 00:00:00 EST

So, people keep asking me, 'Steve, how come you are such a wild and crazy guy?' OK, sorry, a late 70s flashback there.

Product Review: SilverStream 2.0

Mon, 01 Mar 1999 00:00:00 EST

To put it bluntly, SilverStream 2.0 sets a new standard for large-scale Web development and deployment. We first looked at the product in June 1997 when they were the newest entrant in the application server market. It lacked many enterprise features such as scalability, fault tolerance and CORBA support. In addition, it only offered advantages in the area of Java client development and deployment. With 2.0, things are quite a bit different.

Silverstream

Mon, 01 Sep 1997 00:00:00 EDT

As the push to Web-based computing gains momentum, the variety of available tools, standards, techniques and languages gets increasingly complex. In implementing a Web strategy, IS managers must make some hard decisions on issues that include: supported browsers, ISP selection, Web server platform and OS, application server platform and OS, object architecture standards, client-side component approach (HTML vs. Java vs. ActiveX), server-side component tools (VB5, C++, PowerBuilder 6, Delphi, Java), security standards, database engine selection, search engine selection, business content creation and more.